..... Quiet. Rumpole's on a roll.
POINT. COUNTERPOINT.
When I first emailed Rumpole the other day, it was because he had removed my post on the HEAT victory Thursday evening. But, after he told me why he removed it, I challenged him to a Point. Counterpoint. After reading the comments section from the past three days, I think the readers have done a much better job than I ever could have done.
For most of the readers, this one included, we could care less what Ann Rand* would have written about Lebron James and his "decision" to take his talents to South Beach rather than stay in the "marble pits" of Cleveland with Mo Williams, J.J. Hickson, Anthony Parker, Anderson Varejao, and a 37 year old Shaq (his teammate starters in his final year with the Cavs).
It seems that the tenor of this debate has changed somewhat. What I thought this debate was supposed to be about was this:
POINT:"The Heat couldn't win a championship last year. They won't win one this year and they will implode next year, all because they are not a team and cannot handle adversity. Watch."
Counterpoint:
OKC drops four straight. HEAT wins NBA Championship.
POINT:"As to the Heat- this goes with what I have been saying all along. This is not a team. This is three spoiled stars who are now down to two stars and look what happens- they can't win. Can't make a free throw. Can't make a layup. A good team will beat these spoiled brats any day of the week in a seven game series. "
Counterpoint:
Shane Battier, Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Norris Cole, Joel Anthony.
POINT:"The Heat are down 2-1 against the Pacers. Game 4 is in Indiana. Miami Superstar Dwayne Wade was 2-13 and scored 5 points in the Heat's latest shellacking. Let us take a moment to analyze this series....seriously...... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What a bunch of spoiled babies. One player gets hurt and the whole team collapses. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Counterpoint:
LBJ 40-18-9 and DWADE 41-10-3.
POINT:
"Rumpole predicts: Celtics in six. "
Counterpoint:
HEAT in seven.
POINT:"I have extremely limited knowledge of basketball. My knowledge about strategy stopped sometime around the same time Dean Smith's four corners offense was outlawed with the college shot clock.
Put another way- I have as much knowledge about basketball as I do about case law. But what I do know is people. It's how I win cases. And it's why I am supremely confident that a well coached team will always beat a bunch of whiny prima donnas (the New England cheaters not withstanding.) "
Counterpoint:
Where do I begin. You were right (see first red highlights). Scott Brooks: NBA Coach of the Year in 2010; in just four years has taken his team to the NBA Finals, losing last year in the Conference Final to eventual champion Mavs.
POINT:"I am not an expert in Basketball. However, I stick to this proposition- good coaching and team work will beat a team of stars that do not play well together"
Counterpoint:
Right again. Erik Spoelstra and his nine (James, Wade, Bosh, Battier, Chalmers, Miller, Cole, Haslem, Anthony) beat KD, Westbrook and Harden. And they beat Garnett, Allen, Pierce and Rondo.
POINT:"For those of you who kept asking us what we say now about the Heat? Here now is our answer:
We think they're a bunch of losers with no heart. What do we think of the Heat? Give us a well coached team manned by players with heart and guts any day over this band of spoiled prima donnas."
Counterpoint:
See below. We think the HEAT have a lot of heart and guts and they showed it best in their times of adversity.
POINT:"I think the Heat are in trouble. They are not a team. They are two stars, a third almost star and a poor supporting cast. A good team well coached will wipe the floor with them."
POINT:
"I still don't think the Heat has what it takes"
Counterpoints:
In case you have not been reading this Blog over the past fourteen months, all of the quotes above are from the man himself, Rumpole.
I think I'll end this with a quote from one of Rumpole's favourite leaders in British history. And the quote speaks volumes when you consider that most of America wrote the HEAT off at least three times during these playoffs; including most of the sportswriters and sports broadcasters; Skip Bayless, Steven A Smith, John Barry, Tim Legler, Stuart Scott, Chris Mullen, Michael Wilbon, just to name a few.
They wrote the HEAT off when the Pacers were up 2-1 in Round Two. What did the HEAT do: only win the next three games in a row, all without Chris Bosh in the lineup. And in the pivotal Game Four, Lebron James put up 40, 18 and 9.
They wrote the HEAT off again when the Celtics were up 3-2 in Round Three. What did the HEAT do: only win the next two games and take the series 4-3. And in the pivotal Game Six, Lebron James put up 45, 15, and 5.
They wrote the HEAT off again when the Thunder were up 1-0 in Round Four. What did the HEAT do: only win the next four games in a row and take the Championship series 4-1. And in the pivotal Game Two, Lebron James put up 32, 8, and 5.
For the Finals, LBJ averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in the five games. His closeout game was a resounding triple-double.
In the words of the late, great Winston Churchill:
"NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP"
Winston Churchill, October 29, 1941, Harrow School, U.K.
*intentional
And in response to the words of the great, but fortunately for us all, not late, Horace Rumpole, when he said on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, at the beginning of these playoffs: "The Heat couldn't win a championship last year - they won't win one this year". We say:
WE ARE THE
WE ARE THE
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS .... OF THE WORLD
