All of the talk heading into tonight’s Eastern conference match up is surrounding the Pacers and their decision to chose rest over the #1 seed. The team that should be considering resting their starters are the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat have already played 8 straight games, 27 total this season, without Dwayne Wade. Thats nearly 1/3 of the season missed by the assumed 2nd best player on their roster. LeBron James is showing the wear and tear of carrying this ever changing roster and lets be honest KD has the MVP sewn up, so there’s no reason for LBJ to continue putting up 30+ in losing efforts. Chris Bosh has been on a slump over the past few games and hasn’t made a significant impact aside from a few timely shots down the stretch in games.
With all of that said the Heat need the mental rest more so than the physical rest. They’ve been chasing their own shadow this year. They aren’t chasing the other eastern conference teams as much as they are chasing what they’ve done in years past. Four straight trips to the NBA finals are a daunting task on teams which is why it hasn’t happened since the 80’s.
Tonight’s game can be the turning point that is looked back upon as the game and the decision that led Miami to it’s 4th straight NBA Finals. Erik Spoelstra needs to show that he cares about the health of all of his starters and that he isn’t just babying D.Wade.
To be specific the Heat should sit Ray Allen, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Greg Oden, and Shane Battier.
The Pacers have already declared that they intend to march out their “Refreshed” starting lineup for tonights game, so the Heat would pretty much concede the game. That would leave the Heat with the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference, which also plays to their advantage.
Currently the path to the finals is easier for the 2-seed than the 1-seed. The 3/6/7 seeds are Toronto, Washington, and Charlotte. Teams that are talented but that lack true playoff experience. The 4/5/8 seeds are Chicago, Brooklyn, and Atlanta. All teams that have veteran players that have one playoffs series before and aren’t intimidated by the Heat’s mystique.
The last and possibly most important reason for the Heat to rest their players is to not give the Pacers confidence heading into the playoffs. If the Heat go all out and lose then the Pacers will feel as though they have the Heat’s number and they’d just need to make the ECF to have a great shot at the championship game. The Pacers using all of their starters to beat a bunch of back up players doesn’t build the same type of moral.
Furthermore, if the Heat were somehow able to beat the struggling Pacers with their bench then the Heat will effectively shatter the what’s left of the Pacers psyche.
The Heat have won a title from the 2-seed before and it seems as though the mental and physical health of their players should be priority #1.