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The Miami Heat will not be going 82-0. If fans learned anything from Tuesday night’s matchup with the Boston Celtics, it is the importance of chemistry. With Dwayne Wade on the bench for the majority of the game, the Celtics defeated the Heat 88-80.
The Heat looked like they were playing in their first preseason game — not regular season. They came into the game without a definite game plan. The only time they made a run was in the second half when LeBron James took over and turned the team into the Miami Cavaliers.
When Wade was in the game, there were no set plays, but isolations leading to difficult jump shots and one-on-one drives ending without points due to the Celtics’ giant size in the middle.
The reason for the Heat’s lack of chemistry is simple. Before Tuesday’s game the Heat had three practices with all of the big three participating. In the preseason they played a whole 120 seconds together. Chemistry issues rose more than a few concerns for Miami going forward.
Never in any level of basketball has LeBron played off the ball — he must have the ball in his hands to be effective. In the first half when he was sharing the ball with Wade, he looked uncomfortable. Wade played off the ball some, but he was not used to it. It will be hard for the Heat to share the basketball.
Chemistry is an issue that can be fixed; size is not. At the end of games it seems the Heat will move Chris Bosh to the five spot, where he is uncomfortable. This will put the 6-foot-8-inches Udonis Haslem as the power forward, leaving the Heat undersized. However, it is a long season and Miami still has the talent to be the team everyone thinks they can be.
The Celtics showed why they are championship contenders, starting with the shutdown defense. They constantly clog the lane, bringing an extra defender in for help, sacrificing an outside shot. Teams have to shoot the lights out just to have a chance to compete. After the first quarter, the Heat had scored nine points on 23 percent shooting. They ended the game with only 80 points and shot 36.5 percent from the field. No matter the circumstances, it is an accomplishment to hold a team with Wade or James to only 80 points.
Point guard Rajon Rondo once again showed why he might be the only one capable of running a team with this many stars. Rondo only scored four points, but that was whipped cream on top of the 17 assists he dished out. When the Celtics are playing their best basketball, Rondo has the ball in his hands and the Celtics hustle in transition to get to the spots on the floor where they feel comfortable. The big men fill the lanes and the shooters find their spot because they know Rondo will find them. With so many weapons on the court, the Celtics can have anyone go off on any night, and Rondo gives them that opportunity. On Monday it was Allen going 5-8 from three, scoring 20 points.
Another positive for the Celtics was Shaquille O’Neal. He missed a few close shots, but made the most of his 18 minutes. Shaq grabbed seven boards to go along with nine points and seems to be in the best shape he has been in a while.
It is a long season for the veteran Celtics and Shaq’s minutes will be monitored closely, but when Kendrick Perkins returns there will be some big men in the middle that can split minutes, leaving the Celtics rested for the playoffs.
Take what you want from day one of a long NBA season, but it’s safe to say the big three aren’t going anywhere.
