Sports Agenda for Thursday (6/21/12)
Big Story:
The Heat stand on the cusp of history. The Marlins have gone into full-fledged suck mode. And college football gets a playoff. Yknow, if the Marlins were winning, I'd totally believe the Mayan myth right now!
Quote of the Day:
"We count on winning. And if we lose, don't beef. And the best way to prevent beefing is - don't lose." – Knute Rockne
Miami Heat: (vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, Game 5 of the NBA Finals)
This is it Heat fans, this is a Game 7 for the Heat tonight.
Miami doesn't want to let this series go back to Oklahoma City, that's got danger written all over it.
That's why I fully expect Miami to let it all hang out tonight and play like they've never played before.
The Thunder are going to come out firing on all cylinders and that means Miami is going to have to be able to take a stiff shot to the body early.
If this were a championship boxing match, Miami would have used the rope-a-dope theory to this point.
Basically, rope-a-dope means you let your opponent jump out first, punch themselves out until they get tired, you take their best shot, and then hit the gas and win the fight in the end.
Sounds pretty familiar to Games 1-4 huh?
Tonight, the Heat shouldn't try to do that.
Miami needs to come out firing and have the time to let LeBron and Wade both rest in the first half.
It's far more important to have LeBron ready for the stretch run in the late third and fourth quarter.
That's why it's going to be crucial for Chris Bosh and Battier, Chalmers, and others to get going early.
If Miami comes out shooting as poorly as they did in the first quarter of the last game, this one has the possibility of getting away from them.
But make no mistake, we are watching something spectacular from LeBron James.
He's often compared to Michael Jordan, so how does he stack up this year to Jordan's first championship year?
Both were NBA MVP's and if the Heat win, both will be NBA Finals MVP's.
In his first championship run, Jordan scored 31.1 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and 8.35 assists per game in the playoffs. Jordan shot 52% from the field.
How about LeBron this year? 30.5 points per game, 9.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. LeBron is shooting 50% from the field.
Eerily similar isn't it?
LeBron measures himself against Jordan and so do most observers.
If he and the Heat can win tonight, he'll elevate himself into the true conversation with Jordan.
So can the Heat win tonight?
I think Oklahoma is going to play with complete reckless abandon tonight and shoot until their arms fall off.
It's going to be crucial for Miami's defense to come ready to play tonight.
I think Miami is going to stick to the formula from last game and frustrate Durant while letting Westbrook shoot away.
It's a wise move because Westbrook had to take a lot of shots to get his points.
Each miss is an opportunity for Miami.
Durant can get going and if you keep him relatively in check, which the Heat can do, then things should get moving quickly for Miami.
History says the Thunder are toast at this point.
I don't think they'll roll over and play dead tonight, but I think it's Miami's time, it's LeBron's time.
Get ready Miami….it's time to party tonight when the Heat win the championship.
Heat by 5 over Oklahoma City tonight at the AAA.
Miami Marlins: (@ Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.)
I'm running out of ways to describe how bad the Marlins are right now.
Here's some adjectives I think fit the team in their current state: appalling, atrocious, deplorable, depressing, dire, disgusting, distressing, dreadful, fearful, frightful, ghastly, gruesome, grungy, hideous, unpleasant, unsightly.
Yeah, that about sums it up.
I'd like to write more, but honestly, I'm up to my eyeballs in all things Heat today.
More later!
Follow me on Twitter @timkephart33
