Life is all about expectation. If you go into a movie and expect excellence, it's going to be really hard to walk out of that theater satisfied. However, if you're expecting garbage, satisfaction might not be that hard. That was on display Monday night in the Meadowlands.
Winning is great. Winning should make you feel like...well, a winner. But you constantly second-guess the effort. Miami lost the first quarter against a team with seven wins this season. Are they slow starters? How embarassing would this be? You know, they almost did lose to them earlier this season, and would had but for the grace of Wade.
Then there's yelling. Oh no, the team is yelling at each other. That means they don't like each other. And in a sport like basketball, how can you succeed without liking each other? Why is Spoelstra dividing this team so!
Then you look back over past results. Oh, well that Charlotte win was awful close, that could have gone either way. What if this is a sign of things to come? What if the team slides quickly though the season and out of the playoffs? What if Dwyane Wade leaves and my life is left a empty crevasse of nothingness!
But, the Nets being the Nets, it's all for naught. Miami controlled the last three quarters and won, 99-89. Internal crisis averted.
P.S.: Jermaine O'Neal is a man's man. That is all.
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