Showing posts with label dwayne wade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dwayne wade. Show all posts

Heat On The Hot Seat

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 Posted by Kyle Mountain 0 comments
History has been the provider and victim of some of the world's most common misconceptions. For example, the idea of Christopher Columbus being a well-intentioned man with great exploring abilities is nothing but a fairy tale about a vehemently ruthless, corrupt man who got lost. Or perhaps the idea that Napolean Bonaparte invaded and conquered countries because of a vast amount of insecurity he had regarding his stature; the man was actually not that small - he was about 5'6", which was slightly above the average height for a French man at the time of his life. Because these tales and assumptions have engraved themselves into society's perceptions for hundreds of years, they may never be anything but what they are now - misconceptions. However, a new misconception, that has plagued society for only a few months now, may be recognized and, with some luck, rightfully seen as the ridiculously false idea it is, for it is truly astonishing and down right disgraceful that our society may be manipulated into thinking that the Miami Heat are legitimate contenders to win an NBA championship this year.
The Miami Heat have lost 20 games so far this season - 19 of those losses have been against teams that would make the playoffs if the season ended today, and 13 of those 19 losses have been against Eastern Conference opponents. Plus, two of their most recent losses included one in which the Orlando Magic came back from 24 down to win 99-96, and one at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, who won by a mere 30 points. This tells me two things: 1) the Heat can beat bad teams and 2) they have a really hard time beating good teams. We're over 60 games into the season which means playoffs are coming up, and there are two questions on my mind: Can the Heat win? and Will the Heat win? They're two very different questions with, in my opinion, two very different answers. The Heat have been a favorite to win this year's championship all season, but when you look at the strength of the NBA - the East in particular - along with the Heat's weaknesses and their record against the league's top teams, it becomes evident that they should be known as anything but a favorite to win a championship this year.

The top half of the Eastern Conference is riddled with parity at the moment. Since the trade deadline, a few good teams became pretty big threats, and although the East may not be as good as the West from top to bottom, they're certainly stacked - and a bit top heavy. The deadline brought Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams east, and these moves, combined with the strength the conference had prior the deadline, will make for some serious parity this year as well as for years to come. With this in mind, it's hard for me to believe that the Heat would be favorites to even get out of the East, let alone win a championship. As I mentioned before, the Heat are having serious troubles with beating quality teams, so their troubles are only magnified by the fact that the East has six teams besides the Heat that are maybe not all contenders but certainly threats capable of beating any team on any given night.

Miami's competition isn't their only problem heading into the playoffs this year. The "team," itself (if that's what you want to call it) is simply not good enough to win in the playoffs. Everyone knows the danger of their top weapons, but beyond that they have very, very little. Wade and James are obviously the keys to this team, averaging over 50 points a game combined. Bosh also chips in nearly 20 a game, so it's no question that they have a lot of firepower up front. However, beyond those three, the Heat don't have anyone averaging double digit points this year. They have, and will continue, to get away with this during the regular season, but when playoffs come around it's simply not going to work. If you shut one of the three down you essentially limit and/or eliminate a third of their offense. In their most recent loss against the Magic, which I mentioned earlier, James and Wade had a combined 2 points in the 4th quarter. They've been shut down before and playoff series' are all about neutralizing star power. Teams will know how to cover at least one of the three and the Heat won't be able to respond because they're simply not deep enough.

The depth of the Heat - or lack there of - has been ruthlessly exposed against good teams this year. They've lost to Boston and Chicago three times each, Orlando twice, Dallas twice, and New York twice. It's evident that against the league's weaker teams the Heat can do whatever they want, however good teams are able to shut them down. It's no coincidence that nearly 90% of their losses this year are against the league's top teams. This takes us back to the painfully obvious fact that the Heat will have to play and beat only good teams if they want to advance in the playoffs. When things go their way they're very, very good. However, in the playoffs tendencies and strengths are attacked, making it very hard to do things the way you did them during the regular season. The teams that win are the teams that are able to adjust and adapt when their style of play is hindered. The problem the Heat have is that they don't have anything to adjust to. They're a fairly one-dimensional team that is nothing without all three of its star players.

I don't think superstars make a team a legitimate contender to win a championship, however I do think you need at least one superstar to win. The Heat obviously have superstars but I don't think they can win it this year, and they're not the only team that falls under this category. The East has at least three teams that have big-market players but probably can't win a championship this year. Stars can win in the regular season but depth is what wins when it matters.


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The Gospel According to LeBron

Thursday, January 13, 2011 Posted by Kyle Mountain 0 comments
Tuesday night the Cleveland Cavaliers were lower than low. They were beaten, embarrassed, humiliated, frustrated - the list goes on. They were the 3rd grader who had lunch money before the 8th grade bully forcefully took it without ever thinking twice. Tuesday night, the Cavaliers - who are the NBA's worst team at the moment - suffered a 55 point loss - yes, 55 - to the Los Angeles Lakers. Blow outs happen, but as if the loss weren't bad enough for the Cavs, in came LeBron James to completely ruin their day. LeBron, who so humbly goes under the name of @kingjames on his twitter account, tweeted that night, "Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!" Good thing we have the wise LeBron James here to divinely and charismatically teach us about how to act in the eyes of God.

Just out of curiosity though, did God see it when LeBron gutlessly, abruptly and unsympathetically abandoned his team so he could get what he wanted the easy way? Did God see when LeBron quit on his team, time and time again, because it was a little bit too hard for him? Did God see LeBron's hour-long special in which LeBron forced all eyes on him while he announced to the world that he would be joining a team of superstars, a move that would surely "earn" him a championship ring? Did God see the pain of the Cleveland fans, who had given LeBron nothing but their hearts and souls during his tenure in Cleveland? How about the pain of the Cavaliers, who only gave him millions of dollars and a chance to become a star? Come to think of it God probably didn't see any of that because LeBron can do no wrong. The self-proclaimed king who, with such vast wisdom and insight, has the power to deem his subordinates - who possess the human-like qualities that he apparently doesn't have - just or unjust, right or wrong. Apparently he is emperor of not only the basketball court but also putting us mortals in our place.

I assume that this tweet may have been a jab at Dan Gilbert, who unceremoniously erupted when LeBron "took his talents" elsewhere this past summer. Or perhaps it was directed at the fans of Cleveland, who publicly and justifiably eliminated any trace of respect or care they had for LeBron in the form of burning #23 jerseys, among other acts of anger and intolerance. However, for LeBron to subject the players of the Cavaliers to further embarrassment and humiliation by saying what happened Tuesday night was just and fair? Unbelievable. These are the same players that he abandoned after giving them hope. These are the same players he gave up on, only to eventually deem them unworthy of sharing the same court and same locker room that he occupied. So what did he do? He rode off on his high horse to bigger and better things, and now that he has a spot on top he believes he can look down on those who weren't good enough for him and tell them how to act, how to behave, and how to do right in the eyes of God. Although his tweet's direct target is ambiguous, it's the principal that remains clear as day: LeBron has put himself above everyone. In his eyes, he's God's right hand man, delivering us the message's from above. The irony and hypocrisy that accompany LeBron's words and actions are truly mind-boggling. In LeBron's mind, this is what happened: God saw how Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland fans reacted to LeBron's actions over the summer, and as punishment God used his wrath to make the Lakers win by 55 points Tuesday night. That seems really logical, because I'm sure God really cares about who wins a basketball game. What I don't get is why didn't LeBron just ask God what he should do instead of making a commercial about it? Oh that's right, because he's literally the most self-obsessed person on earth. Maybe he should've just asked the fans of Cleveland, because they had a few great ideas.

There are plenty of athletes I dislike, but there aren't many athletes I don't have any respect for. I don't like Tom Brady, but I respect the hell out of him. Ok, maybe the whole Ugg thing isn't so respectable, but I still have a lot of respect for the guy. LeBron, however, is a coward. He quit on the Cavaliers. He did it in the playoffs last year when things got hard and he did it in the offseason when he knew things weren't going to get easier. He wants things the easy way. If he had a bad night with the Cavs it was on him, however if he won with the Cavs it was because of him. Now if he has a bad game with the Heat he's got Dwayne Wade there to cover it up and make it like it never happened. He was the guy in Cleveland. He's one of the guys in Miami. However, he still acts like the guy. He acts like it's all about him, because his delusional way of thinking tells him that. When LeBron wins a championship (yes, it's hard to admit, but it became inevitable when he joined the Heat) it will not be because of LeBron James. It'll be because of the Big 3, or the "Heatles," as LeBron called them when he modestly compared his team to the Beatles, or whatever other name they can think of to put themselves in their own league.

Despite his ability to effectively play the villain that everyone hates, I don't think he's playing the role intentionally. I just don't think he's a very smart guy, and as a result he's puts himself in situations where all people can do is cringe and ask, "why is it always about LeBron??" After his tweet blew up he backtracked and tried to hide, perhaps realizing how insanely ridiculous that statement truly was. "It wasn't even a comment from me," he pleaded. "It was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out." Regardless of whether this is true or not his belief in the statement remains.

So, since all of us below LeBron are subjected to his infinite wisdom, all I can say is that I can't wait for karma to take its talents to South Beach.


PS - If you have a twitter, follow @lebronjamesego. To say it's hysterical would be a vast understatement.

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Showing posts with label dwayne wade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dwayne wade. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Heat On The Hot Seat

History has been the provider and victim of some of the world's most common misconceptions. For example, the idea of Christopher Columbus being a well-intentioned man with great exploring abilities is nothing but a fairy tale about a vehemently ruthless, corrupt man who got lost. Or perhaps the idea that Napolean Bonaparte invaded and conquered countries because of a vast amount of insecurity he had regarding his stature; the man was actually not that small - he was about 5'6", which was slightly above the average height for a French man at the time of his life. Because these tales and assumptions have engraved themselves into society's perceptions for hundreds of years, they may never be anything but what they are now - misconceptions. However, a new misconception, that has plagued society for only a few months now, may be recognized and, with some luck, rightfully seen as the ridiculously false idea it is, for it is truly astonishing and down right disgraceful that our society may be manipulated into thinking that the Miami Heat are legitimate contenders to win an NBA championship this year.
The Miami Heat have lost 20 games so far this season - 19 of those losses have been against teams that would make the playoffs if the season ended today, and 13 of those 19 losses have been against Eastern Conference opponents. Plus, two of their most recent losses included one in which the Orlando Magic came back from 24 down to win 99-96, and one at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, who won by a mere 30 points. This tells me two things: 1) the Heat can beat bad teams and 2) they have a really hard time beating good teams. We're over 60 games into the season which means playoffs are coming up, and there are two questions on my mind: Can the Heat win? and Will the Heat win? They're two very different questions with, in my opinion, two very different answers. The Heat have been a favorite to win this year's championship all season, but when you look at the strength of the NBA - the East in particular - along with the Heat's weaknesses and their record against the league's top teams, it becomes evident that they should be known as anything but a favorite to win a championship this year.

The top half of the Eastern Conference is riddled with parity at the moment. Since the trade deadline, a few good teams became pretty big threats, and although the East may not be as good as the West from top to bottom, they're certainly stacked - and a bit top heavy. The deadline brought Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams east, and these moves, combined with the strength the conference had prior the deadline, will make for some serious parity this year as well as for years to come. With this in mind, it's hard for me to believe that the Heat would be favorites to even get out of the East, let alone win a championship. As I mentioned before, the Heat are having serious troubles with beating quality teams, so their troubles are only magnified by the fact that the East has six teams besides the Heat that are maybe not all contenders but certainly threats capable of beating any team on any given night.

Miami's competition isn't their only problem heading into the playoffs this year. The "team," itself (if that's what you want to call it) is simply not good enough to win in the playoffs. Everyone knows the danger of their top weapons, but beyond that they have very, very little. Wade and James are obviously the keys to this team, averaging over 50 points a game combined. Bosh also chips in nearly 20 a game, so it's no question that they have a lot of firepower up front. However, beyond those three, the Heat don't have anyone averaging double digit points this year. They have, and will continue, to get away with this during the regular season, but when playoffs come around it's simply not going to work. If you shut one of the three down you essentially limit and/or eliminate a third of their offense. In their most recent loss against the Magic, which I mentioned earlier, James and Wade had a combined 2 points in the 4th quarter. They've been shut down before and playoff series' are all about neutralizing star power. Teams will know how to cover at least one of the three and the Heat won't be able to respond because they're simply not deep enough.

The depth of the Heat - or lack there of - has been ruthlessly exposed against good teams this year. They've lost to Boston and Chicago three times each, Orlando twice, Dallas twice, and New York twice. It's evident that against the league's weaker teams the Heat can do whatever they want, however good teams are able to shut them down. It's no coincidence that nearly 90% of their losses this year are against the league's top teams. This takes us back to the painfully obvious fact that the Heat will have to play and beat only good teams if they want to advance in the playoffs. When things go their way they're very, very good. However, in the playoffs tendencies and strengths are attacked, making it very hard to do things the way you did them during the regular season. The teams that win are the teams that are able to adjust and adapt when their style of play is hindered. The problem the Heat have is that they don't have anything to adjust to. They're a fairly one-dimensional team that is nothing without all three of its star players.

I don't think superstars make a team a legitimate contender to win a championship, however I do think you need at least one superstar to win. The Heat obviously have superstars but I don't think they can win it this year, and they're not the only team that falls under this category. The East has at least three teams that have big-market players but probably can't win a championship this year. Stars can win in the regular season but depth is what wins when it matters.


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Posted by Kyle Mountain at 3:05 PM 0 comments
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Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Gospel According to LeBron

Tuesday night the Cleveland Cavaliers were lower than low. They were beaten, embarrassed, humiliated, frustrated - the list goes on. They were the 3rd grader who had lunch money before the 8th grade bully forcefully took it without ever thinking twice. Tuesday night, the Cavaliers - who are the NBA's worst team at the moment - suffered a 55 point loss - yes, 55 - to the Los Angeles Lakers. Blow outs happen, but as if the loss weren't bad enough for the Cavs, in came LeBron James to completely ruin their day. LeBron, who so humbly goes under the name of @kingjames on his twitter account, tweeted that night, "Crazy. Karma is a b****.. Gets you every time. Its not good to wish bad on anybody. God sees everything!" Good thing we have the wise LeBron James here to divinely and charismatically teach us about how to act in the eyes of God.

Just out of curiosity though, did God see it when LeBron gutlessly, abruptly and unsympathetically abandoned his team so he could get what he wanted the easy way? Did God see when LeBron quit on his team, time and time again, because it was a little bit too hard for him? Did God see LeBron's hour-long special in which LeBron forced all eyes on him while he announced to the world that he would be joining a team of superstars, a move that would surely "earn" him a championship ring? Did God see the pain of the Cleveland fans, who had given LeBron nothing but their hearts and souls during his tenure in Cleveland? How about the pain of the Cavaliers, who only gave him millions of dollars and a chance to become a star? Come to think of it God probably didn't see any of that because LeBron can do no wrong. The self-proclaimed king who, with such vast wisdom and insight, has the power to deem his subordinates - who possess the human-like qualities that he apparently doesn't have - just or unjust, right or wrong. Apparently he is emperor of not only the basketball court but also putting us mortals in our place.

I assume that this tweet may have been a jab at Dan Gilbert, who unceremoniously erupted when LeBron "took his talents" elsewhere this past summer. Or perhaps it was directed at the fans of Cleveland, who publicly and justifiably eliminated any trace of respect or care they had for LeBron in the form of burning #23 jerseys, among other acts of anger and intolerance. However, for LeBron to subject the players of the Cavaliers to further embarrassment and humiliation by saying what happened Tuesday night was just and fair? Unbelievable. These are the same players that he abandoned after giving them hope. These are the same players he gave up on, only to eventually deem them unworthy of sharing the same court and same locker room that he occupied. So what did he do? He rode off on his high horse to bigger and better things, and now that he has a spot on top he believes he can look down on those who weren't good enough for him and tell them how to act, how to behave, and how to do right in the eyes of God. Although his tweet's direct target is ambiguous, it's the principal that remains clear as day: LeBron has put himself above everyone. In his eyes, he's God's right hand man, delivering us the message's from above. The irony and hypocrisy that accompany LeBron's words and actions are truly mind-boggling. In LeBron's mind, this is what happened: God saw how Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland fans reacted to LeBron's actions over the summer, and as punishment God used his wrath to make the Lakers win by 55 points Tuesday night. That seems really logical, because I'm sure God really cares about who wins a basketball game. What I don't get is why didn't LeBron just ask God what he should do instead of making a commercial about it? Oh that's right, because he's literally the most self-obsessed person on earth. Maybe he should've just asked the fans of Cleveland, because they had a few great ideas.

There are plenty of athletes I dislike, but there aren't many athletes I don't have any respect for. I don't like Tom Brady, but I respect the hell out of him. Ok, maybe the whole Ugg thing isn't so respectable, but I still have a lot of respect for the guy. LeBron, however, is a coward. He quit on the Cavaliers. He did it in the playoffs last year when things got hard and he did it in the offseason when he knew things weren't going to get easier. He wants things the easy way. If he had a bad night with the Cavs it was on him, however if he won with the Cavs it was because of him. Now if he has a bad game with the Heat he's got Dwayne Wade there to cover it up and make it like it never happened. He was the guy in Cleveland. He's one of the guys in Miami. However, he still acts like the guy. He acts like it's all about him, because his delusional way of thinking tells him that. When LeBron wins a championship (yes, it's hard to admit, but it became inevitable when he joined the Heat) it will not be because of LeBron James. It'll be because of the Big 3, or the "Heatles," as LeBron called them when he modestly compared his team to the Beatles, or whatever other name they can think of to put themselves in their own league.

Despite his ability to effectively play the villain that everyone hates, I don't think he's playing the role intentionally. I just don't think he's a very smart guy, and as a result he's puts himself in situations where all people can do is cringe and ask, "why is it always about LeBron??" After his tweet blew up he backtracked and tried to hide, perhaps realizing how insanely ridiculous that statement truly was. "It wasn't even a comment from me," he pleaded. "It was someone who sent it to me and I sent it out." Regardless of whether this is true or not his belief in the statement remains.

So, since all of us below LeBron are subjected to his infinite wisdom, all I can say is that I can't wait for karma to take its talents to South Beach.


PS - If you have a twitter, follow @lebronjamesego. To say it's hysterical would be a vast understatement.

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Posted by Kyle Mountain at 12:25 PM 0 comments
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