Miami Heat Sound Like A Bitter Ex

For the past four years, LeBron James had been the engine that kept the Miami Heat moving. He led the team to some memorable moments such as back-to-back NBA championships and becoming the first team since the 1984-87 Boston Celtics to make it to four straight finals appearances.

However, all that success couldn’t compare to pleasures of playing for his hometown team once again, therefore the prodigal son sensationally returned to his beloved Cleveland Cavaliers this summer.

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat were left empty-handed, alone and feeling neglected.  So instead of handling the whole thing with class and remembering the good times, it appears as if members of the Heat organisation are hell bent on burning all the bridges and flushing the memory of their former star down the toilet.

It’s kind of like seeing an ex with a much better, more attractive new partner. Odds are the old flame isn’t going to react very well i.e. start bitching about thews, making sly digs and possibly airing dirty laundry – which is exactly what Miami has done.

Team president Pat Riley started the proceedings early on via his fiery post season press conference that raised a few eyebrows. Essentially, Riley suggested that leaving would be the coward’s way out by saying: “This stuff is hard. And you’ve got to stay together, if you’ve got the guts. And you don’t find the first door and run out of it.

“What happened last year with San Antonio? [Did] They run? They faced it, they faced it and they came and we saw the result.

“We’re gonna find out what we’re made of here. It’s not about options; it’s not about free agency; it’s not about anything. It’s about what we have built over four years, but losing is just as big a part of it as winning.”

Granted LeBron was still technically a Heat player then and Riles may have simply been trying a last ditch attempt to keep him around, but in the end it came out more as if he was challenging him, rather than courting him.

Then came Dwyane Wade who posted a picture on Instagram with the caption: “Home Is Where The Heart Is… My Home, My City, My House..#HeatLifer.”

Whether that carried any malice or not is debatable. However, the fact that it was posted so soon after James announced his decision does make it seem like it was a slight dig. As for his latest comments, though, it’s a lot easier to read between the lines.

In a recent interview, Wade was asked about what he thought of the rumors of Ray Allen linking up with James and Co. in Cleveland and he simply laughed it off. “They’re taking what we did here and trying to duplicate it there,” he added. “That means we did something right here.”

To some extent, Wade does make a fair point that Cleveland is trying to copy what Miami did by forming a super team. However, he does over-do it by implying that the Heat set the blueprint and that every team that does so from now on will be imitating them. Teams have been doing that for years. Heck, the Boston Celtics did so before the Heat when they brought together Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Cavs just happen to have handful of former Heat players – otherwise the rest is standard procedure…kind of.

Moreover, Wade also revealed what his final year with LeBron was like: “Not fun.”

“Last year wasn’t fun,” he said. “I mean, there was no stretch of it [that was] fun. That whole season, to me, it’s amazing we made it to the Finals. It’s just honest. …Individually, it was great having certain relationships and having my best friend here with me, but all of us didn’t have fun all the time.”

Wade and Riley aren’t the only ones that have been talking about LeBron James and his hot new team. Chris Bosh has also been getting in on the action, although he has made it clear he doesn’t give a damn about Cleveland… or James.

When asked as to whether he will be looking to reconnect with his old running mate, after it was revealed the pair haven’t exactly been on speaking terms lately, Bosh simply answered, “No.”

“I’m in the mode where I’m trying to lead my team, help these guys out around here, said the All-Star bigman. “If guys aren’t in this locker room, I don’t have much time for them – if any.”

He was however willing to give an insight as to what Kevin Love’s life next to the king will be like: frustrating.

"“It’s going to be very difficult for him,” Bosh said of Love’s new task. “Even if I was in his corner and I was able to tell him what to expect and what to do, it still doesn’t make any difference. You still have to go through things, you still have to figure out things on your own. It’s extremely difficult and extremely frustrating. He’s going to have to deal with that.”"

To be fair to Bosh, Wade and Riley, the majority of the stuff that they have said about LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers has been made into a much bigger deal than it should have been. Most of it has been relatively tame stuff but because of the history between the parties involved, and perhaps the need for stories during the offseason, everything has been sensationalized.

Then again, the Heat players should know better by now. Anything negative that is said to the press will be headline material and will make you look bad. Even more so if the other side hasn’t said much or mostly been positive. For example, Dion Waiters all but said he wanted to be Dwyane Wade after he praised the Miami shooting guard for the way he adjusted to life next to LeBron.

So just like in a breakup, anything other than the Miami wishing the Cavs and James luck and happiness in the future, even if they don’t actually mean it, would be viewed in poor taste. Hence, by that theory (if it can even be classed as that), the Miami Heat do sound like a bitter ex.