South Beach Savvy

Can you feel the Heat down in your soul?

With the Miami Heat just one game away from their first ever trip to the NBA Finals, I felt compelled to give a shout out to the Boys of South Beach.

They have done a magnificent job of not only dismantling but also demoralizing the Piston team. As is evidenced by their play and domineer, the Pistons are unraveling. See, this wouldn’t be a problem if the team spiraled downward behind closed doors, but they are doing this on national television, for everyone to see. Rip Hamilton has resorted to flagrant fouls, and ‘Sheed doesn’t want to talk to Big Ben or Flip.

But, enough with the Piston woes. This is about the Miami Heat and the way they have stepped up and stepped in.

The Heat are playing with unbelievable confidence and a cut-throat attitude, something that wasn’t there all season. They have turned it on at exactly the right time, behind the marvelous play of Shaq and Wade.

At the start of this series, ninety-five percent of the entire world had the Pistons penciled in as the Eastern Conference Champions, as no one expected the Heat would play this well.

But, why should anyone have expected less from this Heat team. Arguably, forget arguably, definitely, this Heat team has more talent then last year’s team, and most analysts say that last year’s team was two minutes away from the NBA Finals.

Wait a minute. Can we really trust these so-called analysts? Now remember, these are the same analysts that had the Pistons in six, for this year’s East Finals.

I say, forget the analysts. The Heat weren’t two minutes away from the East Finals; they were an injury away. Take away either the injury to Wade of Shaq and that series would have been Heat in six. Take away both of their injuries and it would have been Heat in five.

Last year’s Piston team was a facade. Sure they could beat a depleted Heat team that featured an injury to all five starters, but a healthy Miami Heat squad, who would have gone on to win the NBA Finals, would have trounced them.

All right, let’s get back on point. Now that we have established that this year’s Heat team is better than last year’s Heat team, and last year’s Heat team, pending health, would have taken care of Detroit, it is only fair to assess that this year’s Heat squad should have been expected to win this series, especially because both Shaq and Wade are healthy.

But it is fine, the Heat had to earn the right to be qualified as a favorite, as Detroit was coming off of an NBA Championship and a Finals appearance, respectively.

No problem, every team has its doubters. And speaking about doubters, if I hear Steve Nash talk one more time about how everyone in the NBA and the world doubted the Suns, I am going to implode. Isn’t he content with robbing Shaq of an MVP last year and LeBron of an MVP this year that he has to steal something else. Steve: There were more people who doubted the Heat against Pistons then there were people who have doubted Phoenix in any of the series so far.

I didn’t hear you complain about the extra two days rest that the NBA granted you, so you could rest and figure out how to shoot the basketball. The NBA robbed the Clippers, like you robbed Shaq and LeBron, so keep quiet and play the game.

But hey, if Shaq grabs another Finals MVP, I don’t think he’ll be too worried about last year’s MVP outcome. And based on the way things are headed, I don’t think Shaq and the gang will have much trouble taking care of the Pistons and earning Supremacy in the East.  

I expect the Heat to come out tonight with an extra bounce in their step, as they should be able to finish off the Pistons at the Palace.

Everyone has been waiting for the real Piston team to show up, so it is too bad that they were last sighted two years ago. Don’t expect the Pistons to suddenly go into a telephone booth, transform themselves into Super Heroes, and come back to win the series. This series is not going more than six. Detroit may be able to pull out a victory, solely based on the extra energy the Piston fans may be able to bring.

Even then, I expect the Heat to be too much for the Pistons to handle, especially if Wade brings acrobatic plays like the ones seen in game four. Oh ya, that’s not to mention Shaq Diesel blocking shots, grabbing the ball, dribbling three quarters the distance of the court, and laying it up strong, like he was Michael Jordan or something.

If the Heat can get that kind of play, it’s over!

Whatever Pat Riley has done or said to this team, it seems to be working. Speaking of Pat, I am kind of anxious to see what is under the blanket in the Heat locker room.

If I were to venture a guess, I would have to say: Shaq and Wade dumped their injuries into it before Game 1. The Heat tied up Antoine Walker and put him into the box before Game 1, sending out a Mission Impossible version of ‘Toine. After Game 2, Udonis had to have dumped his low shooting percentage into that box. Gary Payton and ‘Zo probably dumped five years of their age into it. And Jason Williams jumped in just for kicks, as I have yet to see him come up big.

So, as for my first question. Yes, an emphatic YES!

I CAN FEEL THE HEAT DOWN IN MY SOUL!