WEBVTT - Episode 2: Not So Fast 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:07.120 I mean when he made that announcement, first of all, 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:09.280 I was excited, you know, buten Lebron James. 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:11.040 I got loved Lebron James. 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:13.119 And obviously he's one of the greats, you know what 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:16.000 I'm saying. And when I found out that, you know, 0:00:16.040 --> 0:00:19.040 we got him at Miami Heat, I was super excited, 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:24.439 but also I was like, he's a genius. Where else 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:28.040 would you go? This is Miami. You know what I'm saying. 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:29.479 This is the Heat. 0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:31.400 We already won a championship. 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:33.839 You know what it is is. 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:41.000 The greats connect with the greats. Winners work with winners, 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.280 and Lebron is a great and he's a winner. Miami 0:00:45.360 --> 0:00:51.400 Heat were winners were great. Our ac in the arena 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:55.880 comes down the air. It's a blessing of greatness. 0:00:56.320 --> 0:00:58.520 Okay, called pretty sure. 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:01.960 The air conditioning is just special in any NBA arena 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:04.520 except for maybe one in Texas, but we'll get to 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:08.680 that one a little later. Welcome back to four years 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:12.240 of Heat. I'm your host, Israel Gutierrez and this is 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:13.840 episode two, Not So. 0:01:13.880 --> 0:01:15.920 Fast, DJ khaled. 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.720 The Heat super fan raving about his team's super fans was, 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:24.039 as usual, right in line with other Heat supporters after 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:26.320 that extravagant signing party that set. 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:28.560 The expectation bar so high. 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:31.800 When your team has accomplished the greatest free agent signing 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.360 trifecta the league has ever seen in one off season, Yes, 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:40.280 even the air conditioning starts to feel elite. The afterglow 0:01:40.280 --> 0:01:43.920 of simply putting the pieces together was still so strong, 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:48.600 But the piercing ringing criticism it just kept getting louder. 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:51.840 The critics of Lebron for leaving Cleveland the way he 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.600 did and for needing teammates the caliber of Wade and 0:01:54.640 --> 0:01:57.800 Bosh were only beginning to dig in their heels. If 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.960 you go back to the decision, to the question everybody 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:04.120 wants to know Lebron, what's your decision. 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:05.840 To that one moment where he said. 0:02:06.400 --> 0:02:09.960 And this fall, man, it's very tough, And this fall, 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.280 I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:13.520 join the Miami Heat. 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:18.280 That momentary pause in between the two this falls, that 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.799 was the last moment he would have to consider all 0:02:20.840 --> 0:02:24.200 of these consequences. He clearly already done so and made 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:28.240 his decision, But that final bit of hesitation, it was 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:32.600 there for a reason. If he could have extrapolated and 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:36.520 explained what exactly made this choice so challenging. Perhaps he 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:38.760 could have avoided some of the arrows headed his way, 0:02:39.480 --> 0:02:43.080 but he powered right through with four words. This is 0:02:43.280 --> 0:02:47.239 very tough, carrying way more weight than anyone could have imagined. 0:02:48.160 --> 0:02:51.040 So much so even as soon to be teammates were 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:55.280 hanging on every syllable, wondering if the chosen One, as 0:02:55.360 --> 0:02:58.600 Lebron has tattooed on his back, would actually choose them 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:02.400 as planned, or if a stronger force had pulled them 0:03:02.400 --> 0:03:05.720 in another direction. Rachel Nichols has been a sports journalist 0:03:05.760 --> 0:03:08.320 since nineteen ninety five and has covered Lebron James in 0:03:08.360 --> 0:03:11.960 some capacity since his high school days. She started her 0:03:12.000 --> 0:03:15.160 career at the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, establishing an affinity 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:17.640 for the South Florida sports scene, then went on to 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:21.560 work for The Washington Post, ESPN, CNN, and Turner Sports, 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:23.639 and currently hosts an interview series on. 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:25.239 Showtime called Headliners. 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:30.720 Nichols regularly interviewed Miami's three stars for national broadcasts throughout 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:35.160 this era, with some particularly memorable talks with Lebron. Specifically, 0:03:36.280 --> 0:03:39.680 Rachel noted while watching the decision that Wade appeared to 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.360 have a delayed response, almost as if he didn't know 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.120 what Lebron would say, despite the fact that he was 0:03:45.160 --> 0:03:48.480 at a celebration watch party at Miami's famous Prime one 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:51.240 twelve restaurant and everyone in the room was expecting him 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:54.920 to say some version of Miami or Heat. No matter 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.320 what had been decided when they talked amongst themselves, Wade 0:03:58.360 --> 0:04:01.680 still recognized the gravity of choice James was about to make, 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.400 and given that they hadn't talked in a while, Wade 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:07.480 was on pins and needles watching. 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:10.680 The Thing I noticed the most from that broadcast and 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:14.880 that moment was that Dwayne Wade, you could tell if 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.800 you look back at that video, absolutely was not sure 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.520 what was going to come out of Lebron's mouth. You 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:24.200 can see it on his face. And there was a 0:04:24.240 --> 0:04:28.000 little bit of presumption on everyone's part, including obviously ESPN 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:30.400 that had a camera there at Prime one twelve Ato's 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:32.840 watched party of Yeah, yeah, it's a done deal. We're 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:37.080 just going to get Dwayne's reaction, and you could tell 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:41.039 on Dwayne's face that he was incredibly nervous about what 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.360 Lebron was going to say, and that he was incredibly 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:46.799 relieved after he said it, and I've spoken to Dwayne 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:50.680 a couple times since then, and he said that not 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.200 only did he not speak to Lebron for the three 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:56.200 days before the decision came out, Dwayne was very open 0:04:56.400 --> 0:04:59.200 about the fact that he and Chris and Lebron had 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:03.240 made this plan, but he just stopped hearing from Lebron 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:07.520 about three days before the decision date, and that he 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:11.200 was texting and getting no answer. And Dwayne has said 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:14.400 to me, I kept thinking, Okay, me and Chris, that's good. 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.240 That's a duo, Me and Chris. That's gonna be great. 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.360 We're gonna be great being Chris. So he was trying 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:22.000 to talk himself into the idea that Lebron had possibly 0:05:22.120 --> 0:05:25.920 changed his mind. And I said, so, you didn't know 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:27.680 what was going to come out of Lebron's mouth, And 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:29.800 he said, I'm not sure Lebron knew for sure what 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:31.520 was going to come out of his mouth. That in 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:34.920 that moment, he thinks Lebron not that I was having 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.880 second thoughts, but just the enormity of the situation and 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:41.520 what was he about to say was really weighing on him. 0:05:41.600 --> 0:05:45.880 But Lebron, of course, said South Beach. Dwayne also told 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:49.800 me that When Lebron first said South Peach, it took 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:52.440 him a second. It took him a beat because, as 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:55.800 you know, they don't play in South Beach, so it 0:05:55.920 --> 0:05:58.200 was not the word he expected. The word he expected 0:05:58.320 --> 0:06:01.800 was Miami or they heat, and even those South Beach 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.599 was obviously that Lebron was coming to join Dwayne. The 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:08.640 fact that it wasn't any of those three words sort 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:10.760 of through him for just another half second. 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.320 Okay, let's be real for a second. 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:16.359 Do we really think Lebron would have tossed out the 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:19.640 ultimate plot twist and said something other than Miami at 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:22.840 this point, Imagine the egg on the faces of everyone 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:25.440 at that Miami watch party had Lebron announced he was 0:06:25.440 --> 0:06:27.840 staying home or that he was joining Derrick Rose and 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:32.040 the Baby Bulls. There's just no way, right, this had 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.840 been planned far in advance and nothing was going to 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:40.280 change this trio's mind, right, right, Well, perhaps one day, 0:06:40.279 --> 0:06:43.680 when Lebron retires, he'll break out the rocking chair and 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:45.880 tell us exactly what he was thinking leading up to 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:49.440 that day and just how warranted Wade and Bosh's concerns were. 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.600 In the meantime, Brian Windhorst is probably the best person 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:56.960 to ask. Windhors has been covering Lebron since his high 0:06:56.960 --> 0:07:00.000 school days, working for the Akron Beacon Journal and Cleveland 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.800 Plain Dealer before joining ESPN to cover the NBA and 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:07.400 a lot more Lebron. Was this the smooth finish to 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:10.560 years of planning or was the path more of a 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:14.320 rickety bridge that could always collapse just before all parties 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:15.360 reached the other side. 0:07:15.480 --> 0:07:17.760 So when it comes to stuff like this, I'm always 0:07:17.800 --> 0:07:21.440 going to judge actions over words, So let's focus on 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:25.679 the actions. The actions were. In two thousand and six, 0:07:26.440 --> 0:07:31.320 Chris Bosh, Lebron, James, and Dwayne Wade all aligned their 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:35.840 contracts with three year extensions. At the time, under the 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.280 rules that existed, those guys doing that was unheard of, 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:44.880 and Carmelo Anthony, who was obviously in their association group 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:47.880 and had was drafted in the same draft class, had 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.200 the same options. He elected not to do that. He 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:55.080 didn't like the risk associated with it, and he took 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.600 a five year extension. And it's interesting that him his 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:01.680 decision doing that ended up causing an interesting development later 0:08:01.720 --> 0:08:04.320 on when Lebron, Bosh, and Wade all got together and 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:07.800 Carmelo had to force a trade, which ended up harming him. 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.600 That decision ended up in some ways coming back to 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.600 backfire on Carmelo. But they obviously at that time wanted 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:19.160 their contracts aligned to allow for options down the road. 0:08:20.440 --> 0:08:22.960 But the other thing I think it's important is the 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:27.160 actions that took place the week of the twenty ten 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:32.280 free agency decisions. They obviously had discussed with each other 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:36.440 the idea of playing together, and obviously at some point 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:40.360 there was an alignment on deciding to play together with 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:44.000 the Heat. And I've listened to all three of their stories. 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.600 There's certain details that don't line up, and so what 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.160 the actual truth was, I don't know if we'll ever 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:54.640 fully establish. There obviously was a time where they all 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.600 got together and said, Okay, it's going to be Miami. 0:08:56.640 --> 0:09:00.560 And I do think for Lebron he always thought it 0:09:00.600 --> 0:09:03.000 was going to be Cleveland or Miami. And when Cleveland 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:06.640 made the pitch, Lebron's discussions with them were about trying 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:10.400 to add another piece, and all of those teams discussions 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:12.920 were about trying to add Lebron and another piece. That 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:16.319 was the what all those teams brought. It was only 0:09:16.360 --> 0:09:19.520 the Heat that was able to execute Lebron plus two, 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.280 and it was just simple mathematics that they were able 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:27.800 to do that. So in summation they always left the 0:09:27.840 --> 0:09:31.040 option of playing together open and took actions with their 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.040 contracts to make that happen as soon as possible, But 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:37.440 actually doing it, I do think, came right down to 0:09:38.280 --> 0:09:41.079 roughly decision day in twenty ten. 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:45.079 By the actual decision day, Cleveland had been ruled out 0:09:45.120 --> 0:09:48.160 because of Bosh's lack of interest in playing there, and 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:51.080 even though it felt like Miami was the only remaining option, 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:55.280 there were still lingering doubts about what Lebron would actually say. 0:09:55.880 --> 0:09:58.960 It was the first and most obvious sign that even 0:09:59.000 --> 0:10:01.040 though this was a union of three stars trying to 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:05.160 win championships for themselves and their organization, this was Lebron 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:09.560 James taking control of his legacy, an extended business trip, 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:12.960 if you will, a four year college stretch, as he 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:13.840 would later call it. 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:17.440 He had to win championships, not Bosh. 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.640 He needed to start a collection of rings to chase Jordan, 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:26.120 not Wade. The pressure Wade in Bosh felt was just 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.280 as much to accomplish this for Lebron as it was 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.320 for their own careers, and by the time they'd reached 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:35.439 Herbert Field, a US Air Force base in the Panhandle 0:10:35.440 --> 0:10:38.240 of Florida, for their first training camp together. All the 0:10:38.280 --> 0:10:41.160 Heat players had started to feel the unprecedented level of 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.600 scrutiny this team would face. Their ears were still ringing. 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:48.400 Nichols could tell the tone of Miami's main three had 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:52.559 changed from post signing party to pre training camp interview. 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.120 I actually interviewed them at the PEP rally, so there 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:01.800 was that joyous moment, and then the interview you're referring 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.600 to was a lot more defensive. And just to see 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:08.080 that change was super interesting because the PEP rally, as 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:11.840 you remember, was all excitement, and they got a little 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:14.760 carried away, as they admitted later with the not one, 0:11:14.920 --> 0:11:20.679 not two, not three, not seventeen, And you know, it 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:22.400 was joy and it was happiness, and it was this 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:25.559 excitement about being together and all the possibility. And by 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.520 the time we got to right before the season, they 0:11:28.559 --> 0:11:32.680 had had all that time to hear about how terrible 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:37.120 they were, how disloyal some of them were, how selfish 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.680 some of them were. All the things that were hurled 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:44.520 at them, and so much of it was about so 0:11:44.679 --> 0:11:48.800 much more than basketball or Lebron James. There were so 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.520 many feelings about the state of the country. There were 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:53.920 so many feelings about race, there were so many feelings 0:11:53.960 --> 0:11:58.360 about Middle America and people leaving their hometowns and their 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.440 states in the middle of the country because industries had 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:05.320 dried up, and that feeling of being abandoned. There's so 0:12:05.400 --> 0:12:09.760 many things that tied into why that backlash happened. But 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:11.560 you could tell by the time we sat down for 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:14.719 that interview right before the season, that backlash had hit 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:15.640 them all pretty hard. 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.600 You know. It's that's alid part of the game. 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:20.200 And at the end of the day that we all 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:21.760 know if they booing you because they don't like you, 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:24.959 or because they fear you, what do you think. 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:29.199 I think because they fear you can't boo Jordan. How 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:31.280 can you boo George because you don't like him. 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:34.199 You don't like George's game, You're gonna boom Maddie's games, 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:35.599 Bird games doing that. 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:39.560 And the posture that they took was to go on 0:12:39.640 --> 0:12:40.280 the offensive. 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:42.880 We all know everything that someone has said about us 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:44.200 individually as a team. 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:46.160 The style of basketball that we want to play. 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:49.360 We want to defensive, rebounding, those our main two things. 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.640 You can't be nice and do that. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.040 You know, when you see Jordan take the ball from 0:12:54.040 --> 0:12:58.200 somebody and go down and dunk in somebody's face, He's 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.560 not like, I guess I'll take it from I guess 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:03.360 I don't have a nice day. 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:05.400 And thanks to ESPN for that clip. 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.800 They definitely grabbed that idea of you want us to 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:10.760 be the villains. Okay, we're going to be the villains. 0:13:11.040 --> 0:13:13.400 Lebron talked about the fact that he had made a 0:13:13.400 --> 0:13:16.520 list all summer of all the people who had said 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:17.920 things to him, and I said, what are you going 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:19.520 to do with that list? And he said, turn him 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.160 into wins? You did right on your Twitter page. 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:24.800 Don't think for a minute that I'm not taking mental 0:13:24.840 --> 0:13:27.240 notes at everyone who took shots at me this summer. 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:31.760 Explain and none explain you read a sel of explantor what. 0:13:31.760 --> 0:13:33.720 Are those mental notes going to translate. 0:13:33.320 --> 0:13:34.600 Into to a lot of wins? 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:36.920 Thanks again to ESPN for that sound. 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:39.760 Training camp at an Air Force base was a less 0:13:39.760 --> 0:13:42.959 than subtle choice by team president Riley to address the 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.080 level of dedication needed and the type of brotherhood that 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.559 would have to be forged in order to complete the 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:52.200 championship journey, but it also set the tone for the 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:56.439 bunker mentality this group would have to employ to maintain insanity. 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:00.720 Every single word was picked apart, and the coverage of 0:14:00.720 --> 0:14:02.319 the team itself was criticized. 0:14:02.840 --> 0:14:04.000 Remember the Heat Index. 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:08.200 No, it was effectively a separate site from ESPN dot 0:14:08.200 --> 0:14:12.240 com that had multiple reporters covering only the Heat, not 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:16.760 the rest of the association, just Miami. No matter how 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:21.960 mine or the story, it got major coverage. Publicly, it 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:24.800 was deemed overkill for a team that had won absolutely 0:14:24.800 --> 0:14:27.640 nothing at the time, despite the fact the site never 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.760 lacked for traffic. I might have written a few words 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:33.480 for the Heat Index, and I remember finding it strange 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:35.480 that I went from a local newspaper in the Miami 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:39.280 Herald to a national outlet like ESPN, only to cover 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.640 the local team even closer. But that was the world 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:45.840 Lebron and the Heat created for everyone, and the Miami 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.400 Heat as a team, as Windhors discussed, were forced to 0:14:49.480 --> 0:14:52.920 wear a label they never wanted, the label of villain. 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:58.280 He came off seeming like a mercenary there, and a 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:06.600 mercenary isn't historically a desirable side to root for, you know, 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:11.160 they were sort of the villains. Then the nature of 0:15:11.240 --> 0:15:15.200 them being put together was of of of a villainous act. 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:20.520 A lot of people compared what Lebron, Wade and Bosh 0:15:20.600 --> 0:15:27.600 did to the wrestling move nWo. nWo was cast to 0:15:27.640 --> 0:15:30.640 be a villain. They were. Their script was to be 0:15:30.680 --> 0:15:34.560 a villain. The fact that the Heat wore black, and 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:39.240 that you know, we're from a glamorous place and sort 0:15:39.280 --> 0:15:44.000 of represented a lifestyle and in a sort of a 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.680 class that is not the every fan like. All of 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:50.880 it fit into a narrative creating this team, but doing 0:15:50.880 --> 0:15:54.240 it in such a way that empowered them, and for 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:58.720 it to be an absolute abject disaster in public relations, 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:02.720 an area that they awe themselves as like thought leaders 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.040 in that was a huge blow. Then, for him to 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:11.600 get to this team and be generally disliked every time 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:15.560 they stepped out of Miami was not something he was 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:19.760 prepared for, and it was especially surprising because he thought 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:22.960 he had prepared for everything. I don't think he could 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:25.480 possibly think that there would be more scrutiny on him 0:16:25.480 --> 0:16:30.440 that was already on him, from being on Sports Illustrated 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:34.760 when he was seventeen, to being on ESPN as a 0:16:34.840 --> 0:16:36.960 high school senior, which at the time was unheard of 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:41.240 to signing this huge Nike contract. I mean, people forget 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:44.840 Kobe signed. Kobe Bryant was a three time NBA champion 0:16:45.480 --> 0:16:48.480 and one of the faces of the league. He signed 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.760 a Nike contract the gear Lebron came in the league 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:56.040 for forty million. Lebron signed a Nike contract coming into 0:16:56.040 --> 0:17:01.800 the league for ninety million. Okay, he felt like that 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:05.399 was a big pressures point. The drama in Cleveland of 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:07.119 him not getting over the hump, you know, being with 0:17:07.160 --> 0:17:09.280 the number one seed his last two years there and 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:12.879 not getting it done, you know, struggling in his last 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:16.600 playoff series with the Calves. I think he thought he 0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:19.200 knew what adversity was, and he had seen a lot 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:22.200 of it, and frankly, he had overcome a big portion 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:25.040 of He hadn't become a champion yet, but I'm sure 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:26.919 he felt he was going to get there, and so 0:17:26.960 --> 0:17:30.199 when he came to Miami and there was just the 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:43.160 only the only thing I could describe was nightly venom. 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.600 The regular season began in the most venomous possible setting, 0:17:47.160 --> 0:17:50.040 Boston's TD Garden. It was where Wade and the Heat 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.520 were eliminated in their previous postseason and where Lebron had 0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:56.639 so many duels with Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. 0:17:57.000 --> 0:17:59.920 It was the Celtics, remember that also knocked out Lebron 0:18:00.200 --> 0:18:03.240 in his last game as a Cavalier. This crowd was 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:05.760 ready to be the first to mock this Heat super team, 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:09.760 and Miami's primary characters gave the crowd plenty of ammunition. 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:11.600 Eighty three seventy two. 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:19.600 Bush crowd started in with the overrated checks. We're in 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:21.160 game one. 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:25.439 If you recall, there weren't many returning players on this 0:18:25.520 --> 0:18:30.800 Heat team. It was Wade Eudonnis Haslam, Mario Chalmers, James Jones, 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.120 and Joel Anthony. After that, it was a brand new 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:38.159 group trying to create chemistry. Well, it was obvious in 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:41.199 the opener that chemistry was still to be discovered. The 0:18:41.280 --> 0:18:44.119 team that was supposed to challenge the all time wins record, 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:47.520 according to some, scored all of eighty points in a 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.520 dud of a debut in Boston. 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:50.880 This is a work in progress. 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:54.800 We feel like we all know, Rome wasn't built in 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:57.040 one day, you know, so it's going to take time, 0:18:57.280 --> 0:18:59.560 and we understand that we have to keep on making 0:18:59.600 --> 0:19:01.720 progress every day and she continued to get better. 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:05.840 We just missed shots. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't. 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.640 Yeah, we miss some easy shots and never were able 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:12.439 to get into a proper rhythm. 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:15.720 But that's not a reason to panic. Right now. This 0:19:15.760 --> 0:19:16.520 is one of eighty two. 0:19:16.840 --> 0:19:18.520 You know, I'm sorry if I won't thought we's gonna 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:19.640 go eighty two and zero. 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:20.679 It just ain't happened. 0:19:20.880 --> 0:19:22.920 Players that were starting are getting heavy minutes at the 0:19:22.920 --> 0:19:25.600 beginning of the season. Players like starting point guard Carlos 0:19:25.720 --> 0:19:29.000 Arroyo and reserve Eddie House would barely be playing by 0:19:29.040 --> 0:19:32.080 season's end, or, in the case of Arroyo, not even 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:35.520 on the team. Throw in the skilled duplication of Lebron 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:38.800 and Wade, and the uncertainty and how to use Bosh effectively, 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:42.000 and it meant the Heat started that season fairly uneven. 0:19:43.000 --> 0:19:45.400 They weren't lost, as you could easily get over either. 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:49.840 They each seemed to come dressed with one enormous red flag, 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:52.920 and said flag would be waived on every sports themed 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.040 talk show in America until even Heat fans were in 0:19:56.080 --> 0:19:58.879 a panic. There was the opener in Boston where they 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:01.840 all looked like strangers. There was the second loss to 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:06.480 the New Orleans Hornets, led by a Mecca okafor the 0:20:06.520 --> 0:20:09.919 big man had a twenty six point seventeen rebound performance 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.520 and it was a major concern for a Heat team 0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:15.760 with questions at center. There was a loss to Utah 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:19.800 where Paul Millsap went nuts with forty six points, unearthing 0:20:19.880 --> 0:20:21.360 more holes in the Heat defense. 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:22.560 He gives it off the pall. 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:26.800 Can you believe that? 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:29.680 One point? 0:20:29.760 --> 0:20:33.200 Gay at the buzzer? Millsap the follow up and all yeah, 0:20:33.400 --> 0:20:34.199 is that he knows it. 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:37.520 There was another loss to Boston, this time in Miami, 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:41.200 where Ray Allen hit his first seven three pointers and 0:20:41.240 --> 0:20:44.040 Wade was two for twelve from the field for a 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.480 lousy eight points. Then there was a loss to Memphis 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:50.600 without Wade, where Rudy Gay hit a game winner over 0:20:50.680 --> 0:20:52.840 Lebron Rudy for the win. 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:59.600 Yes, yes, yes, the night. 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:02.119 Was on when the ball left his hand and he 0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:05.760 is the hero knock him down a big shot over 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:08.240 Lebron James out stressed armed. 0:21:08.600 --> 0:21:10.639 There was a loss to Indiana where the Heat scored 0:21:10.720 --> 0:21:14.239 just seventy seven points at home and Wade had the 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:17.440 worst shooting game of his career, one of thirteen from 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:20.679 the field. There was the game, the Heat got dominated 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:22.960 by Dwight Howard and JJ Reddick to fall to eight 0:21:23.000 --> 0:21:26.880 and seven. On the same day, President Barack Obama told 0:21:26.960 --> 0:21:31.119 Barbara Walters the Heat needed time to gel. It had 0:21:31.200 --> 0:21:34.760 reached a presidential level of concern. Then there was game 0:21:34.840 --> 0:21:38.160 number seventeen in Dallas. The Heat would fall to nine 0:21:38.200 --> 0:21:41.440 and eight and have a player's only meeting afterward. It's 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.760 pretty obvious because it's in the title, but a player's 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:48.920 only meeting does not include coaches. That was particularly notable 0:21:48.960 --> 0:21:52.320 after this contest, however, because during the game there was 0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:55.000 an incident that had some questioning the head coach, Eric 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:58.800 Spolstra and his relationship with this super team. As the 0:21:58.800 --> 0:22:01.840 team was headed to the huddle a timeout, Spolster was 0:22:01.880 --> 0:22:04.520 walking onto the floor as Lebron was walking toward the bench. 0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:09.160 The two collided, Lebron's right arm bumping into Spolster's right shoulder, 0:22:09.640 --> 0:22:12.560 despite the fact James was looking in Spolster's direction the 0:22:12.720 --> 0:22:13.320 entire time. 0:22:13.760 --> 0:22:15.640