The Miami Heat were up 26-17 late in the first quarter, leaving a blaze of 10 made baskets in a row behind them. The mustard yellow t-shirt clad Midwest crowd was quiet, anxious, teetering on a brink of nerves that the star-laden Heat (even without their third guy Chris Bosh) were ready to blow game 3 wide open.

Dwyane Wade couldn’t shoot (in the first half he couldn’t even score!), but LeBron was playing well and Mario Chalmers was playing great. A few more stops and some points, and Miami could shut up the doubters, put together an impressive double digit lead, and head to Sunday with home court back on their side.

And then… well, none of that happened.

Miami lost their lead in the second, lost their cool in the third, and watched helplessly as the Pacers blew the lid off the 4^th sending a pissed off Wade and a deflated LeBron to the bench with 2 minutes left, as a wild crowd, revived by their terrific young team, stormed towards a 2-1 series lead.

There was no chest-bumping or screaming this time. Just some hugs, some confident scowls, and that look of a team playing with house money. Pacers versus the World.

Indiana 94 Miami 75.

It was just one game, but it felt like 4.  All the hard-work and energy Miami had put into their lockout-shortened season came undone, and the prohibitive favorite to stomp the East, suddenly looked back behind it where a hungry Indiana team wasn’t prepared to give an inch.

You want this series, come and take it.

Because it’s Indiana’s right now and not just because of Chris Bosh’s injury or Dwyane Wade’s slow decline. It’s because Miami’s inability to master a half-court set that consistently works is allowing bigger teams like the Pacers to swallow the lane, confounding Miami’s drivers to jump shooters. Miami’s 3 point gunners appear to have been gunned down.

The Heat have hit just 6 3’s in this entire series. They were 4-20 on this night. Shane Battier, the savvy veteran signing by Pat Riley this offseason missed all 7 of the shots he took. Mike Miller, the $30 million man, made 2, but took just 3 in total. There was LeBron clanks and Wade clanks and Chalmers clanks and by the time all the clanking was over, Miami needed to be clanked over the head, to remind themselves that they still knew how to shoot.

75 points in back to back games? That’s the Heat without Bosh?

Dexter Pittman? That’s their ace in the hole as a guy to slow down 7 foot 2 Roy Hibbert?

The Heat were supposed to have a plan by now. A blue-print. A backup idea.

What is it? Pray?

***

Miami got out to a quick start to begin this lockout-shortened season, and they did it by out-running the opposition. They decided to play small, and one of their strategies was to cool it on the jump shots and keep it in the paint. LeBron and Wade were part of this strategy and their 3 pointers were down considerably. James himself didn’t even shoot 3s at the start of the season.

It was working. Miami was playing fast and the opponent couldn’t contain them. While the D was slipping, the O was clicking. Miami looked unstoppable.

Early in the season in a game against Boston, rookie Norris Cole nearly imploded twitter with a spectacular 2^nd half performance to propel Miami to an early season statement win. With Battier on board and a healthy Miller and Udonis Haslem, Miami many believed, was the deepest team in the league.

Tonight they played 11 guys, not because they’re deep, but because they’re desperate.

The Heat have been unable to get into transition against the long armed Pacers and even when they’ve got into the open court Indiana has been able to control the madness. What you’re left with is a Heat team unable to penetrate the paint with any type of consistency, and a Miami team getting badly outrebounded 52-36. Miami had 9 assists on the night. Nine? Steve Nash gets that in his sleep.

Without Bosh the Heat have no go to guy in the paint, no suave long jump shooter with size. While Bosh is far from the perfect specimen he helps space the floor so that the Heat can have open lanes. But even with Bosh in the fold, Miami can’t win a championship unless they hit a three.

And forget championships, Miami isn’t going to get out of the second round unless they start playing like a team.  LeBron is a great player, Wade usually is too, but this 2 on 5 crap will not get it done. 3 on 5 is hard enough, but asking 2 guys to carry 1 team is damn near next to impossible.

If you don’t get contributions from everyone, if you don’t move the ball around and get guys easy shots in the paint, you’re going to struggle. No matter who you are.

So for the next few days Miami will get blitzed once more for being over-rated, soft, floppers, whatever.

The odds are already not in their favor to win 4 of 5, but history aside, the Heat need to be on the same page. It’s not rocket science. It’s called team basketball and it involves everyone filling their role.

The Heat have until Sunday to figure it out; To turn this around. To bring back home-court to their house. If they don’t, the consequences could be dire.

And the nation will be laughing.

Photo: AP

LeBron James loses even when he wins. And when he wins a lot he still loses, because a winning streak has to end eventually, and when a winning streak in which you beat teams by double digits nine straight times ends in dramatic, gut-wrenching fashion, with him passing up the final shot, despite an out of this world 17 point, 8-9 4^th Quarter, the media still finds fault, because he lost.

Because he had the ball late and chose to defer. First he passed up foul shots to Dywane Wade.  Then he passed up the final shot, because Udonis Haslem (who had 4 points on the night) had a better look.  This in spite of the fact that LeBron was hitting anything and everything in the final quarter and was flexing his clutch muscles like it was no one’s business.

Miami (28-8) has won 9 of 10 despite the loss, and the Heat were down by 17 with 4 minutes and change in the 3^rd, before an unstoppable King brought Miami back.

His numbers, as good as it gets, on a night commemorating Will Chamberlain’s historic 100 point night. While LeBron didn’t reach 100 or get close to the hallowed mark, he did manage a measely 35 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. On the second night of a back to back in Salt Lake City against an opponent that wouldn’t make the playoffs if the season ended tonight.  But despite being without Chris Bosh once again, LeBron and the Heat were determined to snatch this one from the gritty Jazz.

When LeBron made ‘The Decision’ in the Summer of 2010, he not only took his talents to South Beach, he took his every move and put it under the most scrutinized of microscopes.  When he playfully said, “not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7,” a fun enthusiastic jolt of excitement, became his media measuring stick.

Ever since, everything he says, does, tweet, shoots, passes, and moves is scrutinized.  If he breathes wrong it’s a top story. No athlete has ever faced this kind of unfair pressure.

So tonight, in one of the great 4^th quarter performances in recent memory, LeBron lost because his pass to an open UD didn’t result in a made shot.  He lost because Wade made two unsightly fouls late, and missed an important foul shot that would have made it a two possession game. LeBron lost because as Jon Barry put it, “he made the right play at the wrong time.”

Then LeBron promptly went on twitter and spilled his guts for the entire world to see:

Great conversations with @mavcarter & @BrandonWeems10 after tonight’s tough loss! U guys are absolutely right!! Re-adjust and Re-focused

Man I have a sick feeling in my stomach right now! Really wanted tonight’s game. I just had to make one more dang play out there.

A stop, rebound, a shot, assist, a block, whatever it took. I fell short again!

He appeared to take full responsibility for the loss, despite the fact that it really wasn’t his fault at all, and appeared to be genuine in his assessment that this one really hurt. But using the word ‘again’ just feeds into the hungry media breathing down his neck.

We generally like it when our athletes are honest. But when LeBron’s honest he’s blasted, because he’s too honest. When he passes up the game winning shot in an All Star Game he’s crucified. When it’s the game winning attempt in a real NBA game he nearly blows up twitter. It’s hard to truly feel sorry for a guy who wants to be a billionaire and is set for life 10x over, but James really can’t win no matter what he does.

He’s clearly the most complete player on the planet, as put by Heat long-time play by play guy Eric Reid and countless others, but people simply choose to omit what he does for the first 45 minutes, when he screws up somewhere along the line in the last 3. And he didn’t screw up tonight, he merely passed up a chance to win the game himself, instead giving it up to Haslem.

Haslem was the right basketball move, but LeBron is no dummy. He knows that the world wants to see him shoot the clutch game winner.  He knows that the world wants to see him make the clutch winner, before they let the harness off of his neck even a bit. So he has to know that when he passes up the game winning shot, he’s going to get blasted even if it goes in.

This is no longer about LeBron and his abilities.  This is about LeBron being what the rest of the world wants him to be.  This isn’t about his talents or where he took them, it’s about his semi-killer instinct. He has it, he doesn’t, maybe he just enjoys spicing it up.  LeBron doesn’t need to prove his greatness. He’s a beast, a monster, a guy so talented that we love to find faults in his game, because it makes him seem more human.

This isn’t about LeBron the basketball player.  This is about LeBron, the legend.  This is about the expectations that the world has for him.  Wilt Chamberlain was maybe the greatest player who ever lived, and even he only won 2 titles.  But he also didn’t live under the microscope, because there hardly was a microscope back then. He didn’t have to answer to a horde of reporters, instant blogs, and criticism from Twitter, because that platform had yet to really be created.

Athletes were more mythical then because their every move wasn’t documented.  They had an air of mystique because we didn’t know everything about them. Fans didn’t dwell on their every moment, because there was no 24 hour news cycle.  It was a different time and a different game.

Today we live in a buzzworthy society, where key words trump whole stories. LeBron passed up another game winner?  Headline! LeBron scored what? Did what? Back story.

People don’t hate the Heat the way they did last year, this is merely a LeBron thing. While I agree that he should have taken the shot instead of passing, it wasn’t a bad play.  It just didn’t seem right. It felt incomplete.  The way he was shooting, it seemed like he couldn’t miss.  Competitors want the kill, and LeBron has shown that ability more times than not.  But sometimes, it does seem like he’s happy to give that chance up to someone else.   Call it, too unselfishly unselfish.

Hardcore LeBron fans and Heat fans were quick to come to his side after the game in a rash of spirited defensive tweets. Blame Wade, blame Haslem, but don’t put one iota of this on LeBron they howled.

But it was one tweet that stood out, with someone writing, the Heat would have been better off losing by a ton.

And they’re kinda sorta right.  In one of those, you can’t miss the game winning shot, if you’re blown out kinds of thing.

Ridiculous. But true.

And even if the Heat win 5 titles, it will be the 6^th that they didn’t get.  It will be because D-Wade did it. Or because Bosh made the clutch jumper.  Or because someone on the other team messed up.

For LeBron it starts with one question and goes from there: Does this truly bother him?  Does this ongoing dissection of his every basketball move and every tweet off of it bother him?   If it does, he can dig himself out, by taking the final shot when he’s on fire. He can say, hey, I’m not afraid of nothing.

LeBron James is a phenomenal talent and a remarkable player, but this shadow is going to follow him for awhile.  If it doesn’t bother him, then he should be true to himself, and his instincts.  If it’s affecting him, there’s only one way to change perception.

Rewrite it.

And the beat goes on.

Photo: Reuters

MITCH BLATT

Juiced Sports recently conducted a poll and found that–not surprisingly–most Americans hate the Heat as do most international fans as well. (My own commentary on James is an example.) However, during my travels in China, wherein I have been studying and traveling since February, I have found that most Chinese basketball fans like the Heat–often naming Miami as their favorite team.

To be sure, Juiced Sports‘ poll also found some Chinese don’t like the Heat–which is true–but the sample size of Chinese fans in JSB’s poll was too small to capture the broader feelings that I have seen in conversations with many people while in China. In my experience–and as has been cited by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Yao Blogger and by Bleacher Report’s Senior Analyst Pat Mixon–Chinese fans love a winner. Kobe Bryant has long been the leading jersey sold in China.

But if the Chinese love a winner, why do they love LeBron and the Heat? Despite the results of the NBA Finals, the Heat were put into that “winner” status the moment LeBron and Chris Bosh donned their jerseys and the flames ignited. They dominated the media hype going into the season, and for most of the season, they lived up to the hype and were one of the best teams in the regular season.

On a small sample of two Chinese basketball fan friends who are studying abroad in America, both of them supported the Mavericks over the Heat in the Finals because they don’t like LeBron and his decision.

Not surprisingly, a lot of Chinese also like the Houston Rockets, but that trend will slow down now that Yao Ming is about to retire. As a student at Indiana University last semester, I went with some of my Chinese study abroad friends to Indianapolis to watch the Pacers-Rockets game last season, and despite Yao Ming not playing because of injury, the amount of people of Chinese descent attending the game, in a state with a very small Asian-American population, was extremely noticeable (including sizeable percentage of the IU international student population). Juiced Sports has previously noted how Chinese advertisements adorn the Rockets arena.

Without Yao, female tennis star Li Na (“Sister Na”) is now China’s most popular athlete, especially after winning the French Open this summer.

We took a poll on the site asking if you ‘Hated the Heat.’ Well, the results are in, and it’s not all that close: apparently you do.

The NBA is in the midst of what could be an ugly lockout, but that hasn’t quite taken the hate from the Heat. Sure, more people are focused on David Stern, Billy Hunter, and idiots like Michael Beasley getting arrested, along with Deron Williams possibly playing in Turkey — Did you say Turkey? — but it still fascinates me that the Heat are still a relevant topic of interest. I personally expect a long lockout, and I expect the sting of that to actually soothe the anger still focused on Miami (ironic how a lockout would probably benefit the Heat’s Big Three in the sense of sanity returning to fans and their emotions).

But I digress. The numbers are pretty clear. We asked if you ‘Hate the Heat’ and 60% of you said Yes, 40% said No. People hate the Heat in China, Puerto Rico, and yup, even Turkey (though I’d bet you they would feel differently about LeBron if he choose to take his talents to their country).

Leave it to Canada to abstain from the hate. We got a pair of votes from British Columbia, and both said No. Freaking eh.

Still, America hates the Heat from sea to shining sea if our small sample size is any indication. From Stowe, VT to San Francisco, CA.

As for the Dallas/Ft-Worth area, well not surprisingly they despise the Heat too: 10 out of their 11 votes were hate towards Miami. As for the state of Florida: 5 people voted in the Sunshine State with 4 voicing their opinion that No, they do not hate the Heat.

One person in Berlin voted No, along with another person in the Philippines. The moral to the story: Heat feelings exist all over the world.

So what about you: Do you Hate the Heat? Leave your answer below. Once again, thanks for voting.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

After a year of unprecedented media attention and scrutiny, the likes of which no pro sports team in North America has ever been put under, the Miami Heat are back for more.  The mastermind behind their assembly, Pat Riley made it clear he’s not backing down one bit.

“Not one, not two, not three…” were not Riley’s words as he addressed the media a few days before the 2011 NBA Draft, in which the Heat have the 31^st pick.

Instead he said the following: “I can say this,” he began. “We will be a multiple championship-contending team. This was a great year. It was a disappointing ending.”

Like a politician Riley masked his words carefully.  Just what that quote means is up for debate, but the fact that Riley said it, means he’s willing to pour more media fire on a team that basically imploded with a championship right there for the taking.

Multiple-championship contending team?  There is no doubt in my mind, and probably anyone’s, that barring an unforeseen injury to the Big Three, that Miami will be a legitimate contender for the foreseeable future.  But does multiple-championship contending team mean that Riley is guaranteeing for all the world to hear that the Heat will win not one, but at least two titles with their current makeup?

After a season where every word they said was put under the microscope, Miami would be wise to watch their words this off-season and coming season (whenever that is).

After an embattled mostly successful year coaching sports’ most fascinating soap opera, Erick Spoelstra will be back on the bench for another go at it.  Riley said he still has the fire, but it sounds as if he is unwilling to pull the rug from beneath Spoelstra’s feet.  Thus, Spoelstra will enter the 2011-12 season in an even crazier position than he entered last year: on a contract that supposedly has one year left, with a team that has to win a championship, or else.

No pressure Erick.

Riley’s loyalty is understandable: Spoelstra was his hand picked successor after Riley retired to focus strictly on being the GM.  Spoelstra did guide the Heat to an NBA Finals appearance a year after getting ousted meekly in the first round.  Spoelstra did lead the Heat past Boston and Chicago and within 2 wins of an NBA title.

Still, the questions remain.  Is he the guy to maximize LeBron James massive potential?  Can he develop an offensive set that allows the Big Three to flourish as a team, not individually?  Can he settle on a consistent lineup earlier on in the season, so that he’s not playing scientist come Spring 2012?

Riley made it clear he expects improvement from James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh this offseason.  For James that means figuring out what wronged him in the Finals.  For Wade, it’s a little more overall consistency and a continued emphasis on conditioning, as he prepares to enter his 30’s.  For Bosh, Riley wants the former Raptor to bulk up some more and improve his physical conditioning.

That will be one of the keys moving forward with this team.  The Big Three all have room for big improvement, but can they make that leap as individuals, and as a team?  The leap is a meager 2 games, but getting back to The Finals is never guaranteed.  That’s why the Heat need to use this off-season to fine tune their team and their stars.

The draft is also coming up, with the Heat trying to buy into the first round. They could use a quality point guard to go along with Mario Chalmers, who has been extended a qualifying offer allowing Miami to match any offer he receives.  Dexter Pittman is a project at center, but the former Texas center could develop into a quality guy at the position for a team desperately in need of a quality big to man the middle and crash the boards.

Plus, with Miami’s draft picks hoarded in Cleveland for the next few seasons, youth will not be what gets the league’s oldest team a title.  Miami will likely look to more veterans this offseason, guys like Samuel Dalmbert who have had quality NBA careers and are now looking for that elusive ring.

Riley, ever the splashy wordsmen, was adamant that the Big Three was not just a big deal, but that it was “The greatest thing in the history of south Florida sports {with the exception of the 1972 Miami Dolphins}…”

Attention wise it’s hard to disagree, but South Florida has seen a handful of championship teams in the past 14 years, including this same Heat franchise winning their first NBA title, which at the time seemed like a pretty big deal.  But we live in a sports world overdosed on hype, so in that regard this Heat experiment was a really big deal.  But greatest thing in the history of South Florida?  That remains to be seen.

Quash the Dwight Howard for LeBron trade rumors too.  Riley sounds like he has no intention of breaking up this team.  If you think about it, why would he, like Jason Whitlock idiotically suggested?  It would signal that he was wrong, which is not something Riley would ever admit to after his team fell just two games short.  Also, he’s behind the scenes with these guys on a daily basis: he knows this team better than the media.

The only thing I’m not taking his word for is draft picks.  If you’re looking for Miami to land a big time player with their draft picks I’d think otherwise.  Sans Wade and Caron Butler, Miami’s draft picks this past decade have been relatively inept.  And don’t expect an international project to come in and save the day: Riley doesn’t go into those waters.

Still, it was a bold move for Riley to fan the flames on Miami’s coaching situation, and for him to stand by his team, his creation.  Riley is the mad scientist, and this team is his Frankenstein.  Given the right tweaks they can be unstoppable. Some miscalculations though, and this could be an epic failure.

Mark Cuban and the Mavs may have George Lopez Tonight to talk on, but the reality is this: all eyes remain firmly on the Heat.  Year two is underway.  Bring back the circus.

Photo: AP

This is what I thought on Sunday as the Mavs ran out the clock on secured their first NBA title.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

I have always been taught to be humble and show respect in my daily life, but not this time.  I called Dallas winning the whole thing against the Heat.  Even though they were the underdogs, I called it.  Mwahahahaha.

Take that, LeBron James!  I know you’re getting a ton of criticisms right now against you and you probably don’t care what I have to say, but heed my words: talk is cheap. And your talk is useless.  5,6,7 championships?  Try NONE!  A ha ha ha ha.

My advice to you, Lebron, now that I have calmed down, is this: you need to take this offseason to cool down and get ready for the tomatoes to fly. You have sparked quite a wave of hatred against you this past season, and I think it’s important that you take this time to get back to what really matters: your game.  Focus less on what you will say at a press conference and focus more on your jump shot. Don’t make any more claims, or any more assertions.

Can I just take a moment to say how happy I am that Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki now have a ring?  So happy for both of them, they really deserved it.  Also Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, you guys are straight up ballers, no lie.

Back to the matter at hand: James.  You are alone.  Cleveland doesn’t like you,  Miami doesn’t really like you (Wade will always be the favorite child), and now I’m sure even most of those who praised you have found something to criticize you for. Again, my advice: take this time to humble yourself.  Don’t make a commercial.  Don’t schedule a press conference.  Certainly don’t go up on a stage and make poses.  Just go the gym and shoot around, please.  Maybe then this storm will die out.

Photo: Reuters

When it rains, it pours. A day after being eliminated from the NBA Finals the Miami Herald accidentally ran a Macy’s ad which congratulated the Heat on their NBA championship.  No, this wasn’t a throwback ad to 2006, this was a real ad that was supposed to run in Wednesday’s edition had the Heat forced a game 7 and won it. Awkward!

Now I understand that mistakes happen all the time, and newspapers, especially ones as large and prominent as the Miami Herald are prone a mishap here and there.  But what boggles my mind is how an ad congratulating the Heat on winning the championship was even in their database with the Heat needing two more wins and staring at elimination.  That’s what blows my mind here.  The ad which made national headlines (like anything Heat related nowadays) sure brought a lot of attention to Macy’s and the Herald.  The question is, was all of this attention on one ill-timed ad a good thing for Macy’s?  Is any publicity good publicity? Curious to hear your thoughts.

JIM RUBERA
(Rubera writes for The Spop)

Well that was fun.  LeBron really did this to himself.  He had the NBA and its fans in the palm of his hand for his first 6 years.  People loved him.  They admired him.  They shook off his antics because he was charismatic, an incredible performer, and apparently loyal to his home town.

Now he might be the most hated athlete in existence.  The most telling stat is in the ratings.  Last night’s game was watched by 22% more people than last year’s game six.  For those with short memories, last year’s finals featured the Lakers and Celtics…the two most storied and popular franchises in the league.  This year more people tuned in for one reason.  To watch the Heat lose.

The eye test doesn’t lie either.  If you stayed up to watch the Dallas celebration on the court you noticed that the arena was more than half full.  That means two things to me.  One, that Heat ticket holders are spineless glory whores that sold their tickets to more Dallas fans than they should have because they couldn’t win the title on that particular night.  Two, that not only all the Dallas fans stayed for the celebration (obviously), but…a lot of Heat fans too.  I don’t know about you, but if somebody won the title on my team’s home court I would elbow my buddy and say “Let’s get the hell out of here.  I’m not watching this.”  Miamians stuck around to see the beautiful people.  They have no real allegiance.

Which leads to the saddest point of all for Lebron.  He has no real fan base.  He has nobody that will back him up when things go bad.  America hates him.  Cleveland HATES him.  And his own fans just want to be seen on tv with shades and designer t-shirts.  It’s sad because, like I said before, he used to be a good guy.  I used to be a huge fan.  I used to get in arguments with my friends that he might be bigger and better than Michael.  And I doubt I was the only one.  Wow were we wrong.  And all he had to do was just make better decisions and keep people in mind other than himself.

Call Dan Gilbert before you go public with your rightful choice to play for Miami.  Apologize to him and thank him for everything he’s done for you.  Offer to sponsor a new part of the Cav’s arena dedicated to the fans with some gadgets and games as a gesture of your appreciation to the organization.

Take a page out of Tiger’s book and make a commercial that’s humble.  That shows humility.  That shows the Cleveland fans during the good times and maybe a tear or a hung head from you as the picture fades out.  Think Nike wouldn’t go for that?  Don’t make a commercial that is a 90 second testament to how badass and righteous you are where you use the word “I” thirty times.  (Yeah, go count)

Don’t fan the flames at press conferences or in front of your locker when things are going poorly.  Yes, we DO want you to lose.  You don’t have to act like a martyr because of it.

Don’t let sports writers get in your head in the 4th quarter.  You’re better than that.  You made these moves.  Back them up.  It only makes it worse when you shy away from the moment and pass the ball like it’s a bowl of squash on Thanksgiving.

And for the love of God, don’t compensate for your failure by reminding people that you’re going back to your mansion in Miami and that we have to get up and go to work and worry about money.

Someday maybe he’ll learn, but until then he’s doomed to face the reality that he has created.  What he doesn’t realize is that people could still be rooting for him in Miami.  He could have still been one of the good guys if he had just gotten over himself and tried to be a person instead of a comic book character.

We are all witnesses to the power of self destruction.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

Over-reaction.  It’s one of the things that makes sports fantastic.  Like everyone anointing Dirk Nowitzki as a top 10 player in history because of one sensational playoff run.  It’s why I have such respect for Michael Wilbon when he tells those people to stop it, and just enjoy the moment.

We sensationalize everything.  It makes sports sexier.  But sometimes people over-react to the point that it makes them an idiot.  Case in point: Fox Sports writer Jason Whitlock.

Now I’m sorry, because I’m not one to write up personal attacks, but Mr. Whitlock, you my friend sound like a real joke when you write that the Heat Should Pull the Plug on the Big Three.  In all my years of reading sports columns, this has got to be one of the dumbest, most over-reactive pieces of journalism (sure we’ll call it that) that I’ve ever come across.

Blow up the Big Three? Why?  They came within two wins of an NBA championship without a starting point guard or a center that contributed anything offensively.  They were using Juwan Howard and Eddie House in big pressure minutes because their minimum salary roster sans obviously Wade, LeBron, Bosh, Haslem, and Miller despite the fact that Howard is 37 and had barely played this season, and that House is a journeyman streak shooter who usually gets two shots a game to either get hot or get benched.

But sure, let’s blow up the Heat because they failed to deliver a title in their FIRST year as a trifecta.  Let’s call this experiment a colossal failure because they had a few collapses at the end of fourth quarters.  Miami could have swept this series, but it was Dallas who came up big in the final quarter.

Whitlock: “They can’t survive what we just witnessed, a Finals meltdown of historic proportion, an ego deflation that is being celebrated throughout the basketball world.”

Yes, they can you dope.  The Heat withstood every punch the worldwide and national media threw at them this season, and managed to chug along to the second seed in the East, pile-driving the conference into submission en route to the Finals.  In the first three rounds Wade and LeBron had one bad game together in the fourth: against Philadelphia in game 4, when the Heat on the verge of a sweep, coughed up a late lead allowing the Sixers to salvage a game.

If you’re a professional athlete you relish being the hunted.  Miami’s already been anointed the favorites for next year, and who can blame them, they only stand to get better, given the fact they’ll actually have more than just minimum salaries to dole out.  LeBron, Wade, and Bosh have all been Olympians.  They’ve all been All Stars multiple times.  Wade and LeBron will likely one day end up in the Hall of Fame.  To become great teams you have to lose first in the NBA. It’s just how it goes.  Every team has had their opposition, before getting to the top (Even Jordan’s Bulls). This will be good for Miami.  This will humble them and they will come back stronger next year.

They will figure this thing out.  They will get themselves a center and find consistent point guard play.  They will land a shooter who can come off screens to hit big shoots.  LeBron will work effortlessly on his game this off-season to develop more of a post up move, and he will come back next season more aggressive than ever.  He reads the stuff people say about him. Yeah, he wasn’t all there in this Finals appearance and his Finals track record isn’t great, but Wade is a fiery competitor who got hurt at the worst time, and Bosh proved to me that he can be a valuable asset on this team.

Whitlock: It’s over. Wade’s brainchild and Pat Riley’s free-agent coup is a failure. The right thing to do is to blow it up before it dies as a result of friendly fire.

Who paid you to write this, Dan Gilbert?  What person in their right mind would deem this experiment a failure?  Consider the vantage point of the Heat: they went from a middle of the road team that was knocked out in 5 games by the Boston Celtics in round 1 of last year’s playoffs.  This year they improved from 47 wins to 58.  From fifth in the Eastern Conference to Second.

They went from the first round to the Finals.  From irrelevant to the most talked about team in sports.  They sold out every game — even if some fair weather fans showed up a little late or not at all.  They brought unprecedented traffic to their website, and their broadcasts drew huge ratings.  LeBron’s jersey was the number one seller in the league, and the Heat were the hottest road ticket in the league by a mile.

They were the most talked about, dissected, and hated team in North America.  They overtook the Yankees as villain #1.  They did that in a year while creating a firestorm so big it spawned basketball’s popularity beyond the traditional NBA fan.  Their partnering drew in the casual fan, and helped bring TNT, ESPN, and ABC unbelievable ratings throughout these playoffs.  It was the most talked about NBA regular season in over a decade.

Lest us forget that they didn’t have a pre-season to really get their mojo going, because they had injuries to deal with.  O yeah, Haslem was out for most of the year, Mike Miller was a non-factor for much of the season too because of his finger.  Those were two key cogs who given time, were good pieces to surround the Big Three.

When Miami clicked they were the most dynamic team in the sport, and by far the best finishers (not to be confused with closers).  Wade, LeBron, and Bosh knocked out the Celtics practically all by their lonesome in the playoffs and accounted for nearly 80% of Miami’s points.

Up until the last few games Miami’s defense was being hailed as the best in the league.  In year one.  A few bad games, a three game losing streak, some odd LeBron comments and disappearance acts and that’s it, you say just blow it up?

Whitlock: Spo must go. So must any notion that Miami is a serious sports town.

“Our fans just punked the s*** out of the Miami fans,” said Dallas owner Mark Cuban, referring to the 3,000 to 4,000 Mavericks fans inside Miami’s American Airlines Arena for Game 6.

I’m still not sold on Spoelstra, who I think is a pretty good defensive coach, but has no clue what he’s doing offensively.  Often times late in games Miami’s spacing was terrible and if they weren’t settling for forced three point ‘hero’ shots, they were over-passing into turnovers.  Miami needs to run set plays, and create a flow with which makes their offense at least somewhat unpredictable.  Too much 1 on 1, too much indecision, not the blueprint to close games.

Any notion that this column should be taken seriously goes out the window with you too attacking South Florida sports fans.  I am really tired of this notion that South Florida isn’t a sports town just because rich people who don’t care that much and ticket brokers gobble up the seats  in place of the die-hards who really do but can’t afford it.

Miami’s season tickets sold out like hot cakes this year, and a lot of the fans who were reluctant to renew their seats because they didn’t know what would happen with Wade, lost out.  Miami has plenty of true hard core fans.  I’ve been in sports bars in South Florida, I’ve been to games, I’ve listened to talk radio whether it was 790 The Ticket or 560 WQAM. You have no idea how passionate some of the people in South Florida are.  It bears remarking, South Florida is not a cold place, thus there are more things to do, and more things to compete against.  While I wouldn’t call South Florida a great sports town, it’s certainly not a horrible one.  One final thing: it’s a town of transplanted Northerners.  We don’t have the same history and connections that the Bostonians and New Yorkers have with their teams.  The Heat have been around since 1988.  Think about that.  Barely 20 years.

Whitlock: LeBron James is a man without a country. He abandoned Cleveland. And Miami has no love for him. The Heat fans who sold their tickets to Dallas supporters will now unleash their vitriol on King James. He’s a national laughingstock, a late-night punch line. He’s a hard-to-love Charlie Brown.Worse, because of his putrid performance in the last three games, his ability to command respect within the Heat locker room (and across the NBA) has been severely undermined. His pregame speeches will forever sound phony and hollow. There’s no reason for Wade to share the leadership role with James again.

Again, shortsighted, and stupid. Heat fans are bitter because the Heat were the perceived better team but they lost.  LeBron’s play at the end of the series was puzzling and he did look a little bit rattled.  But to say Miami has no love for him is just flat out ignorant.  It’s year one.  This has been Wade’s town for seven years and he has demonstrated both on and usually off the court that he is a class individual.  O yeah, he’s also won a ring with the Heat.  He’s “been there.”  Give it time man.  LeBron has to earn all the love.  And o yeah, didn’t like 13,000 people show up for the unveiling of Wade, LeBron, and Bosh to the world?  You know, the pre-celebration that everyone blasted them for.  Yeah, a horrible sports town gets 13,000 people to show up for a non sports related press conference. Sound logic.

And then the pre-game speech crap. Are you kidding me?  If Mike Vick can win back teammates and fans after being in jail for two years for dogfighting I’m damn well sure LeBron can win back his teammates by being aggressive again.  He’s still LeBron James, and whether he has a ring to show for it or not, doesn’t take away from the obvious fact that he’s incredibly talented and wants to win.  How badly we shall see next year.

Wade brought LeBron in.  Wade wanted LeBron.  Pat Riley said this would probably take two years.  Get off your high horse with this leadership junk.

Whitlock: Does pressure choke James? Maybe. More likely, James is simply moody. Kids born into family dysfunction often struggle emotionally.  All season when the Heat experienced adversity it took several games for the team to snap out of its funk. The adversity, the depression lingered. The Heat reflected James. Boston and Chicago failed to hit Miami in the mouth and force James, Wade and Bosh to question themselves and Spoelstra. Dallas didn’t.

Moody?  Really?  Maybe it had to do with the fact that Miami along with any other sports team in history was not used to being under the worldwide microscope it found itself under for nine whole months. Maybe the Heat found themselves treading water with guys like Carlos Arroyo and Erik Dampier.  Do you realize how interchangable most of Miami’s roster is outside of their top 5 guys?  Why is that?  Because it’s year freaking one!  Because Miami lacks the cap space to add better depth.  Because they traded all their draft picks away in the coming seasons to bring Bosh and LeBron here to Miami.

The depression lingered?  What is this Oprah.  This is a basketball team, not a Lonely Housewives group.

As for the Heat reflecting LeBron, what does that even mean?  Are you saying Miami was soft?  Cause I saw a team in the first three rounds that had firepower unlike anything I’d ever seen.  Miami crushed Boston’s dreams with a 16-0 run to end the Celtics.  They came back from a massive deficit IN Chicago, their fourth win in a row against the Bulls, to erase their game 1 pasting.

If this team got that depressed that easily they should have barely made the playoffs according to logic.  Philly pushed them, and they lost in five.  In fact, the Heat were 12-3 in the first 3 rounds. Other teams pushed, and Miami pushed back.

Whitlock: The Big Three is done. It was a noble experiment. James and Wade deserve credit for trying to make it work, for being completely loyal to and unselfish with each other for an entire season.  Now it’s time to move on before they inflict further damage on their reputations.

I think it’s time for you to move on before you ruin your reputation.  The Heat have a whole offseason to figure this out.  Then they can add more pieces.  They can bring in a point guard and a reputable center.  They can find someone who can orchestrate the offense. They’ll get back a healthy Wade, Miller, and Haslem.

Miami’s going to be just fine.  You on the other hand, I’m not so certain.

Whitlock’s Article: Blow Up the Heat

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

- Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks on overcoming the odds, being king of the comeback, and prevailing in a series few expected them to win.  Mark Cuban who has owned the Mavs since 2000, and has watched their resurgence from NBA afterthought to perennial 50 game winner to now NBA champion, has kept his mouth shut this whole playoffs.  His team did the talking for him — on the court — where they proved themselves to be the NBA’s deepest and most clutch group.

- It felt like a changing of the guard when the Mavs crushed the Lakers en route to a shocking four game sweep in the second round.  It turned out to be the passing of the torch.  To win the championship you often have to get through the champs, and Dallas did so in convincing fashion.  They were prepared and undaunted this whole playoff run, and they are without a doubt, deserving NBA champs.

- This was the Western Conference’s third seed? Wonder how many people will remember that?

- Dirk started out the game 1-12, but unlike LeBron kept hoisting them up.  Michael Wilbon claimed that he was actually hurting the Mavs at halftime, but once again, as has been his custom so often during these 2011 playoffs, Nowitzki came up huge when it mattered most.  His numbers, 9-27, were well, to put it bluntly, awful.  But as we all know, it’s not what you put up, it’s how you put it up (and when). Dirk had 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter “closing time” to officially ice the Heat, and get his revenge for 2006.

- Chris Bosh was bashed relentlessly this whole season for being inconsistent, soft, not good enough, over-rated, and not ready for prime-time.  Well, I think we can put those claims to bed.  Bosh was the best of the Big Three on Sunday Night, making almost all the shots he took, and he was aggressive, driving to the cup, and unafraid to make his presence felt.  But it was after the game when he broke down sobbing on his way to the locker room that I gained the most respect for Bosh.  He was genuinely emotional out there, and he’ll take a beating for it — but I respect him for showing just how much this season and falling short meant.

- “There’s no hiding,” Bosh said after the game. He went through so much this off-season and then regular and post-season after being relatively anonymous in Toronto for the first 7 years of his career.  He may not be the best player in the league, but he gives everything he has, and he puts his heart and soul into every game. Not much more you can ask of the guy.  That’s a winner in my book, and I’m convinced he’ll eventually get his.

- Not a winner: LeBron James.  On a scale of 1-10 of absolutely moronic comments, LeBron’s post game remarks about America going to “reality” after this was remarkably dumb.

- I’ll let the media shred him to bits for the next four months for it. He is going to be hated even more though after these remarks. Attacking middle class America? Not exactly the way to gain back a legion of devoted followers.

- Wade wasn’t great either in game 6. But he wasn’t making excuses. It is worth pointing out that during Miami’s huge 14-0 run  to take a 1 point lead in the 2nd, that LeBron was on the bench the entire time with Wade running the show.  As soon as LeBron  came onto the court, the lead disappeared, and the Mavs went into the locker-room at half with a 2 point lead. Just saying.

- Jason Terry was a killer when it counted.  He was well aware of how much 2006 hurt, and he avenged that bitter series loss with a pair of sensational games to close out the Heat. He’s brash, loud, and some might even say obnoxious — but he can talk all he wants if he backs it up. Terry did that and more this series, hitting massive 3 after massive 3, driving a stake into Miami’s comeback attempts time after time after time.  Terry had 15 points or more in Dallas’ final 4 games, 3 of which were Mavs wins.  The first 2 games: 12 points both games.

- Weird celebration for Dallas. It’s almost like they didn’t know what to do since none of them have ever won a ring. Nowitzki almost immediately looked for the exits, there was no dog-pile, or screaming, or really anything all that demonstrative.  It was plain, boring, and pretty much the opposite of what Miami would have done.  It was business-like. Just like the Mavericks.

- The Mavs looked older during their celebration than during the series.  That was one creaky way to blow off steam for so many year’s of failure.

- The Mavericks were the better team (talent wise) in 2006.  The Heat were the better team in 2011. Neither team won the title. Talent means squat without substance.

- Miami completely imploded down the stretch with horrendous unforced turnovers, and they were late to every loose ball, but what was really stunning was their woes from the foul line.  Miami missed 13 free throws (so much for the idea of them being free), and they lost by 10. I’m sorry, but if you’re trying to win a championship, especially if you’re looking to win a game 6 against a team looking for their first championship you cannot blow that many freebies.  More surprising were the guys that were clanking ‘em: Wade, LeBron, Mario Chalmers, and even Bosh missed a few.

- Dallas went into the fourth quarter protecting a 9 point fourth quarter lead.  Even with some wiggle room, they still won the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat 24-23 to clinch the title.

- Nowitzki, Terry, and Barea: 63 points ; LeBron, Wade, and Bosh: 57

- J.J. Barea and Mario Chalmers provided some unexpected offensive pop in the clincher. Barea was enormous hitting clutch 3s and running Miami’s once air-tight defense ragged to the tune of 15 points.  He was huge.  Chalmers made some ill-advised decisons, including a critical late game turnover when he was blocked by Jason Kidd, but give the guy credit: he showed he’s not afraid to back down from nothing or no one.  Chalmers will never be a star in this league, but he plays with heart, and whether it’s on the Heat or somewhere else in 2011-12, Chalmers will make his impact felt on this league.

- Without a doubt Miami’s most glaring deficiency is at the center position.  After a brilliant game 1, Joel Anthony went M.I.A. the rest of the series, and that’s not a good combination when you can’t score.  Anthony, for all of intensive purposes is a gamer, a hard worker, and an overachiver, but Miami needs a real center so that Bosh doesn’t find himself guarding guys like Tyson Chandler in end of game situations.

- Sayonara Mike Bibby. Hope giving up the $6.5 million was worth it.

- The Heat have already been installed as favorites for the 2011-12 NBA title.  That didn’t take long.  The Lakers are second, with the newly minted champion Mavs slotting in at 5th. Didn’t take long for Dallas to get disrespected again did it?

- Caron Butler didn’t even play half the season, and he was Dallas’ second leading scorer in the regular season.

- Mark Cuban says that the parade, expected to take place sometime next week, will be funded entirely out of his own pockets. Classy move.

- Did anyone else catch Cubes when he said, “s&*%” on ESPN following the win in a post-game sitdown with Hannah Storm?  He doesn’t talk the whole post-season, and then he finally opens up his yap, and that’s what comes out? Good grief!  FCC, your response?

- Has any owner been more instrumental in turning a franchise around?  The Mavs were completely irrelevant in the NBA fabric before Cuban took over.  With Cuban taking the reigns at the start of the century, the Mavs have been NBA contenders every year since.  Further proof that an owner committed to winning can make it happen no matter the franchise (I’m talking to you Donald Sterling).

- I’m genuinely happy for Shawn Marion who finally won his first championship after being part of so many good Suns teams that just came short.  Marion was such a big part of Phoenix’s conference finalist teams of 2005 and 2006, but always came up just short.  Then he was dealt for Shaq, ended up in Miami, then Toronto, and finally Dallas, where he re-emerged in the Finals as a quality scorer, no matter how awkward his shot continues to be.

- There’s no way he runs a basketball camp right?  I couldn’t imagine parents letting their kids get taught how to shoot that way!

- Dallas winning this championship is the best possible outcome the NBA could have asked for.  The NBA flourished on a year of Heat hate, drawing even casual fans in to watch LeBron in his failed quest for a ring.  Now the league gets another year of it, with LeBron sure to be the focal point of the 2011-12 season.

- Proof: Game 6 drew a record rating for ABC. 15.0 to be exact, meaning that 15% of households were tuned in to watch the Mavs-Heat finale.  The rating was up 35% from 2006’s game 6, when the Heat beat Dallas on the road to win their first and only title (And this was the worst game of the series by far, even though the first half was insane).

- That said, the NBA and the Players Association would be really stupid to let all the good will and excitement generated from a compelling season go down the drain with a lockout.

- Translation: get a deal done, avoid the court-room, and the lawyers. The only soap opera I want to see is one on the court.

Photo: Getty