The 63rd game of the long NBA regular season has past, and the Miami Heat still have not found a way to win when it counts. Following the game, Head Coach Erik Spoelstra announced in his postgame interview that there were "a couple of guys crying in the locker room." Right now everything is working against "El Heat".
This helps prove that Erik Spoelstra should not be the Head Coach for a team with so many superstars. Yes it is true that the Heat are shooting 5% in late-game situations, and one can't blame Spoelstra for that. However, that doesn't mean it is a good idea to announce that tears are being shed in the locker room just because he is frustrated that his team is not clutch. Spoelstra continued on, trying to clean up the mess he created by stating how important the regular season is the the players, and that's why they were crying. If the Heat cannot handle the pressure of the regular season, how will the pressure of the NBA Playoffs be tolerated?
Lebron James proved during his years in Cleveland that he cannot make the final shot. Aside from a bomb that he launched against the Orlando Magic 2 years ago to seal a game, I can't remember any other. Although he is considered arguably the best player in the league, he is not the most important player on his team. The Miami Heat are still Dwayne Wade's team, and though Wade did take one of the two final missed shot in the latest choke episode versus the Chicago Bulls, the ball is not in his hands enough during late-game situations. Dwayne Wade has a ring, he knows how to win the big games, so why not trust Miami's top man with the ball at the end of a game?
This was not a game 7, Finals loss that everyone sacrificed through pain to win, this is just another game that the Heat could not finish in the middle of the regular season. It may not be until Pat Riley resurrects his coaching career that the Heat can come close to achieving champion status unless Erik Spoelstra learns how to manage and implement changes to his current under-manned, failing team. After all the hype, a championship is the only thing that will label the new-look Heat as a success.
As the year continues to take it's toll on the emotionally drained Heat, it's not only crunch-time for the players to make big shots down the stretch, but also for Erik Spoelstra to prove himself as a worthy adversary to Queen Lebron's realm by controlling the pieces on his team. The question is, can the Miami Heat ride out the storm of the regular season, and pull the pieces together for the NBA Playoffs?
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