The Miami Heat could take a lesson from combat sport. More specifically and in this case, the martial arts could teach them a lesson.
In Karate, Kung Fu and other martial arts, you do a kind of shadow play to gain muscle memory. You pretend someone is punching you and then do the countermeasures: maybe a block and then a kick while backing away from the opposition’s reach.
Supposedly, when an actual attack happens, all the hours of training would let your body react instinctively as the punch is made. This means that you would instantly block and counter.
Unfortunately, like most things that were passed down from teacher to student and on to the end of the line, the real purpose is sometimes forgotten. All that’s left is form.
So many karate schools still teach the shadow play, which they call a ‘kata’, but it has become more show and dance rather than preparation for an actual fight. So, when the real thing happens and if you try do your kata, you just end up with a black eye and on your back.
When thinking about our favorite little basketball team lately, the Miami Heat have unfortunately been all show and no punch. They have been kata.