Finally, after the hype and hoopla that surrounded the Miami Heat and its trio of stars, they had a meaningful game. Finally, the fans and detractors had something to gauge just how capable of succeeding they can be.
Too bad the outcome wasn’t one that would suggest this team is ready to run rampant over the other 29 teams in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics outlasted the Miami Heat 88-80 in the opening night game for the NBA brand. The game was very sloppy for both teams, but apparently the media has made it a point to suggest that the Celtics dominated the Heat. If you watched the game with any kind of objectivity, you know that wasn’t the case.
This game was horribly officiated. The Celtics were allowed to do what they normally do, which is play dirty. Garnett was clearly up to his old habits and did a quality job of getting in Chris Bosh’s head, but it didn’t help matters that the officiating allowed Garnett to grab and push Bosh at will. The same applied on a few cases with Pierce on James and Allen on Wade.
With that said, in spite of all the struggles, the Heat were still in contention to win the game. They were down three with a minute and 20 seconds remaining. However, LeBron James failed to close out on Paul Pierce and Ray Allen three-pointers and that was basically the game.
Why Was Carlos Arroyo Playing?
The first mistake of the game was the idiotic decision of head coach Erik Spoelstra starting Carlos Arroyo in favor of Mario Chalmers. I found it odd that Chalmers wasn’t a opening night starter, especially being that he was the second leading scorer for the Miami Heat in their previous playoff series versus Boston.
In 25 minutes per game during that series, Chalmers posted nearly 11 points per game. In 121 minutes Chalmers only yielded 12 turnovers (2.4 per game), so the argument that his ball handling was the issue is just another lie by the Miami media and Heat coaching staff. Especially when Chalmers also finished with more assist and steals then Arroyo.
Carlos Arroyo had no success versus the Celtics during that series. He averaged a meager 5 points in 23 minutes per game. This game would prove no different as Arroyo totaled 3 points and posted zero assists.
Minus one for Erik Spoelstra.
Dwyane Wade Struggles
More than anything, it appeared that Dwyane Wade allowed the officiating to get him out of his game. He was called for a travel on his patented step-through. Coincidentally, Rondo would score on a similar play a bit later. The call resulted in the Heat coaching staff being hit with a technical for their animated displeasure. Wade was also called for a palming violation just moments prior to his traveling violation.
The Celtics were allowed to be physical with Wade. He had five drives at the basket where there was obvious contact, yet no whistles were blown as Wade was left laying on the hardwood. There was also a questionable offensive foul drawn by Glen Davis. Replays clearly showed that Davis was in the restricted area as well as moving under a player already airborne. Both are illegal for a defender to do.
With that said, Wade still managed to tally more assist than the other Heat starters combined. He also managed to do the same in regards to steals (three). Even though he played six fewer minutes than LeBron James, he managed to tally the same amount of rebounds.
Wade finished with 13 points (4-of-16), six assist, four rebounds, three steals, zero blocks and six turnovers (second on the team behind James’ eight).
It should be noted that the Associated Press reported that Wade was the one covering Ray Allen on his three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining.
That wasn’t true; it was Eddie House covering him initially. Allen ran baseline and House was picked. James was supposed to switch but failed to recognize the play. Amazing how the people in charge of reporting the information either chose to lie or neglected to learn the truth.
Chris Bosh Struggles
The numbers of Chris Bosh sure looked a lot like those of Michael Beasley. The only difference is Beasley was a 21-year-old and Chris Bosh is 26 years of age. Yet I somehow don’t see the Miami media coming down on him for his lack of contribution.
Bosh wasn’t much of a post threat versus the taller and stronger Garnett. He took only 11 attempts, most of which were jumpers. He did put the ball on the floor three different times, one resulting in a powerful jam as he blew by Garnett.
Bosh and Kevin Garnett would share words because of Garnett and his dirty antics. But for the most part Bosh was up and down with his comfort level. He did do a good job defending Garnett with the exception of allowing a few open jumpers.
LeBron James’ Debute
First off, we can all forget about what the idiotic Steve Smith said about James averaging a triple double this season—or ever, for that matter. Too many players on the Heat excel at the categories of assist and rebounding.
In regards to James’ play, like Wade, it left something to be desired. But then again what Heat player didn’t? He had eight turnovers to go with his three assist. He struggled in roles of facilitator and go to scorer. With the Celtics electing not to double him for the most part, James didn’t make things on his teammates easier.
He would score 10 points in the first half, 15 in the third quarter and six in the fourth quarter. What was odd is the fact that he had one assist in the first half and two in the second. That’s not going to cut it, not when he has 37 touches and Dwyane Wade has 21.
There were several occasions that he failed to hit open teammates, the biggest was on the break where Pierce was charged with an offensive foul. James had Wade out a head of the brake but elected to not throw the easy lob pass. One can only hope this isn’t the selfish nature that James referred that the Heat All-Star trio needed more of.
Heat’s Bench Production
Much is being made of the Boston Celtics bench and what they did this game. ESPN and NBAtv analyst are saying that the Celtics bench clearly outplayed that of the Heat. Yet the numbers and results provide a different story.
The Celtics bench scored 26 points, the Heat managed 23.
The Celtics bench managed 10 rebounds, the Heat 16.
The Celtics bench managed one assist, the Heat three.
The Celtics bench managed zero steals, the Heat five.
The Celtics bench managed three blocks, the Heat two.
The Celtics bench managed three turnovers, the Heat two.
So once again the Media is creating its own reality. As a matter of fact, the Heat shot 48 percent in the second half thanks to the production of its bench. It’s also the reason why the Heat outscored the Celtics 27-18 in the third quarter and 50 to 43 in the second half.
In Conclusion: Heat Will Be Just Fine
When one looks at the final score and statistics, or takes into consideration how badly one team was outcoached by the other, it’s rather easy to see why the Heat’s all-star trio isn’t too concerned with losing a game they nearly won.
Boston clearly has the better coach and more talented team, yet they barely hung on against a team that spent all of three minutes playing together and were without three of its top seven players.
So rather than panic, it’s obvious that the Heat will take this experience and learn from it, starting with their matchup versus the Philadelphia 76ers tonight.
Team Statistics Recap
Both teams finished with eight three-pointers made (Miami 8/20) (Boston 8/16).
Boston out rebounded the Heat (42-39). Miami finished with more blocks (6-4).
Boston turned the ball over more (18-17). Boston finished with more assist (15-25).
One should hate to see what the Heat can accomplish when they really start clicking and finally get a coach that gets it.
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