Hassan Whiteside, ‘Seinfeld’ and a Heat Victory Over the Spurs?
By David Ramil
Tonight’s game between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs is the first since matching up in last season’s NBA Finals. Check out the start time, TV info, preview and more.
Start Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Location: Game will be played in San Antonio at the AT&T Center
TV Info: ESPN
Radio: 104.3 The Ticket
Do you like “Seinfeld”? I like “Seinfeld”. The show’s aged remarkably well despite how anachronistic it seems watching it today…how many of the problems in a “show about nothing” could have been solved with a mobile phone? Or the internet?
I bring up this television classic because there’s a little scene that I think about sometimes when looking at this Miami Heat season. It has been a roller coaster ride of missed opportunities and inconsistent play – Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota was a perfect example in a nauseating 48-minute sample size.
The scene I mentioned earlier involves George Costanza, the lovable, insecure loser of the show. His life, like the Heat season, is a mess. He’s unhappy in every relationship he’s in, he’s balding, often unemployed and still lives at home. But, occasionally…he gets an unexpected reward, as he does here:
If you didn’t click on the video because you’re busy or just don’t like the show – and if you don’t, then I’m sorry but we simply can’t remain friends – Costanza, desperate for change, decides to order the exact opposite of the same lunch he always gets. Egged on by his childhood friend (Seinfeld), Costanza realizes that every instinct he’s ever had is wrong, and therefore, the inverse must be right. Sure enough, his atypical order attracts the attention of a beautiful blonde woman at the diner…who happened to order the same exact thing.
The Heat don’t have a chance of beating the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have lost some of their edge from last season, when they were fueled by revenge on their way to buzzsawing through the league with a brilliant offense (one that we’re seeing effectively utilized in Atlanta this season). Injuries and age have predictably taken their toll and yet, in a ridiculously-deep Western Conference, they’ve managed to win 31 games and still hang onto just the seventh seed.
Tonight’s game is the last of a six-game homestand for San Antonio (31-18), where they’ve won 19-of-26 games. It’s also the last of a disastrous four-game road trip for Miami (now 21-28). It is, in other words, a perfect storm and everything would seem to indicate a clear-cut victory for the Spurs.
Enter “The Opposite Theory”.
I won’t go so far as to say that the Timberwolves loss will be a turning point for Miami – that would assume they could maintain consistency. But the Spurs could be just enough inspiration to snap the team out of its malaise. Ironically, this was a position the Heat held over the last four seasons, as teams on the fringe would give their best effort against a proven champion.
Maybe Hassan Whiteside will continue to be the difference and the Spurs won’t be prepared to handle his ever-improving game. Perhaps Norris Cole won’t leave this lasting impression on Heat fans, one that makes them run for the nearest trash can, holding back the bile. Luol Deng and Chris Bosh might both have sensational games, mixing their perimeter sharpshooting with the occasional drive to the hoop.
And in this crazy, wonderful season about nothing, the impossible might actually happen and lead to a Heat victory.
Check back with All U Can Heat for a full recap, along with post-game player grades, analysis and much more.