Have you ever gotten so good at something that after awhile of doing whatever you’ve mastered becomes boring? Take a video game for example, or to be more specific, let’s say NBA 2k14. You already have the game set to it’s highest difficulty, but yet you’re destroying the computer simulated competition time and time again. You have even ventured in the online world of play and are competing against some of “The best” in the game and are wiping them across the court with whatever team they decide to play with. After so long it just gets boring. What you do though is to continue to play the game because you know there is a gaming tournament coming up in a in a few months and you can’t afford to let off of your game, even just a little. So you go through the motions. You log on, play your game, win, and then log off and wait for the next opponent to feel your wrath. When the tournament finally arrives, that is where you will play against some the best gamers in the world and that is where you will finally bring your focus and attention and actually give it all you have because winning that tournament will cement your name in video game history.
Much like being an experienced gamer who is just waiting for “the tournament,” the Miami Heat also struggle with a case of boredom from time to time. They’ve played the game on the highest difficulty, against the best competition the NBA could throw at them and yet they continue to prevail winning back-to-back NBA championships. LeBron and company have managed to master the regular season the past two years grabbing the number 1 seed both times on their way to winning a title. I wouldn’t know from personal experience, but I imagine making it to the finals 3 straight years would take some kind of physical and mental toll on an athlete.
This year can be different for the Heat. This regular season they can afford to take it easy, to an extent. With a Dwayne Wade who seems to be aging in dog years and Chris Bosh who has shown no sign of improvement that would be valuable to Miami and an aging supporting cast, this post season might be the most difficult yet. LeBron is proven to be the best player in the NBA, head and shoulders above the competition, but even he can’t do it alone. (Refer to LeBron’s Cleveland years.) He’s going to need a healthy and competent Dwayne Wade at least, just like Jordan had Pippen and Kobe had Shaq and Gasol. The Miami Heat don’t need be number one this regular season because for one, they’re bored with it. They can wait and rest for the postseason while they continue to glide through, what should be, a cake walk of a regular season.
Heck, the Heat don’t even need to grab the second seed in the east, they could easily settle for a place in the top 4 so long as they get the proper rest needed to compete in the Postseason. The reason they don’t need to be number one isn’t only because of the rest factor, but also because they simply don’t need it. The reason some teams strive for that first seed is because they are best when playing at home, the Miami Heat have proven time and time again that they can win on the road in pursuit of a title.
So while the Indiana Pacers strive to be number one, the Heat will play their cards right so that when it comes time for what matters, they’ll be ready.
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