Ignoring The Blueprint: Pat Riley's Mistake In Constructing The Miami Heat

"Come on, Chris"

Barely audible words before Paul Pierce crushes Bosh with a dunk and outstretched leg.

A flex.

A stare.

Getting intimidated is nothing new for Chris Bosh and, by proxy, it won't be anything new to these Miami Heat.

Soft in The Middle

Bosh has always been a very talented player, but it has never been in his game to intimidate or to be a physical force on the inside. He isn't the most physical defender, either. Can he go off for 30 points on any given night? Yes. Does that make up for the poor defense and rebounding? Not in my opinion. If Bosh wants to be apart of something special in Miami, it will take a lot more than just being Chris Bosh to make it happen. The time for YouTube videos are over, it is time to get serious.

Let's not blame this all on Bosh though, as rebounding and defense are team efforts. Their "center" coming into this season hasn't fared any better. Joel Anthony hasn't lived up to the "per forty-eight" stats that he "put up" last year. As such a small center, fans pointed out that he had an impressive wingspan and great defensive timing. This hasn't helped Miami as opposing big men have been putting up good numbers against their front line.

"We Want To Chill"

Attitude starts at the top. It starts from the coach, through to the captains and finally through to the role players. If there is a kink in the line, everything messes up. Spo seems to want to work hard. It makes sense, seeing as how the ever present Pat Riley can just descend and hand Spolestra the "Van Gundy" treatment. So, obviously, it can't be the coach who is allowing this team to flounder and underachieve.

So, who is next? Well I think we've found the problem here. Again, look into the past. During last year's playoffs Mike Brown was obviously frustrated by the game five loss to the Celtics. LeBron's response? "I spoil you guys." Not, "I'll work harder." Not, "I missed some shots I should have made". Where ever James goes, his attitude is likely to follow. How is it that last year's team composed of free agents-to-be looked more focused than this current crop? The difference is and always will be LeBron. He can carry a team but he will always find an excuse when things don't go right.

The scary part is that he is infecting others with this type of mentality. Bosh just "wants to chill." When losing to the Eastern Conference champions in the season opener what was Wade's response? "Sorry if everyone expected us to go 82-0." This Heat team is in dire need of some accountability and it needs it soon. If this atmosphere becomes the culture in Miami as it did in Cleveland, the Heat may regret creating this three headed monster.

A History of Passiveness

When looking at this roster today, it is glaringly obvious that they don't have the "enforcer" role filled. While this team may be among the most talented, it is nowhere near the most physical. Among the aforementioned dunk by Pierce on Bosh are other examples of Bosh being soft. Garnett has a field day with him and Shaq had one of his better games against Bosh's Raptors as a member of the Suns. Afterwards, the "Ru Paul" statement that shall live in infamy.

That's hardly where it ends. House famously got slapped in the back of the head and hasn't really been as "tough" as he was in Boston. Mike Miller is also very talented on both sides of the floor but doesn't really scare anyone. Ilgauskus? No. Chalmers? Nope. Wade? Not really. James? Have we forgotten how he got pushed around in the series with Washington? Stevenson? How Garnett trashed him in a game last year? Pierce's tweets?

The sad part about all of this is that last year's Heat had plenty of grit. Richardson was always looking to mix it up. Jermaine O'Neal defended the paint well and Halsem has always been a warrior. Add that to the departure of Beasley and the Heat have lost all the fire it had last year. With the injuries to both Haslem and Wade, Miami is finding out that physical players and hard workers are just as important as talent.

The problem?

They don't seem to have any.