Lebron James Miami Heat: Trouble on the Road

Every time Miami Heat's LeBron James touched the ball against the Orlando Magic, the crowd booed. These were Magic, not Cleveland Cavaliers, fans. They were booing him because of what he had done to Cleveland, and how he had done it.

This wasn’t the first road arena James has been booed in, nor will it be the last. He and his disheveled Heat face the Cavaliers next week in Cleveland. Smartly, extra security will be on hand and anti-James clothing will be banned from the arena.

Cleveland will react; it’s just a matter of how they will. He will deserve what he gets, unless some crazies drink too many beers, resort to violence and go after him. Violence would only make Cleveland look bad.

Chanting “Quitter” or “Sidekick” would be punishment enough. That would be the reality check he needs. Only then will he understand that he won’t be able to just go back to Akron and be treated as the hometown hero he once was.

He will be treated as a traitor. The Magic fans know he is. They weren’t booing Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh; just him.

The boos shouldn’t stop there. Heat fans have reason to boo their team—some of whom believed at season’s start that the 70-win plateau could be reached. Their expectations were reminiscent to that hovering over the New York Yankees, and because of their offseason spending spree—which New York is altogether familiar with—they are hated like their baseball equivalent.

As some casual baseball fans enjoy a Yankees loss as much as every Red Sox fan, it seems a majority of the basketball world was rooting for the Orlando Magic on this night, hoping the Heat would suffer yet another loss.

A defeat would be their seventh of the season. Seventy wins won’t be in the cards. Sixty is a longshot. Fifty may even be a bit of a reach. Expectations have been far too high. In my lifetime, no basketball team has been covered as the Heat have over the past few months.

Life on the court hasn’t been smooth sailing. Some may think, “They have LeBron, Wade and Chris Bosh, they will figure it out and dominate soon enough.” But since the season, entering tonight’s game against the Magic, is only 14 games old, this is hard to believe. Their struggles will continue.

The Boston Celtics built a winner with their own Big Three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. There is a big difference between this trio and Miami’s. The Celtics’ are complementary players. None of the three needs the ball. They are unselfish. They play off each other. Their egos don’t leak into their individual games. They play within an offense designed by head coach Doc Rivers; they aren’t the offense.

The Heat have three of the top-10 players in the league. On paper many fans will look at that and think four or five titles are in their future. But, historically, having stars used to being The Man doesn’t translate to rings.

Michael Jordan won with Scottie Pippen and a flurry of quality role players. Pippen knew Jordan was Jordan, did what he did best, and let the best player in NBA history be who he was.

The San Antonio Spurs won with Tim Duncan as the centerpiece, David Robinson as his sidekick, budding stars and able veterans. Teams just don’t win with three players who want the ball as much as the Heat’s trio are used to.

Against Orlando, Miami’s offense was like any other night. It was a “You do something this trip, then I’ll do something the next time down, ok?” kind of offense. There was no flow.

And you can’t blame head coach Eric Spoelstra for this. How is he supposed to build a team full of chemistry with three egos and aged role players playing out of their comfort zone?

Ball movement was lacking and the long jumper was the shot of choice. It was the three of them and others just trying to move around and get in their spot in case the ball came their way.

Teams that are successful incorporate everyone. The Heat aren’t running an offense; they are running a mess. And that falls on the shoulders of the players and on Pat Riley, who brought in Bosh and James and left little money for a supporting cast.

How can they fix this problem, a problem that did in fact fuel a loss to the Magic? With the way their roster is made up I’m not sure it can be fixed. Surrounding James, Bosh and Wade is James Jones, who is strictly a spot-up shooter, Eddie House, another one-dimensional scorer, point guard Carlos Arroyo, who isn’t much of a playmaker, and five big men—aged Juwan Howard, mediocre Jamaal Magloire, undersized Joel Anthony, newly signed Erick Dampier, and slow-footed Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

None of those seven players strike fear into the hearts of opponents. Jones, House and Arroyo are streaky shooters. Howard and Ilgauskas have dependable mid-range jumpers, but they can’t make the impact Miami needs them to make on a regular basis. The Big Three is nice and all, but the team isn’t one that can raise a championship banner.

A midseason overhaul would have to be made to win now—which I’m sure owner Pat Riley expects to do. And none of these players, if traded, would bring upgrades in return.

Two of James, Wade and Bosh on the same team I could understand. Then there would be a chance they could turn into Jordan and Pippen or Kobe and Shaq. But all three doesn’t scream "chemistry."

Individually they have had their solid games, but they aren’t a trio who can mesh and compliment each other in a single game. At least not consistently. Again, it’s a “you wanna take it or should I?” type of offensive scheme. That, combined with their measly supporting cast, certainly doesn’t bode well for a bright future.

Tonight was a terrific example of how the Heat have been playing, and how they will undoubtedly continue to play. James led Miami, which lost its third straight, by scoring 25 points on 9-18 shooting. Bosh added 21 points on 7-13 from the field.

But Wade made just six of 21 attempts for his 18 points, and the rest of the team combined to shoot 12-30, including 2-11 from three-point range. As a result, they are 8-7. Riley is hovering over Spoelstra as he did Stan Van Gundy. It isn’t all peaches and cream in South Beach. And it won’t be.

Cleveland is two-and-a-half games behind the leader of the Central Division. Miami faces the same deficit in the Southeast Division, one led by the Magic. And, with the Heat in disarray, the Cavaliers may tote the superior record heading into their matchup—a game that, if won, could give James and Miami a harsh, deserving dose of reality.