Heat Checked?

After losing 4 straight (to playoff teams), the NBA's Heat are all 'woe is Miami'. Literally. According to head coach Erik Spoelstra, (unidentified) players were crying in the locker room after their loss to the Bulls. But, basketball fans--and the Heat, apparently--forget that the team is 43-20 and 1.5 games behind 2nd place in the East. All is not lost.

At the same time, this recent relapse isn't some mid-season Laker's skid where Kobe goes 60% in a couple games to nurse injuries, and the rest of the boys go out DiCaprio/ Jeter-level partying each night until 2 hours before tip off. As such, there are two issues with the Heat that perturb DBSF and need to be addressed.

First, have you ever watched a Heat game on TV? There are three things about Heat fans that irk DBSF. First, all the hype of having the new Big 3/ Big 2 + Chris Bosh and going from mediocre to arguably a top 5 team in the NBA seems to have had no effect on attendance. DBSF has watched too many games where not only are the upper levels empty but the lower level seats look like its a Raptors-Pacers mid-April NBDL tryout, or the Verizon Center hosting the first round of the A-10 tournament.

Not to mention, how many Lakers and Magic jerseys for a Bulls at Heat game is too many? Of course, DBSF should only expect so much from fans that boo a contending team when it gives up an 8-0 run to the NBA's best San Antonio Spurs. As much as people want to hate on LeBron and the Big 3-hype machine, do DBSF a favor--watch a Heat game and direct your hate at the appropriate party, Miami's "fans". (Seriously, watch it. Heat fans make all those Amazon Kindle-reading San Francisco Giant fans look like they're Steeler fans hosting the AFC championship at Heinz Field.)

Second, in the press conference, after the close loss to the Magic in which LeBron missed some important--and questionable--late shots, DWade commented that a lot of the guys on the team hadn't yet played at an elite level (i.e., the NBA finals) and that those players needed to adapt if they wished to win close games. Interestingly, DWade said this while sitting next to LeBron (no championships for those keeping score), who's most recent late game heroics were more MacGruber than MacGyver. DBSF's reaction? DWade is implying--and rightly so--that until LeBron delivers a championship to Miami this is DWade's team, and he should be taking the last shot.

Also, a video--that if real--suggests white people just went +10 on the racial score card. This is like Eminem-level encroachment. This kid almost makes up for when white people went through that rap-rock phase.