The Heat finally defeat a Contender

After showing much promise last season, a lot of people expected the Miami Heat to make a big move during the offseason. That big move never came to be. As the new season approached, it was expected of the Heat to be just as good, or not as good, as they were the season before. But, they surprised the entire league when they got off to a 6-1 start. Their only loss during that stretch came when they slipped against the Phoenix Suns, but they could have won that game.

However, as the season progressed, the Heat lost close games against the Cavaliers, Lakers, and Celtics. Those losses must have gotten into the head of the Heat players. Before long, they were also losing to teams like the Raptors and the Bobcats. These losses, which could have easily been wins placed the Miami Heat in a tough situation heading into last night's game against the Lakers. The last time that the teams played, Kobe Bryant buried a buzzer-beating three pointer that gave Los Angeles a one-point win.

With that memory fresh in the minds of Dwyane Wade and Jermaine O'Neal, they came into their most-recent meeting with the Lakers as tough as they could. For most of the game, the Heat led, but late the Lakers came charging back, much like their meeting on December 4. Just like in the first meeting, the last shot in regulation was taken by Kobe Bryant, but unlike in the last meeting, it was only good enough to force overtime. In the overtime session, Carlos Arroyo held the team down. Miami escaped their most-recent home game with a close 114-111 victory over the Lakers. This win was important on many different levels. Against the top teams in the league, Miami had a combined record of 3-8. They had two early wins against the Magic, but those wins could never spark a run.

But, when their backs were against the wall, Miami lost in overtime to Boston after Dwyane Wade seemingly hit the game-winning shot. If that was not the case, they gave up in the fourth quarters to Boston, fell by one at home to Cleveland and got blown out bad on the road. Early on, the Heat played with the same confidence that it showed during the Shaquille O'Neal era. But, after their first loss to the Cavs, the team lost its stride and could not regain it. The loss to the Lakers only did more to ruin the confidence of the team and the injury to Dwyane Wade in the middle of their five-game win streak did little to help. Had Wade remained in the lineup, the Heat probably could have kept the streak going.

While their confidence has taken a lot of blows, this win over the Lakers may do something to lift them just for a little while.

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Dwyane Wade seeks revenge on Kobe Bryant

Not so long ago, this was a one-sided rivalry. The rivalry was created by former Los Angeles Lakers' center, Shaquille O'Neal. His feud with former teammate, Kobe Bryant reached a head and he was traded to Miami. With his new team, O'Neal formed a duo with Dwyane Wade. He used his new sidekick to get back at Kobe Bryant. Their friendship, put friction between Wade and Bryant. During one game in 2006, Wade and Bryant nearly came to blows. But, four years later, O'Neal stepped out and maturity stepped in.

Over the past few seasons, Kobe Bryant has returned his Lakers to winning ways. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade has learned what it is like to play for a lackluster team. His Miami Heat have shown flashes of dominance, but in between those flashes, they are not much better than the New Jersey Nets. During one of those flashes of dominance, the Heat went into the home of the Lakers and almost won. With only a few seconds left in the game, Miami led 106-102. It appeared as if the Heat were going to win a big game.

However, the Lakers stormed back and cut the lead to two. Two clutch free throws were missed by the Heat and Kobe Bryant capitalized when he hit the game-winning three-pointer as time expired. That game has been some time ago, but it remains fresh in Dwyane Wade's memory. After all, he was the one that Bryant shot over to win the game. In the mind of Wade, that shot was personal and he plans to avenge that loss. He feels that his team should finally use their homecourt advantage to their advantage and build a large lead over the defending NBA champions. That way, if Kobe Bryant hits a three-pointer when time expires, it will not matter. Dwyane Wade has promised a performance for the ages tonight.

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Dwyane Wade is Tired of Losing

Last season, the Miami Heat was a promising, young, talented team. During the season, Dwyane Wade established himself as a star of the same caliber as Kobe Bryant. The young talent around him was also able to prove itself, at times. Despite being an average team, Wade’s Heat did notch wins against the Magic, Lakers, Cavaliers, and Celtics. The promise of last season was expected to be fulfilled this season, it has not been.

Ever since the 2007-2008 season, it has been no secret that the Heat were going to try to land a big-name free agent to its roster. Pat Riley, the team president, said that Dwyane Wade was on board with this plan. But, during that same season, injuries to key players saw the Heat post a league-worst 15-67 record. The next season, Wade was finally healthy, but the talent around him was not what it used to be. He had an MVP-caliber season, but the Heat’s record held him back.

At the beginning of this season, Miami came out with all cylinders firing. They won six of their first seven games, the best start in their franchise’s history. Pat Riley had devised a back-up plan to the 2010 free agent market to keep Dwyane Wade happy. His back-up plan was to work some magic during the 2009 offseason. With Carlos Boozer unhappy in Utah, Riley planned to trade some back-up players and use the cap space to sign Lamar Odom.

The overall plan was to keep Dwyane Wade happy by surrounding him with Carlos Boozer and Lamar Odom, while retaining Jermaine O’Neal and Michael Beasley. Odom had said that he was going to sign with Miami, but in the end, he returned to his defending-champion Lakers. When the deal with Odom fell through, so did the dream team that would have also included former scoring champion and MVP, Allen Iverson.

After the ‘dream team’ did not come to be, Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Heat developed an idea for the team to grow from within. Jermaine O’Neal had stated that he regained the explosiveness that he had during his days with the Indiana Pacers. Also, the coaching staff reported that Michael Beasley would develop into a star. Mario Chalmers, the surprise of the previous season had also been said to have become a three-point shooter.

The quick start turned some heads, but in the end, it was revealed to be nothing more than a quick start. Their “heat” has fizzled away and Miami now sits at 25-27, barely within playoff contention. For a player as great as Dwyane Wade, this has to be hard, knowing that his teammates are not doing what they can to help him out. As the losses mount up, Wade could very well be in another jersey, competing for a NBA title, with another team.

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