Coach Spoelstra in the Hot Seat?

LeBron bumping into Coach Spoelstra during a timeout has been the talk throughout the league

     Trouble seems to be brewing in Miami because of the recent performances by the Heat. Heading into December, they are just 9-8, losing four of their last five games. They are just one game over .500 right now and there just seems to be a lot of panic and confusion in South Beach. Everyone's quick to blame the head coach, though.
     According to ESPN, the players have grown weary and are starting to question Coach Spoelstra. There are some reasons as to why the players feel this way about Coach Spoelstra. The first is the players not being able to be themselves. Spoelstra has asked LeBron to be more serious on the court. We all know LeBron is fun and playful on the court and now that he's asked to be more serious, he feels like he's not being himself. Secondly, the offense looks too pedestrian and too simple. In the words of an anonymous source, it's "a bunch of pick and rolls and getting open for a shot." And lastly, the constant talk about Spoelstra's job status. The players feel like Spoelstra is coaching to keep his job instead of coaching to win. Evidently, this affects the way the team plays. Whatever the reasons may be, changes are bound to happen.
     In the loss against the Mavericks this past Saturday, the talk about the game was the infamous "bump". As Coach Spoelstra called time-out, LeBron walked past by him, bumping him in the shoulder along the way. Lots of people are speculating that that was intentional and that it was LeBron's frustration showing.
     Asked about the Heat's situation, guard Dwyane Wade said in a press conference, "Right now, in my opinion, no one is doing a good job. We're 9-and-8. We're all in this together. The players are not doing a good job. The coach is not doing a good job."

LeBron will face his former team on Thursday

   Everyone in Cleveland has to be enjoying this ongoing turmoil down in South Beach. And with all the off-court issues, this week's game against Cleveland doesn't seem like a big deal anymore. No, don't let that fool you. It is still a very big deal. I'm sure everyone, not just Cleveland and Miami fans, has Thursday December 2, 2010 (8 pm eastern on TNT) circled on their calendar. The crowd is expected to be very hostile, so hostile that the NBA has taken precautionary measures and will have extra security for LeBron's arrival in Cleveland. TNT's Kenny Smith says this will probably be the most-watched regular season game in NBA history.

A Roller Coaster Week for the Heat

     With all the noise they made in the summer, the Miami Heat knew they'd be heavily scrutinized this season. Now, four weeks into the season-and their record at just 6-4- the Heat haters are yapping about how much of a disappointment the Heat are.  It's been less than a month into the season and everyone's deeming this project a failure already. But that's the problem. It's too soon. How about we wait until June to see who hoists up the Larry O'Brien trophy? How about we wait 2-3 years down the line? Let's give this experiment some time and see how many titles LeBron James and co. bring to South Beach. Then we can talk. In the meanwhile, let's take it game by game, season by season, and see what the Heat are doing now.

     As I mentioned earlier, we are now nearing the end of the fourth week of the season. It's still a fairly young season, yet, people are saying the Heat are in trouble. Their record (8-5) has a lot to do with it. With losses to the Celtics (twice), the Hornets, the Jazz, and the Grizzlies, critics are questioning whether or not this Heat team is what we all thought they'd be- a championship contender. Some are even going as far as creating a website to get Head Coach Erik Spoelstra fired.

     The Heat won two of the three games they played this week . They defeated the Suns Wednesday night, 123-96, the Bobcats on Friday night, 95-87, and lost to Grizzlies Saturday night, 97-95-thanks to a Rudy Gay buzzer-beater. All-star guard Dwyane Wade sat out Saturday night's game for precautionary measures because of an injured wrist. There's no timetable for his return but we should be seeing D-Wade back on the court soon. Also, reserve forward, Udonis Haslem, injured his foot- believed to be a torn ligament in his left foot- during the Grizzlies' game, and maybe out for several weeks.Veteran forward, Juwan Howard, is expected to step in and fill the void. 

     On a brighter note, LeBron James was nominated earlier this week for Time's Person of the Year award. James said that he was humbled by the nomination, evening noting that he wouldn't even vote for himself if he had the chance to.