Heat Go Down In Game 1

Everything seemed right for the Heat for the first three quarters. Miami's offense ran as if the team was in mid-win streak form, Dwyane Wade looked like it was 2006, Ray Allen and Mike Miller were firing and making from everywhere, and Chris Bosh was hitting 18-foot jumpers like her was throwing a nerf football into a swimming pool. And then, the fourth quarter happened.

I won't get into it, mostly because ESPN is beating the thing to death. Everyone again is saying Wade is too old for getting tired at the end, that Lebron needs to take over more (some reporter at the presser today asked him if he needs to go back to his "Cleveland days"--are you freaking kidding me, again?), that Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are too good, that the Spurs are smarter and better executors, blah blah blah blah blah. Basically, someone at ESPN (gasp!), Andrew McNeill from 48 Minutes From Hell, put it best: "Had a couple of plays gone the other way, we'd be talking about whether Parker and Tim Duncan need more help. It was that close a game."

Yes, the Heat played a pretty putrid 4th quarter and despite Lebron's pretty incredible 18, 18, and 10 triple-double, El Cobra Pinga could have scored more. And alas, Tony Parker's French ass hit some ridiculous Harlem Globetrotter's-worthy bank shot near the end of the game to seal it, and Chris Bosh missed a three he'd been making all postseason, and here we all are talking about Wade's amnesty again.

Yes, the Heat need to finish possessions (the Spurs had 21 second-chance points, on, you've heard if you've watched ESPN, on 6 offensive rebounds), guard the arc better, and have the same drive and energy at the end of the game in game 2 and the rest of the series if they hope to win a second consecutive championship. We are all aware, or maybe we're not, that the Heat are 9-1 in series in the Big Three era when losing the first game. They lost the first game against the favorites OKC last season before sweeping their corn-fed asses. So there is absolutely zero juice in the panic meter right now. In the concern meter? Possibly. But the panic meter is about as empty as Charles' Barkley's bank account after a trip to Vegas. 

The next game is Sunday smack-dab in the middle of the Game of Thrones finale. So TIVO it (or realize that if you subscribe to HBO you get HBOGO for free and it's on there immediately after it airs) and get your good vibes ready to split this home opening of these NBA Finals. This one is most likely going the distance, but if Lebron takes over and Coach Spoelstra makes some savvy adjustments, this honestly might be over in 5 or 6. I'm not predicting this at all, but just saying Miami has the talent. 

Prayers to those who can't avoid ESPN or Twitter before Sunday. We are with you, fellow Heat fan.