Dallas, Texas. Another game against a playoff caliber opponent resulted in a loss for the most overrated team in NBA history on Saturday night.
Dallas used a huge run to begin the second half, including a pivotal play where Dirk Nowitzki split the defense provided by Dwayne Wade and Lebron James. With all three All-Stars hanging in the air, Nowitzki completed the layup against both Miami Heat defenders. With the momentum, Dallas would stretch to a lead of 18 points which they would never relinquish.
Tyson Chandler looked like an All-Star against the Miami Heat.
Once again, Miami was beat on the glass as Tyson Chandler grabbed 17 rebounds to go with 14 points and 3 blocks, and the Mavs starting frontline outrebounded Miami 26 to 19. Chris Bosh, who has been criticized throughout his career for being soft, has done nothing to prove otherwise, and with the probable loss of Udonis Haslem for the entire season, the NBA playoff hopes of the Miami Heat rest on the slender shoulders and non-existent testicular fortitude of Bosh.
After falling to a season record of 9 wins and 8 losses, worse than last year's mark of 10 wins and 7 losses at this same point in the season, the Miami Heat players had a team-only meeting lasting approximately 45 minutes. None of the Heat players were willing to speak about anything specific that was said during the meeting.
The loss capped a disappointing week for the Miami Friends (I've dropped the "Super" for obvious reasons), who have lost four of their last 5 games. The team-only meeting was just another sign that the Miami three of Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, and Chris Bosh are fracturing under the pressure of public scrutiny of, in particular, Lebron's Decision to leave a talented team in Cleveland to form a supposed "super team" in Miami to pursue an NBA Championship. The results seem to support those who believe that Lebron took the easy way out and will not win a title this way.
This was a tough week for Lebron in particular. After Rudy Gay hit a game-winning shot in his face to lift the Memphis Grizzlies, an ad for Jordan brand in response to Lebron's "What Should I Do?" Nike ad went viral on the internet; in the ad, Michael Jordan asks if Lebron was just making excuses.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE. Lebron finally was involved in a "Jordan-moment", however it was Rudy Gay that hit "The Shot" while Lebron played the role of Craig Ehlo.
In dramatic fashion, it was Rudy Gay, the Memphis Grizzlies' big signing of the "Summer of Lebron", who measured and connected on a fade away jumper over a fully extended Lebron James, to sink the Miami Heat as the clock ran out in regulation.
Rudy Gay had been shooting just 4 for 12 on the night and had just turned the ball over on the previous play, resulting in an easy dunk for Lebron James on the other end to tie the game. However, when it came time to draw up the final play, Gay wanted the ball in his hands.
And with the ball in his hand and 5.5 secs beginning to tick away, Gay was not going to defer the shot to anyone else. Even with Lebron picking him up as he turned the corner, Gay got just enough space over the fully outstretched arm of the most coveted free agent of the summer, Lebron James, and buried the shot.
Here is a video of the play:
Following the shot, the hometown crowd at the FedEx Forum erupted. It was an emotional victory for a Memphis Grizzlies team that was expected to challenge in the Western Conference but has been struggling in the early going of this season. O.J. Mayo and Zach Randolph had been demoted to the bench in favor of Darrell Arthur and rookie Xavier Henry in hopes of sparking the team. It seems to have worked, at least on this night.
The list of teams handing a piece of humble pie to the Miami Heat has gotten one more team longer. Joining the Boston Celtics, Utah Jazz, and New Orleans Hornets was a 5 win and 9 loss underachieving Memphis Grizzlies team. After obtaining the top 3 free agents available during the "Summer of Lebron" and then bragging about forming a basketball dynasty, the Miami Heat have stumbled out of the gate, with a record of 8 wins and 5 losses in the first 13 games of the season. They are on pace to finish the season with a record of 51 - 31.
A special slice of humble pie is reserved for Lebron James, who was the most coveted free agent of the summer. With every team in the league dreaming about adding his talent and several solid, "win a championship now", choices available, such as staying with a Cleveland Cavaliers talent base that put together back to back 61 win seasons, Lebron continues to be haunted by the worst "Decision" ever made by a sports superstar. He questions "what to do now?" in his latest commercial for Nike.
Rudy Gay's Jordanesque Game-Winning Shot Over Lebron James.
The Rudy Gay shot over Lebron had the "Air" of "The Shot", Michael Jordan's incredible floating shot on Craig Ehlo to propel the Chicago Bulls to victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 NBA Playoffs. The way he floated just a little longer and jumped a little higher than the defender who, despite great defensive position and full extension to bother the shot, was helpless to stop him."The Shot" remains one of the defining moments of Michael Jordan's career because it illustrates the difference between Jordan and every other basketball player in the world; Jordan wanted to win more than any other player, and it fueled him to float a little longer, jump a little higher, practice a little harder, and make one more play.
The irony of the situation is that Lebron, this very summer, could have been the Air Apparent and the Chosen One to follow in Michael Jordan's footsteps in Chicago and as the icon of the NBA. Chicago was believed by the most knowledgeable basketball people, including Michael Jordan himself, to be the best destination for Lebron from the point of view of joining a team that would win multiple NBA Championships. The combination of Derrick Rose, Lebron James, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah would have been amazing; Derrick Rose is currently 4th in the league in scoring, and Joakim Noah is currently 2nd in the league in rebounding. Lebron would have been an ideal complement to the two superstars, and with talented role players like Taj Gibson, the Bulls (currently 7 - 4 on the season) would have been one of the most talented, deep, and complete teams in the league.
Then came "The Decision". And the landscape of the NBA has been forever altered, but two things have not changed. Michael Jordan's legacy is still that of the greatest of all time, and Lebron James will not be winning an NBA Championship this year.
