"He belly-flopped and falled down and lost the ball. And then he complained too much." The sweet, simple words of an adorable girl. I couldn't have described the end of last night's Heat overtime loss to New Orleans any better.
Well, yeah, I could have. (I type pretty sometimes.) But I don't care to. Because really, at this point, the Heat have clinched at least a spot in the playoffs (more on that later), and frankly, there are more important things to worry about before the post-season begins.
The health of Udonis Haslem and Daequan Cook, for instance. Perhaps getting Mr. Wade a little bit of rest. Perhaps figuring out how to get anyone besides Mr. Wade (and occasionally Michael Beasley) to score 20 points.
Now with Boston, New York, Atlanta, and Detroit left on the schedule, the Heat could win out -- guaranteeing the fifth seed in the East and a first-round matchup against the Hawks. Or they could put in a lot of effort and lose every game and end up playing either Orlando or Boston and likely getting swept. Or they could lose some and still end up with Atlanta, depending on how the rest of the standings shape up. Honestly, the whole thing is more convoluted than Jeff Goldblum's flirtatious explanation of chaos theory in Jurassic Park.
The point is, it doesn't matter much. There are still too many variables in play. So why not just quote the cute girl I watched the game (highlights) with? Her thoughts on how this game will impact the playoff push: "If they drop the ball like that, they're gonna lose. I hope they don't stink."
