Oh Bullcrap! Heat Lose Game 3

The Heat came to play last night and put themselves in the position to win the game and stake a claim in this series. They did almost everything right - except hit their free throws.

The Heat shot 16-35 from the free throw line, which was as good as they shot from the field. Miami's 45% from the field had slowly dwindled from the 52% it was at right after half time, however, and the indication is they couldn't generate any offense during the second half.

Yet, for the first time in this series, Miami scored 20+ points in each quarter. Chicago just scored 32 in the 4th last night which will probably be the death knell for the Heat.

We all know that teams that are down 0-3 are 0-78 all-time in comebacks. The optimist in me seems to still think this Heat team is not done, but realistically they are. The Heat have not played well enough all series long to claim any kind of right to this series, and they can't all of a sudden snap out of it.

There is much to blame here for the position the Heat are in. Standing "pat" during the offseason and not trying to shake up the roster some by bringing in hungry, younger players to help this team is one reason. Jason Kapono could be cited as an improvement along those lines, but Riley's inability to get another PG could be hurting this team right now.

Jason Williams was 1-7 last night and his disappearing act is rivaling Udonis Haslem's trick right now for the Heat. Both players are needed, but JWill's inability to contribute anything of meaning at all right now is also hurting Wade who is spending a lot of energy trying to play PG and bring this team back from the brink. And he is still shaking off the effects of his shoulder injury while sporting knee tendonitis.

The last time the Heat had a significant injury to Wade was the Eastern Conference Finals in 2004-2005 where they lost to the Pistons. In fact, that is the reason the Pistons were able to prevail. Chicago is also benefitting from a hampered Wade, who is not the same explosive self despite all the guts he displays to the contrary.

In fact, Wade's performance is a microcosm of this Heat team: you expect something spectacular but for whatever reason, it is just falling short. The "it" factor just isn't there right now. Give credit to Chicago, they have conviction in their beliefs as a team and they keep making the necessary plays to win the games. It is a reverse of character as you would think the veteran-heavy team would be sniffing out ways to win games, instead of ways to give them up.

Miami has one last guranteed game on Sunday. Winning would do little other than show pride at this point yet even that would be welcomed. There is no one realistically believing Miami will win this series now - even in that lockerroom. It isn't impossible, but for Miami the defense of their crown, like this entire season, is looking most anticlimatic.