.....it will happen, just watch.
LeBron James, fellow Miami Heat players 'frustrated' with coach Erik Spoelstra amid losing: report
The blame game has already started in Miami and surprise, surprise, Erik Spoelstra has emerged as the clear target.
There is a report that Miami Heat players are "frustrated" with their coach and question whether he is the right man for the star-studded team. Something tells me Juwan Howard and Eddie House aren't the players doing the questioning.
If I were a betting man I'd wager that someone from LeBron James' beleaguered entourage is stirring the pot. It's probably the same people who wanted Mike Brown blamed for LeBron's no-show performance in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.
Rule No. 1 among superstars in the NBA is never accept responsibility for underachieving, especially when there is a young coach without a championship pedigree on the bench. Make that poor sucker the scapegoat and dare Pat Riley to coach the free agents he signed last summer.
The Heat's slow start - they're 9-8, the Knicks are 9-9 - is surprising but not exactly shocking. Once you get past the big three of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat are not very deep, particularly along the front line. Factor in the injuries to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem and what you have is team struggling to find its way, even with three All-Stars.
Spoelstra is the least of Miami's problems. I see two issues with the Heat. One, the supporting cast is weak but that can be fixed over time. The bigger issue is that LeBron and Wade haven't figured out how to play together and may never peacefully co-exist.
Tracy McGrady nailed it when he said that LeBron and Wade are "terrible" when they're on the court together. The two Alpha males are used to dominating the ball. They don't play well off each other and it seems like Wade is the one struggling to make an adjustment to James.
According to person close to the Heat guard, Wade was "stunned" when LeBron decided to leave Cleveland and sign with Miami. Sure, Wade helped recruit LeBron, but as one NBA player put it: "He never actually thought he was going to do it."
Wade was applying the same logic most of us were using when it came to LeBron's free agent plans; he'll either re-sign with Cleveland or go to a team devoid of a superstar.
It never made much sense for James to take his talents to South Beach when the Heat already have a playmaker in Wade. The Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce complimented each and thus Boston got off to a quick start which ended in a championship three years ago.
Allen is the spot-up jump shooter who can play off the ball. Garnett is the superstar role player who will defend, rebound and score when asked to while Pierce is the Celtics go-to-guy. The emergence of point guard Rajon Rondo solidified that group.
The Heat are nowhere near the team that Boston was and is and who's to say they ever get there? Riley coached superstar talent in Los Angeles but in Magic Johnson he had the ideal playmaker. The Lakers all followed Magic's lead. How can the rest of the Miami Heat players excel when the two best players, Wade and LeBron, can't figure it out? Time is the Miami's ally right now. They've played just 17 games and Miller is expected back sometime in December.
But it all comes down to whether LeBron and Wade can play together and want to play together. Plain and simple. Wade reportedly doesn't want Riley to coach the team. Why do you think he'd say that? Could it be that Wade agrees with McGrady and knows that the problem isn't Spoelstra?
It should be quite a scene on Thursday in Cleveland when LeBron makes his much anticipated return. He'd never admit but you wonder if LeBron regrets "The Decision."
I think Wade does.
Read more: LeBron James, fellow Miami Heat players 'frustrated' with coach Erik Spoelstra amid losing: report
LeBron James, fellow Miami Heat players 'frustrated' with coach Erik Spoelstra amid losing: report
The blame game has already started in Miami and surprise, surprise, Erik Spoelstra has emerged as the clear target.
There is a report that Miami Heat players are "frustrated" with their coach and question whether he is the right man for the star-studded team. Something tells me Juwan Howard and Eddie House aren't the players doing the questioning.
If I were a betting man I'd wager that someone from LeBron James' beleaguered entourage is stirring the pot. It's probably the same people who wanted Mike Brown blamed for LeBron's no-show performance in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.
Rule No. 1 among superstars in the NBA is never accept responsibility for underachieving, especially when there is a young coach without a championship pedigree on the bench. Make that poor sucker the scapegoat and dare Pat Riley to coach the free agents he signed last summer.
The Heat's slow start - they're 9-8, the Knicks are 9-9 - is surprising but not exactly shocking. Once you get past the big three of LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat are not very deep, particularly along the front line. Factor in the injuries to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem and what you have is team struggling to find its way, even with three All-Stars.
Spoelstra is the least of Miami's problems. I see two issues with the Heat. One, the supporting cast is weak but that can be fixed over time. The bigger issue is that LeBron and Wade haven't figured out how to play together and may never peacefully co-exist.
Tracy McGrady nailed it when he said that LeBron and Wade are "terrible" when they're on the court together. The two Alpha males are used to dominating the ball. They don't play well off each other and it seems like Wade is the one struggling to make an adjustment to James.
According to person close to the Heat guard, Wade was "stunned" when LeBron decided to leave Cleveland and sign with Miami. Sure, Wade helped recruit LeBron, but as one NBA player put it: "He never actually thought he was going to do it."
Wade was applying the same logic most of us were using when it came to LeBron's free agent plans; he'll either re-sign with Cleveland or go to a team devoid of a superstar.
It never made much sense for James to take his talents to South Beach when the Heat already have a playmaker in Wade. The Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce complimented each and thus Boston got off to a quick start which ended in a championship three years ago.
Allen is the spot-up jump shooter who can play off the ball. Garnett is the superstar role player who will defend, rebound and score when asked to while Pierce is the Celtics go-to-guy. The emergence of point guard Rajon Rondo solidified that group.
The Heat are nowhere near the team that Boston was and is and who's to say they ever get there? Riley coached superstar talent in Los Angeles but in Magic Johnson he had the ideal playmaker. The Lakers all followed Magic's lead. How can the rest of the Miami Heat players excel when the two best players, Wade and LeBron, can't figure it out? Time is the Miami's ally right now. They've played just 17 games and Miller is expected back sometime in December.
But it all comes down to whether LeBron and Wade can play together and want to play together. Plain and simple. Wade reportedly doesn't want Riley to coach the team. Why do you think he'd say that? Could it be that Wade agrees with McGrady and knows that the problem isn't Spoelstra?
It should be quite a scene on Thursday in Cleveland when LeBron makes his much anticipated return. He'd never admit but you wonder if LeBron regrets "The Decision."
I think Wade does.
Read more: LeBron James, fellow Miami Heat players 'frustrated' with coach Erik Spoelstra amid losing: report
