The past few weeks, the Miami Heat have been playing awful. Losing seven of their last eleven games, many are starting to question if this team is finally showing fatigue, which will ultimately not get them a third straight championship. The Heat have experienced slumps, every team does when it’s such a long season. But, they haven’t experienced a slump that has lasted this long before. Are we finally seeing the biggest flaws for the struggling Heat? Is it finally time for someone to dethrone them?
The slump started after a blowout loss in San Antonio. It seemed as if they would bounce back against Chicago, but that wasn’t the case. Chicago seems to always come prepared when Miami comes to town, and once again they were. The Bulls defense slowed down the Miami offense and took the victory.
The Heat were able to get a win against Washington, but right after that, another loss. This time, at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets. I don’t know how they do it, but the Nets are 3-0 against Miami this season. Whenever Paul Pierce and LeBron go at it, you know you’re going to be seeing the best of both players. If these teams were to face each other in the postseason, the Heat would still be favored. At the same time, its not a match-up that Miami wants.
Miami was able to pick up a great win against Houston, but then to lose against teams like New Orleans and Boston? Those games should easily be wins, with or without Dwyane Wade. At this time of the season, it’s not good to be going through a slump.
With Indiana in a slump as well, Miami should be taking advantage of this. They could easily be the #1 seed in the East right now. But since both teams aren’t playing well, Indiana remains ahead. Luckily, we will get to see these two teams face off on Wednesday. This could be one of the biggest games of the year for both teams, as both are fighting for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. With these two teams expected to face off in the Eastern Conference Finals, that #1 seed could really come in handy.
It was smart for LeBron James and Chris Bosh to finally make comments on the slump. Those two have very important roles on this team, and they should be leading the way. When the leaders of a team make comments, it brings a sense of urgency. And when the Heat are playing with a sense of urgency, I can’t see them being stopped.
In the end, there should be some concern down in South Beach. With playoffs less than a month away, it really is the wrong time to be going through a slump. But, I do expect Miami to fix things. Come playoff time, they’re always ready for the challenge, mentally and physically. It’s going to be the hardest it’s ever been for them to get another championship, but they can do it. And they are still my pick to win it all.
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