On the Edge of History

For the Detroit Pistons, the end is nigh. The death knell has rung and mimics the tempo of a heartbeat. The Heat have their hands tightly around the defending Eastern Conference champions necks.

All they have to do is squeeze.

Time to end the reign of the Pistons. Time for the rise of a new power in the East, the Miami Heat.

Heat fans have been in such situations before - but none quite as sweet as this. They witnessed heartbreak last season in the playoffs, as a hobbled Heat team couldn't close the door on the Pistons. They even sat with jaws dropped back in '98 at the fatal Allan Houston shot that pushed the Knicks passed the Heat - in Game 5.

But this year is different. The Heat are healthier and have more talent than any other Heat team in their 18 year history. And they have potential hall of famers in Shaq, Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton.

And they have Dwyane Wade.

Pat Riley has been noted as taking a softer, more laid back approach. Gone are the harsh tactics for motivation and excruciating practices. Yet, for all the reduction in his methods, Riley is having his finest coaching season in years.

Most did not foresee the mighty Heat being so mighty. They re-tooled their roster for this moment. And in obtaining this depth, they were chastised for tinkering with the chemistry of a #1 seeded team last season. The Heat also saw a coaching change, in mid-season, with Stan Van Gundy stepping down in order for Pat Riley to take over. Riley, with tears in his eyes, grabbed back the reins of this powerful chariot and steered it back on course.

Tonight, we get to see if all of this was worth it. Tonight, we get to see if all of the turmoil, sacrifice and substance will be able to cash in on destiny.

The Heat take a 3-1 lead to Detroit tonight and are looking to end their season. They have to kill the beast, slay the dragon. To do that, there has to be total annihilation.

What awaits, is the first ever appearance in the Finals for the Miami Heat. And quite possibly, the fruition of a dream, a simple parade, which has been promised over 10 years ago.

On the edge of history, there is simply a promise. Will it come to be? Tune in and find out, tonight.

X-men to the Rescue

In a post game interview of Game 5 against the Nets, Shaq was asked about Antoine Walker's performance and the possibility of a coming out party for the Heat's bench. Shaq made the obvious comment about the dependency of a team's success on its bench and depth, and noted that the Heat bench played a vital role in winning that game, let alone taking the series. (He also announced that he made history for being called for the first ever ass-fensive foul in NBA history on Jason Collins...)

But he referred to his teammates who were brought in this summer as 'the X-men', specifically Payton, Walker, Williams and Posey.

And the X-men came to the rescue in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

It looked bad. The Pistons were able to wiggle out a small run and take the lead, for the first time in the game. Wade picked up his 4th foul on a drive towards the rim - a charge drawn by Ben Wallace. That was with 7:14 left to go in the third. And the Heat struggled, missing jump shots from Haslem and a Shaq turnover. But they hung in there - and at 4:36 in the 3rd, the Heat made their run. Walker made one of two free thows; Payton hits a floater, then a Walker three followed by a Posey three.

And the Heat bench started to assert themselves physically. With just over a minute left, Tayshaun Prince drives baseline and runs into Zo, who sends him to the ground. Words exchanged (possibly over recipes or something cordial like that) but the damage was done. Posey's ferocious physical D. Zo's rebounds and blocks. And when Posey got a flagrant, Shandon Anderson hit the floor demonstrating the Heat's depth.

Despite Hubie Brown's constant showers of praise for the Pistons, the Heat kept asserting themselves and playing better basketball. The bench, with a smattering of playing time from Wade and Shaq on the bench, was able to build a 10 point lead midway into the 4th quarter.

Performance?

14 points from Gary Payton. (Nightstalker?)

5 points, 2 assists and 5 rebounds from James Posey. (Colossus?)

6 points, 2 blocks and 4 rebounds for Zo. (Wolverine?)

Antoine Walker, another one of the Xmen (probably Beast), dropped in huge 3 point bombs and had a 17 point 7 rebound performance. Jason Williams (Gambit) contributed 10 points on 5-7 shooting, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

An impressive win for the Heat. They got a big lift on the road from their bench. The Pistons missed shots, but so did the Heat. And they didn't get over 30 minutes from either Wade or Shaq.

There is room for improvement. Let's see if the other superheroes on this team will show up.

Heat/Pistons: A Primer

The Heat are all set to take on the Pistons tonight, at 8pm on ESPN, for Game 1 in the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals.

But this will not be a replay of last year.

Both teams bring a different look to the series. The Pistons have Flip Saunders at the helm, in place of Larry Brown who seemed to overstay his welcome. Flip has been able to retool the Pistons offense which bore fruit in his inaugural season. They had the best record in the entire NBA, going 64-18. The #2 record was the Spurs, who are now watching this game at home. A good regular season record does not necessarily translate in the playoffs.

Other than that, there is not much difference in the Pistons' team that won the East last year. They have a strong, cohesive unit that has been able to adapt through adversity and come back in series in which they were down. The recent recovery against the Cavaliers being just another example. As such, the Pistons tend to get awarded with such adjectives as 'tough', 'clutch' and even with the superior noun of 'championship poise'.

These will all be tested by the Miami Heat, who have yet to display those traits. At least, according to a very critical media following.

The Heat have made drastic changes. They have a new coach, or a return of an old coach in Pat Riley. Damon Jones, Eddie Jones, Rasual Butler, and Keyon Dooling were scrapped in favor of Jason Williams, James Posey, Antoine Walker and Gary Payton. The Heat also picked up Derek Anderson to give more offensive depth.

With the new changes, the Heat struggled in the early going, but were able to string together enough wins to grab the #2 seed.

And that is the other difference in this series - last year, the Heat held the #1 seed and home court advantage over the Pistons. That and the Heat are actually healthy this time around.

So, it will be Detroit's perimeter-oriented offense and sticky, physical defense going up against the Heat's dynamic offense and loose perimeter defense.

It is going to be an interesting series. Will Shaq be able to play and sustain a high level of basketball? Will Wade continue to be a problem for the Pistons' defense? Will the time off help or hurt the Heat? Will the Pistons offense get back in stride against a more formidable opponent?

Many questions. Now, we will finally have answers. Getting back to where we started.

Wish Granted

Eastern Conference Finals, here we come. Destination? Detroit.

Silently, the Heat and their fans have been hoping for Detroit. Yes, Detroit. Sure, it would have been easier to face the Cleveland Cavaliers - that isn't to discredit what they have done, but they are a young naive team. They weren't supposed to give mighty Detroit a scare, but they did. And they did so because the Pistons didn't respect them. They didn't respect their game and the Cavs made the Pistons pay by taking them to the limit.

The margin of error is so slim in the playoffs. Almost as skinny as Tayshaun Prince's arms. DEETROOOYYYTTT BASKETBALLLL!

Let the annoyances begin. Let those feelings of annoyance begin to take hold. Detroit's lack of depth. Their dirty defensive game. Rasheed's antics. Rip's face mask. The constant whining after every call. Chauncey Billups' horse like expressions and his redundant nickname.

And DEEEETRRROOOYYYYTTT BASKETBALLLLLL!!!!

This is what we have wanted. This is what the Heat have been designed for. Pat Riley was criticized heavily for overhauling the team that lost to the Pistons in the ECF last year. He noted that the Heat needed to get deeper and more athletic. They did. And this was precipitated not by losing to the Pistons, but by having a few key injuries prevent the Heat from bringing their best game to the arena. Wade was shackled not by Detroit's defense, but by a freak rib injury. Shaq was shut down not by the Wallaces, but by another O'Neal - the Jermaine type - by getting his thighs obliterated.

And here we are again, same place as last year. Except it is the Pistons who hold the home court advantage. They are the clear favorites with their stunning regular season record and returning to the ECF for the third year in a row.

The mission is the same for the Heat - take out the Pistons on their way to the Finals. That is the destination for greatness. But first, Detroit.

Let the games begin. The bell has rung.

Let the hordes be crazed at the actions of the few. And let the Heat be the last team standing.

The Heat Rest While the Rest are in Heat

Raise your hand if you picked the Heat to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Raise your hand if you picked the Heat to be the first team from this year's playoff pool to reach their conference finals.

Still got your hand up? Well, raise your hand if you picked the Cavs/Pistons series to last at least 6 games and possibly go 7.

That should leave no one with an arm raised. Not even among the Heat faithful would anyone have realistically picked this scenario.

At best, I saw the Heat beating the Nets in 6 games and going to Detroit to face a Pistons team that was ready after dispatching their young opponents in 5 games. Got that wrong, didn't I?

The major media outlets have totally overlooked the Heat. They have discounted their talent and questioned not only Pat Riley's moves, but even the integrity of the new guys on occasion. The X-men, as Shaq refers to them, have been able to face the fire and prove themselves. They have become tempered by the playoff pressure and have risen.

And now, the Heat can breathe easier. They got back to the ECF, the main goal for this franchise since they lost game 7 last season, mostly due to some key injuries. Riley reshuffled the deck. He upped the ante. He got more depth for this team, because by his estimation that was the missing ingredient from last season.

And Riley was right. Want more proof?

Look at this Cavs/Pistons series. Most will cite this as an upset. Most will point out that the Cavs are just too young and inexperienced to beat the Pistons. And most of these detractors haven't gotten it. They didn't watch the '03 Marlins play without abandon for their opponents. They played without fear. So do the Cavaliers.

But let's not go abstract on this. Let's take a hard look. The Cavaliers have a lot of depth - in the front court they have Gooden, Ilgauskas, Varejao, Marshall. Guards? James, Jones (from last year's Heat squad), Murray, Hughes, Snow. That is nine players that are key to this team's success. Alan Henderson and Ira Newble can easily fill in on any given night.

The Pistons? They have relied on the Wallaces, Billups, Rip, Prince, McDyess and Lindsey Hunter for the last three seasons. 7 deep, if you want to count Hunter. But all season they relied on the health of their starters and played them around the 40 minute night EVERY night.

You don't think they are a little bit gassed right now?

And don't blame Flip. His job is to coach this team. He doesn't have a very strong bench at all. Who is he supposed to play, Delfino? Evans? Kelvin Cato - who couldn't cut it in Orlando? Darko? Oh, wait...they traded him. They have Tony Delk, but they also have Hunter - both do the same basic thing, be defensive pests.

Whether or not the Pistons come out of this series, the key thing to notice is that they are a tired team. They played all season at a high level, but they did it themselves with the core of this team getting most of the minutes. Impressive, but they don't have the depth to also survive the harsh reality of a playoff run.

And this brings us back to the Heat. They lost DJ and EJ, let Dooling sign elsewhere and traded Rasual Butler away. They got back Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams and Gary Payton. They re-signed Zo and let him get healthy. They scooped Derek Anderson off of the scrap heap. Shandon Anderson is ready to go.

This series with the Nets showed the Heat's depth as they were forced to help carry the load and win games for the Heat. Walker supplied fireworks. Posey sucked the life out of the opposing offense. GP played tough perimeter D and stuck the open three like an assasin. Williams propelled the offense into a higher gear.

And because of the changes, because Riley gambled, the Heat dispatched their second round opponents, the Nets, for the second year in a row.

And the Heat rest. While the Pistons struggle.

Heat get a C+ for Round 1 with Bulls

The Heat finally dispatched the Bulls in Game 6 on Thursday and although the Heat are moving on, they have some kinks they must still work out.

With Pat Riley's harsh system which grades individual players on offense and defense, the Heat were average. Defensively, the graded out around the mid 60's and 70's. And that is why I am granting them a C+ for the first round.

The Bulls played tough, and raised their level of play. They never quit - not even when the Heat had built up a lead on them. In games 5 and 6, the Heat did raise their defensive play, but they were also fortunate that the Bulls missed some good looks, too.

The pundits prognosticated how the perimeter-driven offense for the Bulls would give the Heat problems defensively, as the Heat have not shown an ability to rotate and stay on their assignments consistently throughout the year. In this series, the Heat held the Bulls to a 44.5% from the field, right about even with their in-season performance. Most notably, the Heat made a better showing in the final 2 games, when the Heat had their entire roster back (Haslem was suspended for Game 2 and Posey for Game 4 while Zo, just returning from injury, was forced to play in Game 3 due to Shaq's foul trouble). In Game 5, the Bulls shot 34% while in Game 6 they shot 41%. A large part of that was the Heat's ability to adapt and rotate to the Bulls shooters, closing out and denying the ball as well as defending screens better. Yet, over the first 4 games, the Bulls were able to shoot 45%, 53%, 46% and 45%, respectively.

The biggest difference seems to be how the Heat responded after Game 3. Game 4, they struggled offensively, but also the Bulls were given 31 free throw attempts to the Heat's 5 and they were able to hang around. It seemed that the Bulls were going to win Game 4 no matter what happened and disgruntled by the way that game was called, the Heat went back to Miami to take mastery over this series by not becoming reliant upon the officiating. They did so with better intensity, energy and defensive effort - all was noticeable in Game 5 and it rolled over into Game 6.

Offensively, the Heat were pretty much allowed to do whatever they wanted, save Game 3 when Shaq got into early and frequent foul trouble. Despite the Bulls being the #1 defense in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed (42%), the Heat were able to shoot 46% for the series. The most notable struggles were Wade (43%) and Walker (37%) and the Heat's three point shooting was inconsistent as it topped out at 33% for the series.

Over the final 2 games, the Heat played better basketball and looked closer to the style of basketball they had set out to play on the season: a fast paced offense that is highly dynamic along with a solid defense that will out rebound and out hustle you. If the Heat can continue to build upon this identity and keep playing this kind of basketball, they will have a better time against the New Jersey Nets.

Posey is microcosm of Heat's Game 5

So, the Heat have taken the lead in the series with a Game 5 win over the Bulls in Miami. And things are back to somewhat normal in Heat Nation.

How did the Heat do it? With improved defensive intensity and by attacking the Bulls offensively.

The best illustration of this was James Posey - who played 34 minutes, the most he has played in this entire series. He also tied his series high in scoring, with 12 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds.

What is interesting is that Posey was 5-11 from the field, but only 2-7 from behind the arc. This reflects the Heat's offensive production as a team, as the Heat shot 45%, a respectable number, but shot only 17.4% (2-23) from three point range. In order for the Heat to win game 6, which will witness the Bulls greatest effort as they will be trying to save their season, the Heat have got to demonstrate better shot selection and not just waste shots.

But it wasn't just the offensive boost that Posey provided to the Heat that helped, it was mostly his defensive presence that contributed to this win. Hinrich shot 3-13 and Ben Gordon was cooled to a 3-16 performance. Even Luol Deng struggled, shooting 2-8. The Heat as a team did a better job limiting the looks of the Bulls perimeter players, most notably Hinrich and Gordon.

The Bulls offensive attack is based upon their perimeter shooting, using screen and rolls to get open looks. The Heat did a much better job meeting their assignments and rotating, and Posey was a big factor in helping stablize the Heat's perimeter defense. His absence in Game 4 was noticeable, as the Bulls seemed to dominate the game from the perimeter.

At the start of the season, it was slated that Posey would fulfill the role Eddie Jones played with the Heat - the go to perimeter defender who would stick open threes and do the dirty work to push this offense into high gear. It has been a mixed bag this season for Posey, his first as a member of the Heat, illustrated by his shoulder blow on Hinrich and subsequent suspension for Game 4. All Posey did was vent his frustration and it boiled over to the rest of the team in Game 3 and it got him tossed. Then, Posey collects himself and puts in his best performance for Game 5 and the Heat return to form for another playoff win.

The Heat will need another great effort from Posey for Game 6 in order to end the running of the Bulls. Posey will also help stabilize the Heat's defensive presence and open up the game for the rest of his Heat's teammates.

Officiating smells like Bullsh*t

Firstly, I apologize to all of you out there for the sensational title. After several hours of recovering from today's loss to the Bulls, evening up the series at 2-2, I couldn't help but feel that this game was stripped from the Heat before they had a chance to claim it for themselves.

Look, I have a master's degree and consider myself a reasonable person with the capacity to be open-minded enough to call me out on my own BS. But I just can't here and I hope someone can.

Because the officiating in this game has to go down as one of the worst ever. I mean, not quite as bad as that Lakers/Kings Game 7 in '03. But pretty damn close.

In games 1 and 2 - both of which were in Miami - the Heat were able to beat the Bulls and keep them at bay. It wasn't the kind of dominating performances you may expect from a #2 seed over it's #7 opponent, but the Heat were able to score at will (shooting a combined 50.3% in those games) and build up leads (at one point, in Game 2, of over 20 points).

In games 1-4, the Bulls shot 45%, 53%, 46% and 45%, respectively while the Heat have hit at 41% the last two games. The sudden collapse from the field would be what most would site as the main reason why the Heat have dropped two straight.

Yet, in Game 4, the Heat were 37-89 while the Bulls were 31-68 from the field. The Heat took and made MORE shots than the Bulls, yet still found a way to lose the game. How?

It wasn't rebounding either - the Heat outrebounded the Bulls 41-34. It wasn't three point shooting - although the Heat hit at a lower efficiency, they made 9 three pointers to the Bulls 7. Again, the Heat took and made more shots than the Bulls.

Turnovers? The Heat had 19, the Bulls had 17. Nothing to work out there.

In fact, the only disparity among the stats of any sort is free throw attempts (FTAs) and fouls. But it is not some minor difference, but a glaring - almost ridiculous - difference.

The Heat shot 5 FTAs. Yep, that is it - I didn't make up the number or mistype it to get my point across - 5 free throws total. 4 by Wade in the second quarter and 1 by Shaq. 5. As many fingers as most have on there hands, as many toes, as in all the digits of a 'high five'.

The Bulls? 31. Sorry, did you miss that? 31 FTAs. That is right, thirty-one. The Bulls got to the line 31 times while the Heat could muster up only 5 FTAs themselves.

YMCA pickup teams could have fared better than the Heat today, which makes for another subject altogether.

Oh yeah, fouls. Fouls for the Heat? 32. Bulls? 14. I am surprised that the officials didnt black out from all the foul calls - they must have had shortness of breath. At least they would have collapsed while calling it against the Heat and maybe put an end to this madness.

Now look, I am not going to take anything away from the Bulls - they have an excellent young team that fights to the finish and never quits. Scott Skiles is one of the better strategists in the NBA among his coaching peers. But this is completely ridiculous.

All of a sudden, the Heat not only couldn't stop the Bulls penetration, but resorted to fouling every chance they got in desperation while ALSO not being able to muster up any kind of offensive attack to even sniff the charity stripe?

Shaq was in foul trouble, yes. But that is how the Heat lose - Shaq gets into foul trouble or is injured and they lose. Key attribute - Shaq is not on the court. Keep him off the court, out of the paint - and keep the game moving in your favor.

Let's review here:

The Heat shot more shots and made more shots from the field than the Bulls.
The Heat shot more threes and made more threes than the Bulls
The Heat grabbed more rebounds.
The Heat had more assists.
The Heat were only -2 in blocks and steals.
The Heat were only +2 in turnovers.
Yet, the Heat were +18 in fouls (the Bulls had 14 total while the Heat had 32)
And the Heat were -26 in FTAs.

Result? Heat lose the game 93-87 and will go back to Miami on Tuesday tied 2-2. The only question that remains, at least to me, is whether or not the officials will remember to bring along their Bulls away unis with them or will they put on Heat jerseys?

Because the disparity did favor the Heat in Game 1 after all - the Heat shot 39 FTAs to the Bulls 17. But for the series, the Bulls have shot 120 total FTAs to the Heat's 102 visits to the line.

This is the most aggravating thing about the NBA and its playoffs. There is virtually no consistency game to game. Change of venue? Change of momentum and all the calls start to - all of a sudden - go to the home team.

Break down Game 4 by FTAs by quarter:
Quarter 1
Heat: 0
Bulls: 2

Quarter 2
Heat: 4 (all by Wade)
Bulls: 2

Quarter 3
Heat: 0
Bulls: 12

Quarter 4
Heat: 1 (Shaq)
Bulls: 15

Keep in mind, it was 44-40 at the half and the game was very much up in the air. Yet, the Bulls started to get every single FT call in the second half (netting 27 of their 31 FTAs or 87% in that span). Having said that, the Bulls only outscored the Heat by +2 the entire second half (21-19 in the 3rd, 28-28 in the 4th).

On the one hand, the Heat have to be very realistic about this and realize that eventhough the entire world was against them, they only lost to the Bulls by 6 on the road in a game they had virtually no chance to win. Still, the more sinister side of things points to an inconsistent handling in the least to a blatant abuse of power at the most.

Something stinks. You be the judge.