Mook vs the Miami crybabies

"The Miami Heat are exactly what everyone wanted, losing games," ... "The world is better now because the Heat is losing." ~ Dwyane Wade

After their loss to the Bulls (Which was followed by a loss to the Blazers, giving them 5 straight losses before beating the Lakers last night), Coach Eric Spolestra admitted players were in the locker room crying.

Why he would say that I don’t know.

But Dwyane Wade’s quote confirms it anyway.

Hey look, you guys may not be the biggest jerks in the world. You were just three friends who wanted to play together and work together – and who could blame you for that?

But fans don’t like you.

You egged the nation against you afterwards.

And if you don’t like it now- too bad.

I feel bad for you… but I don’t.

The thing is, if you would have come out right away and said you wanted to play together, people would have loved it. They would have appreciated friends wanting to be together. Instead, you made the free agency period a circus. You led teams & fans on. And took video cameras with you.

You didn’t care about the fan. You showed no humility. You brought these things upon yourself.

If you lose this season, then everyone will forget. And then, after you win next season, everyone will love you again.

As for your team…

·      Who really cares about the regular season

·      3 players don’t make a team, and it is showing

·      Losing so many close games, can’t be a good sign

·      Maybe LeBron really can’t close games and is not a winner

As for crying…

·      Be a man

·      Cry in the playoffs, not the regular season

·      Cry because you win, not because you lose.

·      Is this really the worst thing in the world?

As Tom Hanks is infamously known for saying in "A League of their own" 

"Are you crying?... There's no crying in baseball!"

And it should be that in every sport

Do any of you wish you were playing in Chicago with D Rose & Jokiam Noah? Young, talented, winners… they look tough.

Knicks still need another player or two

Celtics still have to be the favorites

Orlando has the best big man, so they can’t be counted out.

And why does everyone forget about Atlanta? 3 on 3 they’d be about as tough to beat as the Heat. I’d take Joe Johnson, Josh Smith & Al Hoford

Man, why do I even care about the NBA?

Mook vs the Miami Heat

The best FA NBA signings? Not LeBron or Bosh... not Boozer or Stoudamire either...

When the Heat signed Lebron and Bosh to go with Dwyane Wade- I honestly wasn’t that impressed. Big name players and big spending doesn’t guarantee championships.


But when they were able to get Mike Miller and Udolis Haslem? Now I think they are a championship team- and I’m not sure if anyone can beat them. Those were the best signings of the off-season.

Miller is perfect compliment for LeBron- or Wade. He will get a lot of open jumpers, 3pointers, and can play.
Haslem was desperately needed: a worker, a big guy, a goon.

Your really only need 7 or 8 players to win. They have 5… + 2 decent guys. Another Center- maybe Shaq (See previous post) and I don’t see anyone stopping them.
Wade or Bron can handle the point, that Chalmers won’t have to play that much (don’t go comparing him to Rondo- he’s not Rajon Rondo).

They could go ahead and get Penny… and while they’re at it bring back Barkley- we know he is one of Wade’s top five friends… I read somewhere else someone suggesting Reggie Miller- why not? He could hit an open 3…. They don’t need youth… Wade, Bosh & Bron are in this league for a long time!

Barkley & Miller are certainly jokes, and even Hardaway(though he might be in decent shape), but they don’t need much.

They have good offense, and Bron can play defense. Wade is the competitor and I think- like Paul Pierce did- will become a better defensive player now. And Haslem will be the low-post defense guy.
More defense will be better. But they have added some nice pieces to this team.

And that’s what you need: A TEAM!

The Lakers still have the best team – they have 5 guys who could be all-stars. The Celtics have a big 4 now, and a veteran team hungry to win. And the Bulls still have one of the most promising young teams in the league… and never count out Nash & the Suns or Duncan & the Spurs… plus I really like Portland… and Orlando has Dwight… Dallas, Houston, Utah, Denver, OKC and even ATL, will be tough… the NBA is still wide open… of course I hate the nba and I don’t know why I write about it so much…

I don’t think Chris Paul winds up going anywhere, no other team has what N.O. needs… and if the trade was going to happen it would happened before LeBron signed…

Just got off the phone with another Cleveland friend… my apologies go out to you all still…

Mook vs Shaq

There are no reports about this happening, but i think a number of fans see it happening: Shaq to the Heat.

Here is why it makes sense
1. From the get-go, news of signing Bron & Bosh to join Wade would work b/c others would join them in Miami b/c they want to win. Shaq already has won, but 5 rings has a nice ring to it. It's not about the money for Shaq, then his best chance to win may be here...

2. IF it is about money, even if he does take the minimum, he'd have plenty of opportunity to make money through advertising, and he would get plenty of more advertising playing for the Heat with the best player in the league, and the most talked about team as well as a winner...

3. If it isn't about money or winning, maybe he just wants to have fun, and his teammates here want to have fun... and being #4 or 5,6... he could just have fun

4. He's played in Miami before. It would be an easy adjustment. Fans there still like him. He knows the management. It would be comfortable

5. Fame. Miami already knows him. Championships garner more fame. Being surrounded by famous athletes give more chance for fame.

6. Miami needs him more than anyone else. Others may want him more, but no one needs him more. They need muscle. They need a big man. They need a veteran. And for an athlete who has a lot of pride, i think he would want to be with the team that needs him most

7. Where else would he go?
a. i though Dallas was where he would end up. Cuban likes him, and would offer good money and a fun owner and good chance to win. But then they signed Haywood and traded for Chandler. Where is there room for Shaq
b. Houston would be a good choice after they lost out on Bosh. He could tutelage Yao and be insurance in case he gets hurt again. They could even go old school like Sampson and Hakeem and have the twin towers
c. Nothing is bigger than Texas and no one is bigger than Shaq. So if not the above teams, why not San Antonio, where he could team up with Duncan like David Robinson did years ago. Shaq just seems like a giant cowboy
d. Cleveland could take him back, but they already added like every big man they could to go with Bron, and what they really need is youth and someone to replace LeBron, Sha doesn't really fit anymore
e. Clippers- if he wants to be showtime and go back to LA, but not the LAkers, he could go to the Clippers. i don't think they're really interested, and i doubt Shaq is either
f. New York: big market, but he didn't mesh well with D'Antoni before...
g. Orlando: it's where he started his career, so why not end there?
h. OKC: he has played with Penny, Kobe, Dwyane Wade, Nash and LeBron. What other great perimeter player could he play with? How about Kevin Durant? Not likely though
i. Atlanta: makes the most sense. Good team, need, money... we'll see

8. Kobe. i think it really comes down to this. Some people are saying Kobe is one of the greatest ever now(don't include me in the list). Another championship would match Kobe with Jordan. And Kobe now has two rings without Shaq, and he only has one ring without Kobe.
If the Heat are going to beat the Lakers they need a big man. Sure someone else may beat the Lakers before they get to the championship or someone else besides the Heat may have to beat them, but the current Miami team with Shaq as the missing puzzle piece would certainly be hard to beat.