ESPN continued to show what an unserious network it is with the conversation on “Get Up!” Tuesday morning. Host Mike Greenberg told the assembled panel that the nightlife is only one part, but the sunshine and heat in Miami also are some things that could be playing a role in the visiting New York Knicks struggling.
“[People don’t realize] how hard it is to go down to Miami this time of year,” Greenberg said. “People will immediately associate that with the nightlife and all that. But according to Jalen [Rose], there’s more than that. There’s also just the reality of the temperature change, the heat, the geography, being down there for three days. It just zaps a little bit of your energy and your strength. We talk about that primarily in football. I know this is an indoor sport, but I mean for the Knicks, whatever it is, [Jimmy] Butler has just destroyed them.”
Say what, Greeny?!
Look, we will be the first to say that a change in geography, sleeping in a hotel, flying and all of the things the road team endures before a game are not ideal. But let’s not lose our minds. The weather?!
ESPN Doesn’t Want To Give Real Analysis
This is classic ESPN. Instead of diving into what Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is scheming up with Butler, Bam Adebayo, old Kevin Love, and a bunch of undrafted players, Greeny is going for a hot take that will go viral on social media.
Knicks forward Julius Randle, who has had an uneven playoffs and is battling an ankle injury, isn’t blaming the South Florida weather for his team’s struggles.
“Maybe they want it more,” Randle said after the Game 4 loss. “I don’t know. That’s been who we are all year and we got to find a way to step up and make those plays, keep the season alive.”
Heat And Erik Spoelstra Are A Tough Out
Sometimes it’s about schemes and tactics, sometimes teams have to play harder and better. The Knicks executed better in Game 4 and the Heat cooled off from three. However, the Knicks gave up 13 offensive rebounds and nine more possessions to the Heat. They lost the game by eight points.
Rebounds are about effort and hustle. Putting a body on someone and securing the ball with two hands.
You’re never going to out-effort a Spoelstra Heat team, but the Knicks could play them evenly. They aren’t even doing that, and they find themselves on the brink of elimination.
That Spoelstra is without Tyler Herro and Butler missed time in this series and they’re on the brink of advancing to the conference finals is a testament to how good he is as a coach.
“I think that we found the value in the grind of a regular season,” Spoelstra said. “In the grind and the struggle. I’ve said that repeatedly. We found a beauty in that struggle, but without that struggle where we didn’t have to find different solutions to win and different guys stepping up so that they had the confidence for these kind of moments. If we didn’t have a regular season, then you have zero chance to be able to do that in the playoffs.”
Some teams and coaches are built for the postseason.
