Key to Championship Run for Miami Heat Is Sustained Urgency

It wasn't long ago that the knock on the Miami Heat was their inability to show courage under fire.

Now, whether that inability stemmed from trying to live up to their own self-promoted hype or the distraction of getting sucked into a losing PR battle with the court of public opinion is a story for another day. 

For the most part, though, the Heat have done a convincing job in these NBA playoffs of putting that perception to rest, rising to the occasion in each passing round when their backs have been against the wall.

Game 2 was their latest case.

In what was widely considered a must-win game for Miami, the team stepped up in a big way, arguably outdoing themselves in the second half by withstanding a furious Thunder run more so than the commanding lead to which they built in the first half that caused it.

Having said that, it's time the air be cleared on a stigma that probably still lingers with the Heat by offering another, more justified Achilles Heel the Miami Heat can be accused of—the failure to duplicate the same kind of urgency when the chips aren't down as when they are.

To put it kindly, it's hard to get credit for digging yourself out of a hole that many would agree you put yourself in to begin with.

For example, being down 3-2 against a Boston Celtics team Miami was once in front of 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Or overcoming a 1-2 series deficit against an Indiana Pacers team that was so stunned they even won a game, you would have thought they were filming the music video for No Church In The Wild.

Or letting a Game 4 against the New York Knicks slip away when all they were left with was the ill-fated hope that Carmelo Anthony alone could out-duel the Heat's big three.

In hindsight, it's easy to forget all these bumps along the road to the NBA Finals, because the lure of a championship is so dizzyingly close.

But consider that this time last year, the Miami Heat were in a similar position to which they are today, tied 1-1 in the NBA Finals.

Only, Miami lost that Game 2.

At the time, the Heat built an early lead that catapulted to as much as 15 before ultimately watching the Mavericks stage the second largest comeback in NBA Finals history. One, mind you, that was almost challenged by Oklahoma City Thursday night.

What was the turning point in that loss?

As Jason Terry later remarked, Dwyane Wade sunk a three pointer that gave Miami a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and began to pose in front of the Mavs' bench. 

While the prevailing logic at the time was that Wade's gesture was seen as a slap in the face that ultimately fueled Dallas, a storyline could just as easily have been construed that it marked a sigh of relief in Miami's psyche that would later doom them in the series.

The Heat went on to win Game 3 by a two-point margin of victory despite building an early 14-point lead.

You already know how the next three games went.

Fast forward to present day, and the Oklahoma City Thunder find themselves in the same kind of scenario the 2011 Miami Heat did going into game three—coming off of a loss and playing its next three games on the road.

Rest assured, they will come into South Beach Sunday night with the same kind of urgency Miami came to Dallas with last year before winning game three.

The only question is, will the Heat be able to match that urgency?

Because, although this little detail has not gotten enough of the attention it warrants, if Miami plans to win this series, they will have to do so coming off of a win.