1-7 = Drop a Banner

by Craig Kwasniewski

So when's the ring ceremony? Is the parade in South Beach or in downtown by the AA Center? Are they rioting? Hell, even runway models in S. Beach are pausing between vomit and coke sessions to celebrate.

The Miami Heat have beaten Detroit!!!!

(...in a regular season home game, thus making them now 1-7 combined versus Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix and (yawn!) San Antonio... but who's counting)

But based on how the Miami Heat and their fans* celebrated their 100-98 victory you'd think they just won the NBA championship. Dwyane Wade, skipping along the sideline and high-fiving jubilant fans; Antoine Walker with a Divac-esque embrace of J-Will; Zo Mourning pumping his fist in the air while doing that primal scream thing; all you needed was David Stern, a trophy and...

Just wait a second! Don't get me wrong, the way Miami rallied to win against the best team in the NBA was impressive. The result was very reminiscent of the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, Shaq having a monster 1st 3 quarters and Kobe adding a masterful 4th quarter. In this case, replace Kobe with Wade as he literally carried the Heat offensively, scoring their last 17 points.

But as impressive as the victory was, the celebration was very D-League. Feel free to act like you expected the win. Whooping up a home victory before All-Star break is below a team that is supposedly a title contender. Look at the Pistons... win or lose they keep their composure with a very business-like attitude. You can sense their resolve.

So drop your "1-7 versus the top teams!" banner in the next home game and enjoy the NBA Finals in front of your 64" plasma TV's.

(*-former residents of New York looking for something to cheer as their beloved Knicks rot in a cesspool of Isiah)

Comments

[basketbawful]

Like you, I feel the need for some perspective here. So let me tell you a story. I play in a pickup league on Monday nights. Usually we get in three games of 5-on-5. First to 21, by 1s and 2s. First game we lose 21-19 after the other team hits 8 out of 10 three-pointers (worth 2, of course). As we walk of the court, my teammates are bummed but I just laugh. Why, they asked? Because I knew we'd win the next two for sure...because no way would the other team shoot 80 percent in 3s again. They didn't, either, and we blew them out the next two games.

My point? Other than a self-aggrandizing personal anecdote? In pro hoops, when it takes an extraordinary individual performance to eek out a 2-point win on your home court...you're in trouble. Because, while it's impressive, you can't duplicate that magic every time you play someone. And you have to figure Wade probably wouldn't have gone off like that in Detroit.

So after a win like that, suddenly Miami's thinking, "Not only can we play with these guys, we can beat them when we have to." What the SHOULD be thinking is "We dodged a bullet and need to make some serious adjustments so that, next time we play them, Dwayne Wade doesn't end up with a massive hernia from carrying our sorry asses to a victory we probably don't deserve."

I'm just sayin'.

[Craig]

A British Parliamentary, "Here...Here" to basketbawful for one of the best "comments" on our site.

One thing I forgot to add about the game was that Shaq played his best half of the season and Miami still trailed at halftime. THAT ALONE should worry the Heat the most.

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My point? Other than a self-aggrandizing personal anecdote? In pro hoops, when it takes an extraordinary individual performance to eek out a 2-point win on your home court...you're in trouble. Because, while it's impressive, you can't duplicate that magic every time you play someone. And you have to figure Wade probably wouldn't have gone off like that in Detroit.

[Vibram Five Fingers Sale]

My point? Other than a self-aggrandizing personal anecdote? In pro hoops, when it takes an extraordinary individual performance to eek out a 2-point win on your home court...you're in trouble. Because, while it's impressive, you can't duplicate that magic every time you play someone. And you have to figure Wade probably wouldn't have gone off like that in Detroit.