With one hand behind our backs

I have been going around and telling people, perhaps brashly, that the Heat will beat the Wizards in three games. Yes, I know it is a best of seven, but that is how much the Heat has dominated the Wizards this year and how confident I felt that this team was going to cruise through Washington.

And if that is even possible, last night's Game 3 proved it can happen - the Heat has beaten the Wizards in just three games. There is no way the Wizards can come back now.

Everyone is making a big deal about the Heat winning without Shaq. They forget Laettner didn't play either and forced Haslem to go for 40 minutes. 40 minutes from one of the most underrated and undervalued players on the court since...well, Eddie Jones.

Sitting Shaq was equivalent to the Heat saying they will take on the Wizards with one hand tied behind their back. Or the Justice League taking on some evil foe without Superman. Or Caesar without his Praetorians.

The beauty of the game of basketball is it is a team game, defined not by one player but by five. People seemed to forget that there was a time when Alonzo Mourning lead Heat teams into playoff battle. Or that Dwyane Wade is an exceptional talent. Or that this Heat team is just that, a team full of unselfish players who know their roles and what is at stake. And they all execute like the finest pieces of an orchestra - complete with all the tension and release of a perfectly concocted drama.

This also proves that the Heat are not just a playoff team but worthy of a great goal. Also, beating the Wizards - and yes, we know that there is one more game still to be won - sends a message not only to the young Washington team but to the rest of the league:

Light the fires and sound the alarms. Take cover in your basements and shelters. If you are a city with championship aspirations, the Miami Heat are coming and you will be under siege. They take no prisoners save one, a trophy that will be both the culmination and the symbol of their journey. And they will not be denied.