We all know that NBA players have thin skin and LeBron James
proved it with his comment after the Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks on
Monday.
When asked about his teammate Dwyane Wade’s 11-of-13
shooting performance after the game, James replied that Wade’s performance
meant that TNT analyst Charles Barkley should “shut up.”
This was in reference to Barkley’s comments indicating that
he felt Wade had lost some of his trademark explosiveness. Now granted, anybody
who’s heard Barkley ramble on in that gruffy tone of his can plainly see
that he’s loud, very frank, and he has an opinion on everything.
But what Barkley says about anybody in the NBA has no real importance.
He’s just an entertainer, that’s it.
With that said I still find it hard to fault James for
taking a defensive stance on behalf of his teammate. That’s what good teammates
do.
But the time to defend your teammate is on the court, not
from talking heads that have no impact on your season.
And at the current rate the Heat are going, their chances of
making a third straight appearance in the Finals may be in jeopardy.
Sure they have a decent record but the Heat’s statistical
numbers don’t look all that good when you take a deeper look.
The Heat forced their way to back-to-back Finals appearances
through hard-nosed defense. This year they have regressed in a major way on the
defensive side of the ball.
The Heat had the sixth-best defense in 2010-2011 and the
fourth-best defense last season but this season they currently sit 22nd
in the defensive standings.
Sure they are playing much better offensively after adding
Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis during the offseason but as the old adage goes:
offense wins games but defense wins championships.
And if the Heat don’t regain their defensive focus soon it
won’t matter what Chuck said or if Wade has lost a step or not. James, Wade and
the rest of the Heat will have plenty of time to determine if Barkley was right
while they are watching two other teams play in the Finals come June.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at sportmentalist@yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
Also check out these stories:
No comments:
Post a Comment