The Miami Heat had a chance to continue to exert their will and sheer dominance over the league and it’s Eastern Conference on Thursday. That’s what they had a shot to do and to say the least, against a Boston Celtics team that had shown to have more holes than a slice of Swiss cheese.
Coming off of a scenario where they allowed the Chicago Bulls to climb back into a near-20 point game to win, Marcus Smart started a firestorm that would eventually lead to a players only meeting and thus, a win in Orlando prior to their Thursdsy night meeting with Miami.
That is what the Miami Heat were looking at facing on Thursday. Well, that meeting must have worked, as the Celtics came out and played with a sense of urgency and the Heat didn’t.
Here’s the thing though, that isn’t saying that they mailed it in. In fact, that wasn’t an issue.
If you watched the Miami Heat play, it wasn’t due to a sheer lack of effort, they just didn’t seem to have it, at all. They looked like they all could have used a 32 ounce container of BigFace Coffee at halftime, if you’re being completely honest.
The Miami Heat took a tough defeat Thursday to Boston, but not because Boston was great. The Heat were not themselves and that’s why you don’t dwell on it.
To go even further, the Celtics shouldn’t pat themselves on the backs just yet. While they, again, play with a “sense of urgency” and alertness that Miami couldn’t match, they weren’t anything special either.
It’s just that the Miami Heat were so bad. Their energy and alertness seemed nonexistent.
In fact and even when you include their only other loss this season, a game without Kyle Lowry to the Indiana Pacers in Indiana and where a similar lack of energy-type narrative played out,to be honest, this was their worst showing.
However, you can take losing like this. Honestly, you can.
When the team seems to be trying hard and giving effort, plus you know that this isn’t typically what they have been in most other games this season, you can take these ones. They aren’t the team that showed up on Thursday to play and that’s a fact.
Now, you hate that you have to see them not show up, but you have confidence in the fact that they can bounce back. Again, they weren’t sharp, but they weren’t lazy.
Nothing would go right for them and they couldn’t get shots to fall, it’s really that simple. Nothing screamed this is who they are or that they couldn’t bounce back, so you have every inch of faith that they will.
Again, this wasn’t a pretty game to watch, but you don’t get as bothered by it as you could at some or dwell on it. That’s because it wasn’t the same Heat team that’s played in every other game this season.
There should also be a faith in the fact that… that team is who they are and finally, to be frank, you rather have one of these clunkers earlier in the season than later.
They know what they don’t want to happen, ever again. Hopefully, they won’t.