The name of this blog is an invitation to talk about Greek things, so today it's hubris. More to the point, last night it was hubris that did in Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat.
Wade's three pointer from the corner gave Miami a 15 point lead with a little more than 7 minutes left in the game. The shot was fine, but Wade decided to tempt the fates by striking a pose, holding his follow through and thus both arms aloft, for a long, long, long time - right in front of the Mavericks' bench.
I respect Wade as a talent, but one thing that has always bothered me about his game is all the posing, preening, chest thumping, attention-seeking, flopping, etc. He must lead the NBA in 'time spent staring at yourself in the mirror' (or TS-SYM for stat geeks).
Of course, that also describes most of Miami, especially Heat fans, a city that often prefers style over substance.
Though it may be popular with Miami's front runner fans, it all caught up with Wade and his teammates in the last seven minutes, as the Heat hoisted up bad shot after bad shot expecting them to go in because they were hot. Wade's 3 with a minute left was an especially bad shot, rushed and off balanced but stylish as he faded away.
But we also have give some credit to the Mavericks, who finally stopped turning it over so much. Down the stretch they got good shots, and Jason Terry finally stepped up. And unlike his fellow superstars, LeBron James and Wade, Dirk Nowitzki was patient and did not rush anything on his way to scoring the last nine points of the game to give Dallas a critical win and a great comeback.
A comeback made possible by Wade's hubris, the greatest sin to the ancient Greeks and a terrible one to commit with a 15 point lead with only seven minutes to play.
Wade's three pointer from the corner gave Miami a 15 point lead with a little more than 7 minutes left in the game. The shot was fine, but Wade decided to tempt the fates by striking a pose, holding his follow through and thus both arms aloft, for a long, long, long time - right in front of the Mavericks' bench.
I respect Wade as a talent, but one thing that has always bothered me about his game is all the posing, preening, chest thumping, attention-seeking, flopping, etc. He must lead the NBA in 'time spent staring at yourself in the mirror' (or TS-SYM for stat geeks).
Of course, that also describes most of Miami, especially Heat fans, a city that often prefers style over substance.
Though it may be popular with Miami's front runner fans, it all caught up with Wade and his teammates in the last seven minutes, as the Heat hoisted up bad shot after bad shot expecting them to go in because they were hot. Wade's 3 with a minute left was an especially bad shot, rushed and off balanced but stylish as he faded away.
But we also have give some credit to the Mavericks, who finally stopped turning it over so much. Down the stretch they got good shots, and Jason Terry finally stepped up. And unlike his fellow superstars, LeBron James and Wade, Dirk Nowitzki was patient and did not rush anything on his way to scoring the last nine points of the game to give Dallas a critical win and a great comeback.
A comeback made possible by Wade's hubris, the greatest sin to the ancient Greeks and a terrible one to commit with a 15 point lead with only seven minutes to play.
No comments:
Post a Comment