Miami Schadenfreude

I don't think the Miami Heat are going to be making a run at the Chicago Bulls 72-10 record. In fact, after tonight's loss to the Dallas Mavericks (their 4th the last 5), they are just one loss away from matching the Bulls' loss total of 10.

I'm not quite sure why I get so much enjoyment out of this. I'm not usually this vindictive. At its heart this feeling is really kind of mean. But then why is it so fun?

I mean, it isn't just because the people involved are self centered egomaniacs. Because that also describes most NBA players and the majority of Celtics. I'm not usually a fan of tearing someone down just because they are an easy target. It doesn't make me feel any better to see famous people fail.

But somehow, the whole Decision thing still rubs me and many people the wrong way. The prancing in front of the fans on the stage with a rock-star entrance was a little over the top as well. Add in the commercials, the preseason hype, and the prognosticators wondering out loud how many titles they'd win didn't help matters either.

Being a Celtic fan also has a lot to do with it. They happen to be in our conference yet everyone was eager to hand them the title. They supposedly followed the Celtics model for building a championship - which is kind of flattering and all, but they still managed to get it wrong (so far). The Celtics mantra that first year was "we ain't won [expletive]." They were super motivated to prove that it could work. The Heat seemed to treat it as a foregone conclusion that it would work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to enjoy seeing Spolestra eventually get canned - and not just because I want to see a losing thing keep going. He's probably a pretty decent coach and he can't win in this situation (with people asking him about his boss taking his job after every loss). I also don't have any particular bad feelings towards Wade and Bosh doesn't even register on my radar enough to matter.

I guess it just comes down to LeBron. You know, the guy that we kicked out of the playoffs two of the last three years and the guy that hasn't won anything but has crowned himself the King. He's a force of nature and one of the best in the game. At some point he's probably going to "get it" and find a way to turn things around. Or maybe he won't. Who knows?

Right now I'm just enjoying watching his team struggle out of the gate. They are undermanned off the bench and injuries aren't helping matters. Give this team a few offseasons to re-load and maybe they can start counting their rings... or maybe not.

On the other hand, the team we have assembled in Boston already has one banner and has at least one shot left for another one. It is too early to count the Heat out of it but the longer this goes on the more I like our chances and the more fun I have rooting against them.