Heat Gone SOFT!

Leadership Void Evident

Oh boy, if General Patton was alive to see this - would he have a field day. Probably would just end up choking on his cigar. Both he and good old Red Auerbach for that matter.

Patton once was credited with saying, "Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way." Seems the Heat are in desperate need of guidance themselves.

The Heat are lost without Riley, that much is clear. You can say all you want about how a coach is overrated, that players win games, etc. You would be right only if that team had an established leader, because the only way this team gets out of its rut is by the grip of a strong leader. Perhaps around the back of their collective necks before they collectively choke themselves.

The Heat have obviously underachieved. No wait, grossly underachieved. And spare me the injury BS. I am a Heat fan, I have been watching games and keeping track of injuries. Heck, sometimes it feels like the injury announcements are more important than the stats of the opponents. Scouting goes out the window in favor for a diagnosis. That is the sad state of the Heat these days.

Yet, I can't help but sense that it is all an excuse anyway. If the Heat were, say, 25-19, would the injuries be mounting as much? Would I instead be writing a blog about their ability to overcome adversity?

Instead, I am writing this blog, about how the Heat have gone soft and have been underachieving all season. To the point it is ridiculous.

It isn't quite on par with say, Einstein picking his nose in the back of pre-algebra class; or Bach singing karaoke; or Picasso drawing by numbers; but it is equally stupid.

The Heat have tons of talent, so let's not get stuck on the injury situation. Yeah, they haven't had their starters together all season, but this isn't the Beetles we are talking about. The Heat do play in the East, the apparent YMCA version of the NBA. If they were 19-25 in the West, I might actually still be writing a blog about overcoming adversity, yet as it is, they aren't. If the playoffs started today, they wouldn't be there to "turn it on". Heck, if they started tomorrow or even next week, chances are the Heat wouldn't make the postseason.

In the midst of all of this is the complaints and whining. Haslem walking off the court because he didn't appreciate the team's inability to move the ball on offense. Wade pointing out to the rest of the team saying something has to change. Shaq saying he was embarrassed by the loss to Knicks - yet he wasn't in a Heat uniform but in his suit instead.

Don't you at least have to be dressed up to be embarrassed? (Yes, I do sense the irony...but I think you can spare me the indulgence. At least this once?)

The team's state is so baffling, yet the answer is so simple. No, Ron Rothstein is not Riley - but only a week or so ago everyone was asking if Riley should return, since ol' Ronnie had the Heat on a 4-2 west coast trip. Funny how things change so quickly - Heat went from underachievers to tough road team with renewed championship prospects to underachievers again. Still, I contend, the answer is simple.

In my last blog, I mentioned Wade has to step up. I stand by that. Not because I think Wade is all of a sudden a bum, no. He is arguably the best guard we have in the NBA and one of the top 5 players in the NBA. He is also the exemplary statesman, diplomat, and franchise player ANY fan could ask for.

I understand and appreciate his worth.

But I have to call them like I see them, too. And as good as Wade is, he has been under performing, too. He has to step up defensively and he has to take on a more direct role in how this team is going to perform.

He is the true leader of this team, whether he likes it or not.

Shaq, Zo, Gary - all great players that have been there before. They can't do it on the floor though, only with their mouths. They can pay lip service to what it is like to lead a team, give us all insight. They have experienced it. Yet, they are all incapable of calling upon those experiences now for direct intervention. They, too, have to defer to Wade who has the ability to do it on the floor and thus, lead by example.

Some of you may say that the Heat don't possess enough talent. I would quickly defy that notion by supplying for examination, not only the fact that this is the same team that won it all last season but also the Jordan lead Bulls of '95-96, which finished with a 72-10 record. All this coming on the heels of Jordan's first year back after his first retirement. That team had a strong willed, but mature Jordan of course, but after that, the talent pool was not as amazing as some may think. What made it work was the leadership - Jordan. Everything started and ended with him. They had Dennis Rodman on that team, for God's sake! They were able to corral everyone's talents into a cohesive, finely-tuned machine with pinpoint focus.

That is the level I compare Dwyane Wade to, and that is exactly what this team needs from him. They need his leadership. He may not be the vocal leader that can say something and everyone fall into line. Alternatively, the Heat don't need another voice to keep them in line. They need an example of greatness to fall under and follow. They need to act like champions and when they forget how to, they need a reminder.

This is not to berate Dwyane Wade or his efforts, but to call him to a challenge. To exhort him to embrace the greatness he has the rare opportunity to achieve.

General John Pershing once said, "A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops."

The talent level on this team is moot. Wade is the focus and will continue to be and he SHOULD be. This is his team, no matter if Shaq is healthy or not. Deep down, the Diesel knows that.

And he would agree - you cannot tell someone to be great. They just are. Likewise, you cannot expect to influence someone by telling of examples, but by showing them with examples. For that is all there is.

For the Heat, this bickering and whining has to stop. It ceases when Wade, like he did in Game 3, wills his team to victory and leads them back to greatness. And the rest of the team, regardless of who is dressed or not, falls in line.