Can't help but love the fact that Erik Spoelstra is dropping down a size and using the small lineup regularly again. Doug Collins said the other night that LeBron James' best position is power forward. Now, while that's hardly true all the time, because he's a better rebounder and defender against guys his own size or smaller, he does become more difficult to defend off the dribble when he's at that position.
But more than that, when the Heat goes small, it feels like the offense is just more potent, especially now that the guys know each other well, and with Chris Bosh playing aggressively, and with Mike Bibby out there knocking down threes at nearly 50 percent efficiency.
It's going to so well, that you'd even like to see Spo play that lineup against bigger teams and force them to match up with it.
Obviously, the Big Three had it going against the Rockets. And the Rockets do allow their opponents to put up big numbers. But it does look like these guys are having their best games together just before the playoffs, which must be comforting for Heat fans to see.
Dwyane Wade looks fairly unstoppable, particularly late in games. And Bosh's offensive aggressiveness appears to be transferring to the defensive end as well, as he's actually trying to contest most shots near the basket.
It wouldn't surprise me at all if this team runs the table the rest of the way, because Spo says he doesn't intend on resting his starters, and because other than a home game against the Celtics and a late game in Atlanta, there aren't any difficult ones on the schedule. That would very likely wrap up a No. 2 seed, which means Boston in the second round and homecourt advantage.
Finally, shout out to Dan LeBatard for writing something I've been thinking for weeks now. The whole Derrick-Rose-for-MVP thing has gotten out of control. He is the best player on the best team in the East, so of course he deserves strong consideration. But just because a few people on TV believe he's the MVP, it's as if no one else is left in the hunt. How many Bulls highlights have you seen with the anchor just flat-out calling him MVP throughout the highlight? That would be every Bulls clip in the past six weeks.
It's ridiculous, especially when you consider that Dwight Howard has a strong, if not stronger, case, and guys like LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki are all right there with him.
The thing about it is, when you're writing for a South Florida publication, you're automatically viewed as bias. I wish someone from, I don't know, the Midwest would have the nerve to actually question Rose's status as favorite.
Comments