Miami Heat: Setting the Odds on Which Players Cried After the Bulls Loss
The Miami Heat took Sunday night's loss to the Chicago Bulls pretty hard—and with good reason. After all, it was a late foul on Mike Miller that sent Luol Deng to the free-throw line to put Chicago up for good in a game the Heat led for a sizable chunk of time.
The loss was also their fourth straight and dropped Miami to just 1-8 against the NBA's top six teams.
But getting so worked up about a regular season loss that you're crying in the locker room afterward? That seems a bit extreme, don't you think?
This got us thinking, though: Who was the crier? Was it LeBron James, the team's best player, who couldn't do enough to get the win? Was it Mike Miller, the man responsible for giving the Bulls the lead? Or could it have even been Pat Riley, so overcome by the team's struggles, the team he'd put together, that he started to sob?
We're breaking down all 15 players on the Heat's roster, plus head coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley, and figuring out the odds of who was the most likely crier on South Beach last night.
So grab your tissues and let's get rolling, shall we?
17. Pat Riley, 100:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Pat helped put this team together, so it'd be understandable that he'd be so flustered by their recent struggles that he just got overcome by emotion.
Odds: 100-to-1. Pat Riley doesn't cry—he plots revenge.
16. Dexter Pittman, 75:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Pittman, a rookie center out of Texas, could be frustrated that he's not more of a help to the team, since he has yet to see the floor in South Beach this season.
Odds: 75-to-1. Pittman could be frustrated, but it'd be tough to see him crying, considering he's making $474,000 to sit on the bench and cheerlead.
15. Erick Dampier, 70:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Dampier was supposed to help fill the hole in the post for Miami when he joined the team in November, but instead, his lack of talent has actually managed to make things worse down low for the Heat. His ability to get owned by the Bulls' forwards was one of the biggest factors in Chicago's comeback.
Odds: 70-to-1. For Dampier to be the one crying would mean that he's passionate about basketball, something he hasn't shown since he was at Mississippi State.
14. Eddie House, 60:1
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Why It Could Be Him: House is a veteran presence on the Heat's bench and someone who hates losing from his time in Boston. It could be that this latest losing streak is just too much for him to take.
Odds: 60-to-1. House just doesn't seem the type to let a regular season loss get to him like that, even if he didn't play at all in the game.
13. Jamaal Magloire, 40:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Like so many of the Heat's bench players, Magloire is a veteran nearing the end of his NBA career. It could be that he sees this team as one of his last chances to earn himself a ring, and his poor play is devastating to him.
Odds: 40-to-1. Magloire has played for some truly terrible teams in years past, and given the Heat's 43-20 record, something tells me that he's happy even if they do lose a game here and there.
12. Dwyane Wade, 35:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Wade is one of this team's two best players, a cold-hearted competitor who takes pride in his team's success. So it stands to reason that Wade would be affected pretty profoundly when that team struggles to jell on the court.
Odds: 35-to-1. Could Wade have gotten weepy? Sure. But he feels like a guy who would suck it up and work in the gym another 10 hours a week rather than sitting in the locker room surrounded by tissues.
11. Joel Anthony, 30:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Anthony was given a $3 million contract and has yet to live up to any kind of hype in Miami. Perhaps his ineffectiveness has taken its toll on the young center, and he broke down in the locker room.
Odds: 30-to-1. Anthony might be ineffective, but he doesn't seem like an emotional wreck just yet. After all, it's not like he's Kwame Brown or anything.
10. Udonis Haslem, 25:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Haslem was supposed to be a key cog in the Heat's title chase in 2010-11. Instead, the big man has been hurt since November, and without him, the post has lacked any semblance of a reliable presence. His desire to play coupled with his inability to do so could be what caused him to cry after the loss.
Odds: 25-to-1. Haslem just doesn't seem the type to cry, and even if his injury means he'd get sympathy, it wouldn't fix anything now, would it?
9. James Jones, 20:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Jones is one of the team's outside shooters, but he hasn't been playing all that much recently—netting only nine minutes against the Bulls—and has seen his scoring plummet below four points per game in recent days.
Odds: 20-to-1. Jones hasn't been playing a ton of minutes all season; why would that bother him now? All shooters go into funks, and Jones is the 2011 Three-Point Shootout champ. In other words, he doesn't have much to complain about, does he?
8. Juwan Howard, 15:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Howard is in Miami for one reason, and one reason only—to win a ring. With each loss, that ring seems a bit further away than it did the day before.
Odds: 15-to-1. Howard's been around long enough to know better than to get worked up over a loss or two—we hope.
7. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 10:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Here's the thing about Big Z: He loves playing with LeBron; that's why he came to Miami. So if James is upset about a loss, guess who else is? His big buddy, that's who!
Odds: 10-to-1. This one doesn't seem all that far-fetched—you can totally see LeBron feeling down about the loss and Big Z starting to cry because his friend is sad.
6. Mike Bibby, 8:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Bibby just joined the Heat after being bought out by his previous employer, the Atlanta Hawks. But since coming to the team three games ago, not only has he not been effective; the team has yet to win. That's got to weigh on a guy's mind, for sure.
Odds: 8-to-1. This one actually seems plausible. I can definitely see Bibby sniffling in the locker room, wondering what happened to the title contender he'd signed on to.
5. Mario Chalmers, 7:1
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Why It Could Be Him: With every loss that mounts, Chalmers, the Heat starting point guard, has to feel more like a scapegoat. He's struggled across the board this season, and the lack of a strong point guard is one of the team's biggest weaknesses.
Odds: 7-to-1. Chalmers was a big factor in the loss, so it's possible that his play was enough to make things get dusty near his locker.
4. Mike Miller, 4.5:1
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Why it Could Be Him: Miller was supposed to be the missing piece for the Heat—the outside shooter who would do all the nitty-gritty stuff. Instead, he's struggled and was the reason Luol Deng went to the line to shoot two at the end of last night's game.
Odds: 4.5-to-1. This one seems pretty plausible. Miller essentially gave away a win by committing a stupid foul and let three of the NBA's best players down in the process. If that doesn't make him sniffle, he might be a robot.
3. Chris Bosh, 3:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Bosh was the third piece of Miami's Triforce, so to speak. He was the post presence they'd need to go all the way. But he's had a nasty habit of fading near the end of games and has been owned by even average power forwards this season. On Sunday, he disappeared down the stretch again and was a major non-factor in the loss.
Odds: 3-to-1. Bosh is a sensitive sort, and the criticism he's taken this year could be getting to him. Given the team's post struggles, it's not a stretch to say that Bosh probably needed a tissue at some point last night.
2. Erik Spoelstra, 2.5:1
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Why It Could Be Him: Spoelstra was the man charged with bringing everything together into the contender people knew this team would be. However, he's dropped the ball in many ways and has a streaky team in the midst of a funk with no answers on how to fix things. Unless things turn around soon, he could be facing a pink slip come season's end.
Odds: 2.5-to-1. Given that Spoelstra was the one who ratted out someone in the locker room as the crier, it could be that he was talking about himself. He's taken a ton of criticism this season, and it's bound to wear on a guy at some point.
1. LeBron James, 2:1
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Why It Could Be Him: James, more than any other player on this team, would be the one who has the most reason to cry. After all, he burned bridges and became the NBA's biggest villain overnight, with the promise of rings and glory to negate it all.
Instead, he's gotten struggles from his teammates, losses and third place in the Eastern Conference. All the pressure, all the expectations, everything falls on him more than anyone on that team. So, when they lose, it makes sense for him to be the one crying.
Odds: 2-to-1. Imagine you're LeBron. You came to South Beach trying to become a legend, playing with two other superstars in order to form an unprecedented super team.
Now, you sit in third in the Eastern Conference, with no point guard, no consistent post presence and no real answers on how to fix things. The empire you envisioned is crumbling around you, and you don't know how to stop it.
Wouldn't you cry too?
