pat riley is the one to hold accountable if the heat lose

You're right Hawk. This team is built on SACRIFICE in terms of money. I mean now they're kids will suffer because daddy decided to take a $16.5 million salary instead of $18 million.

You know when they do the starting lineup and a team comes out to a theme music. Jordan's Bulls theme was the best and most intimidating. At my house it was always on WGN at around 7pm. Gives me chills. But this group is not as tough. They should come out to Elton Johns "Sacrifice"

You nailed it man. They're just not hitting their shots. The Ray Allen free throw misses are such a joke. Its like a curse or something. But the way things are, it just so happens that things even out. Last year Battier was useless in the regular season. In the playoffs he came thru in a big way. How could anyone forget Mike Miller's game 5 vs. OKC last year.

If the following happens, the Heat should win;

60 points from the BIG 3. In some form or another. LeBron 35 and the other guys a combined 25 is fine.

15 points from Haslem/Anderson/Anthony

14 points from Allen/Miller/Battier

13 points from Chalmers and Cole

That's enough to win this game.

Peraski -  I toast to you because you speak the truth. Your assessment of Riley is nearly 100% accurate minus a few facts. Riley's board in 2004 was BOSH > Wade. So was probably most GM's including myself who I thought Bosh was a better prospect coming out of GTECH. Because it was actually Kaman who Riley coveted and had to be swayed by I believe Randy Pfund.

From 1995-2002 Riley was an unsuccessful evaluator of collegiate talent. Now most years he picked towards the end of the round, but still you don't get a pass. Because a team like the Spurs take a Tony Parker and go on to build a dynasty. In 2002 he first struck gold with Caron Butler who showed promise and with 2003 pick Wade took that team to the second round in 2004 which was a real fun team. That summer he continued his formula of veteran teams. So he traded picks or wasted them on the likes of Wayne Simien.

His greatest embarrassment had to come in 2008. The Heat fell to the #2 pick and at that time it was Rose or Beasley. Rose was elevated by the time the draft came around. Beasley was rated as the #2 prospect. But more homework should have been done as clearly the guy who joins the #2 pick bust club which strangely has so many members who are busts or underachieved. (Thabeet, Darko, among others). That draft could have netted Kevin Love or Russell Westbrook. I would love a big 3 of Love, LeBron and Wade right now. That would give us what we need so bad. I like Bosh and arguably he was the better choice in 2010 free agency among his contemporaries. But again, you see that Riley is not the greatest of GMs when it comes to the NBA draft.  He really never has been and in historical context that is not what he will be remembered by.

Often times its all about luck. What would the Spurs be without Tim Duncan or the Thunder without Durant. Riley likes to build his teams based on what you can do in the NBA, not March Madness. And because he ahs a bag of championship rings that he can wave to just about any free agent who wants one gets him credibility and respect.

Since 1995 he has built 3 championship contending squads through his methods. He got lucky once (Wade) just like everyone else does and no one does a better job or NBA roster maneuvering than Riley. That could all change with the new CBA. But this man despite his flaw in evaluating college talent is still head and shoulders above the rest.

In retrospect, Ive thrown out there a wish list of Heat's production from an offensive standpoint. This game must be won first on the defensive end, which I think the HEAT have done rather well except for one glaring, gaping hole.

SECOND CHANCE OPPORTIUNITIES.

The Heat do a good enough job forcing Indy to take a high risk shot which they usually miss,. But there is Roy Hibbert right underneath the basket just taking that ball and putting it in the net. Going into last night Roy Hibbert has averaged 6.5 OFFENSIVE rebounds per game. That's incredible. If its not Roy Hibbert its somebody else being active taking swipes at the ball and just catching Miami snoozing.

Had the Heat been able to contain that part of the game, the series would be over. But also, had LeBron missed that layup in game 1, the series would also been over.

bizkilla 

let's hope the heat do enough to win tomorrow... i think wade has too many off the court issues going on right now.   his post game comments were mystifying, aluding to the team having to get him in better position to contribute... LOL... what does he want?  fast break opportunities for easy layups?   i know he shot over 50% from the field this year but i want to know how much of that damage was done with his jumper?   what has happened to his bank shot?  did you see that blog post about a heat player cheating?   obviously referring to wade.   i'm sure gabrielle union knows about this and he's getting a ton of distraction off the court from this issue.   when he busted out the capris last series i knew we were in trouble regarding wade's production.   he must spend more time worrying about his clothes selection than developing his jumper.   just a huge disapointment.   bosh is going to be the key.   if he has a good game, and between chalmers, allen, miller or battier can have a productive game from 3, i believe the heat win.

if they lose, well, i guess one can say the heat are a disapointment based on the level of expectation.   but how many fans would kill to have at least one championsip?   let's not forget that!!!

it's looking at a situation objectively.   i admitted that based on the level of expectation, it's easy to say, and even i admit that if they only win one, it would be a disapointment.   but i am not obsessed enough by sports, or swayed by idiots such as yourself, that i can't take a step back from the situation and admit i'm happy enough to get one.   let me ask you- what do you get out of it as a fan?   it's not like you work in the organization or get a financial bonus for winning a championship.  last year, me and my friends got in my pickup truck, got our pots and pans like a true cuban-american would do, drove to the carretta on bird and 87, then onto the grove... we had a good time celebrating it.   it was a fun night.  nothing a douche such as yourself can take that away.   who are you a fan of mr championship every year???

rp333- 

lol... you're such a joke... i just went back and looked at some of your posts

1- play of  a lifetime, 2nd half over...

2- may 27- the big play... angels.... 

3- lebron is boring...

dude, you're a joke.   since your interests are 'winning', and which you are not, it must suck to not have an interesting life... 50-60 yrs old and with that dopey looking dog and a favorite movie of cinderella... LOL

favorite athlete- johnny bench.   you must be from ohio... no wonder the lebron hate.   no wonder you're so miserable.... you live in the armpit of usa... enjoy you're cold winters while i kick back on the beach 12 months a year  

or may 26- 2nd h big play o 91.5... 

nice job... and these are your 'big plays'  

i'm glad the heat won... that said, my evaluation is spot on.   bosh is soft.   wade's jumper is nonexistent (yes, it made an appearance in game 7, but if you honestly ask yourself if wade's jumper is dependable, the answer is no).   and riley's drafting sucks.  

the team riley put together almost didn't happen.   you remember the year before riley got james and bosh he went after lamar odom but odom didn't want to come?   he panicked to appease wade that year but in the end, worked out for the heat.

and spoelstra still sucks.   andersen got no minutes for several games.   he starts mike miller in games 4 and 5 as his big adjustment and he plays 46 minutes with two shot attempts, no pts, and horrible defensive rotations.   in game 7, after battier started 3-3, he kept miller in the game too long when miller was clearly off and battier was on. 

fact of the matter is, two missed free throws in gm 6 are the difference between everyone on the sh*t wagon, and these guys being geniuses.   the old wade made an appearance in game 7.   and the catalyst is lebron.   any idiot could've made the decision to go after lebron (no genius required for that logic).  let's get off riley's jock.  now, if he convinces lebron to stay while trading bosh and wade and getting something worthwhile in return, i'll revisit the possiblity of labeling riley a genius.

That's why they play the game. Its not about specific situations. Does anyone care about the Lakers comeback against the Blazers? They were In some deep trouble my friend. Yet they climbed back. You can't sit here now and say "well if this didn't happen" or "if he made this shot"

No that's not the way sports and competition is designed The Patriots were arguably one of the greatest teams ever. As potent of an offense as ever witnessed. But they couldn't win the one that counted. I could say the same garbage about game 5. There were high percentage shot that did not go the Heats way. There were atleast 5 in that game. Shots that are usually 60% or better. Had they made just 3 out of those 5. The series would be different. But that's not how it works. You don't just dissect small bits and pieces. Its not a 60 minute football game for all the marbles. Its a 7 game series. The better team usually wins. Not like in football.

I like you Peraski. I would buy your next round if we were at the bar. I am not happy for the record. but you bring sound reasoning and good arguments. Even if they're different than my own, you're the type of fan I seek to have dialogue with on forums.

Similar sentiment here regarding the team. I was not comfortable how we were challenged this playoff run. I really thought that at worst we would go 16-4. The Indiana series proved much tougher than I ever imagined. The Spurs series was a coin toss. Again, I thought we were a superior team and it wasn't going to get easy. But their championship pedigree, overall talent, coaching, and perseverance proved to be worthy of the crown.

I too wanted to see them grow. And I think as a team, especially from the 2010=2011 bunch they have grown. 66 wins including 27 straight is no joke. Having the best player on the planet and utilizing him correctly shows just how advanced Miami heat basketball is.

Just ponder this. The Detroit Lions squandered the career of Barry Sanders. Who may be the best RB ever. They blew it. Just marinate on that.