Derrick Rose and The Chicago Bulls Are To Blame for Miami Heat Inconsistencies
The Miami Heat have been a rather inconsistent bunch this season.
What seemed to be a foregone conclusion of championship parades and legacies cemented with the signings of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in a historic summer of free-agent moves and trades, has turned into a season filled with personality conflicts, injuries, roster shuffling and failures against the NBA's elite.
It was not supposed to be this way. It was supposed to be easy. Resistance to the Heat dynasty was supposed to be futile.
James said it himself during his introductory gala at American Airlines Arena shortly after announcing to the world he was taking his talents to South Beach.
James promised, or at least intimated, that Miami would win multiple championships with Wade and Bosh as his sidekicks.
But it has not turned out as planned. At this point every facet of the organization is being questioned after the Heat dropped a fourth consecutive contest.
Why has this journey been a roller coaster ride?
Some point to the inability to garner more than a single win against the league's top teams. Miami is a combined 0-6 against the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics and 15-18 vs. opponents with winning records. The only quality win Miami has this season came way back on Christmas Day against the world champion Lakers.
Others point to head coach Erik Spoelstra's struggles in formulating game plans, which effectively use the abilities of his three best players.
Voices from the wilderness have examined bench production, or lack thereof, in recent losses to the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and during the last two defeats at the hands of Chicago.
A lack of a true inside presence was thought to be the glaring weakness on a team with a core of stars. Joel Anthony, Eric Dampier and Zydrunas Ilgauskas have acted as stopgaps instead of solutions.
Second half collapses and final minute shortcomings have been the latest flaws with less than 20 games left in the regular season.
However, the Heat can look no further than the team and player directly ahead of them in the Eastern Conference standings for the reason doubt has settled in.
It could have been different if the bounce of ping pong balls resulted in the Heat selecting No. 1 rather than No. 2 in the 2008 NBA Draft.
As we all know, the Chicago Bulls took point guard Derrick Rose No. 1 overall, while Miami settled for Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley with the next selection.
Three years later, Rose has won the Rookie of the Year award, played in two NBA All-Star games, and is a serious contender for league MVP.
Beasley on the other hand has been an underachiever who the Heat traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves to clear salary cap space.
Maybe if Rose was running point, the Heat probably wouldn't have needed to grab Carlos Arroyo off the scrap heap, need Mario Chalmers to hit late-game three-pointers, or sign an aging Mike Bibby after the trade deadline in order to stabilize the backcourt.
Maybe if Rose is in a Miami Heat uniform, the organization could have used the $126 million thrown at Bosh and spread it out to fill the roster with capable secondary and tertiary players who can fill much needed roles around James and Wade.
Sure, Rose probably wouldn't put up the same numbers playing alongside two elite basketball talents, but he would have been the scorer and facilitator the Heat so desperately desire.
There would be the perception that Rose would need the ball in his hands all the time to be successful. Not true. In high school, he deferred to teammates. At Memphis, he let Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey do the bulk of the scoring. For much of his rookie season, Rose gave way to Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng and still was able to be an impact contributor.
With Rose in place, James and Wade could have been justified in proclaiming a bevy of titles.
Now they look up at Rose and the Bulls who will be their nemesis for years to come.
That is something to cry about.
