What just happened here?
One of the three best players in the NBA is critical after his team just lost its fifth consecutive game, and all of a sudden he's playing the diva card?
Dwyane Wade says something resembling a disapproving comment about his coach and there's chatter that Erik Spoelstra won't last past this season, especially if Pat Riley lands another superstar in free agency?
A team that has been inconsistent all season loses three road games against playoff-caliber teams and reaches a season-worst three games below .500 during its most difficult stretch of schedule and now it's time to reexamine things and make a desperate trade before next Thursday's deadline?
The only surprising thing about what Wade said after Saturday's loss to the Bulls, basically calling his team predictable and saying it needs to mix things up, is that he didn't say anything earlier.
There's nothing new about what the Heat did during its season-worst five game losing streak, a stretch that ended Tuesday with a blowout victory against the Rockets. The streaky offense, unpredictable defense, late-game mistakes and confusing player rotation has been happening all season. It just so happened that five consecutive losses built up just enough frustration in Wade for him to say something immediately following a loss in his hometown.
What's wrong with getting mad when your team is failing? Didn't Tim Hardaway used to take digs at Riley whenever the coach was critical?
Why does calling the team too predictable immediately mean the coach is at fault? Can't it also mean Wade is calling on his teammates to elevate their games?
Tuesday's opponent was a perfect example of what role players can do when called upon to do more. The Rockets are not just making due with a roster full of mediocre-to-bad players, but they have managed a better record than the Heat in a deeper conference.
Maybe that's part of what Wade had in mind when he said the team needs to mix it up. To Spoelstra's credit, he did make some minor changes in who he played and when he played them Tuesday, keeping Jermaine O'Neal on the court more when Wade sat and keeping Daequan Cook and Wade on the court together at times. Read the full story here.
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