Heat Vs. Wizards Tonight / Coach Spo Is On The Hot Seat

This is going to be a rough week for a few guys in South Beach. For LeBron, he will be heading back to Cleveland very shortly, which is going to be a very hostile environment. Also, the Heat players are not happy with how the team is performing and are becoming increasingly frustrated. On top of all of this, Coach Spoelstra is inching closer and closer to losing his job.

After the loss against Dallas the other night, the Miami Heat held a players only meeting. LeBron told the media that this meeting served as an outlet for all the guys, where they could vent about any problems they had involving frustration with the team. However, Spoelstra's name was probably thrown around negatively once or twice.

Coach Spo is in a mess of trouble. The players are not happy, and the media breathing down his neck at all times. He is sandwiched between two amazing leaders in LeBron James and Pat Riley, and you can tell that it is getting to him. He tries to appear confident in interviews and post game appearances, but there is a high recognizable nervous undertone.

This whole situation is a self fulfilling prophecy. If your a player in the locker room, and everywhere you go and everywhere you look analysts and reporters are saying,"The coach is bad, fire the coach, is the coach the reason your play is suffering, whats wrong with the coaching?" eventually, you are going to start to believe them. On top of that, now you have all the fans thinking that Coach is the problem as well. If the fans become restless, there is a HUGE problem.

The entire situation is unfortunate for Spoelstra, but it is the price you pay for being important to media in today's society. With all of these factors in play, the set of games Miami has this week becomes extremely important.

The Wizards enter this game with a winless road record. Although Miami has not been playing their best basketball, they do tend to play better at home. Wall is still nursing a knee injury as well, bringing his productivity into question. Miami has a problem with good point guards, but Wall is very young and a little banged up. The Heat should be able to handle him accordingly.

LeBron will step up and be the leader tonight. He hears all the media chatter, and he knows that--regardless of the coaching situation--the Heat need to step up and win some games. He will take control of the team and keep them all in line until this coaching question is silenced. Look for him to lead the way tonight and play one of his better games.

Wade has stepped aside to let LeBron lead this team. I, for one, am completely okay with this. LeBron's playing style is more indicative of him being the leader, and he is much more vocal than Wade is. Wade now has the job of being a pure scorer while keeping his calm demeanor. I expect him to have at least 20 tonight, and look for plenty of fast break opportunities against the Wizards. Washington's transition D is not that great, and Miami should be looking to take advantage of that.

Bosh has been playing consistent basketball, so I look for that to continue. 20 points and 8 rebounds from him should be more than enough, assuming he plays solid defense.

I want rebounds from Z and points from Arroyo. Z is a big dude and can still grab the ball in his veteran years. He needs to make his presence known on the boards and shoot the open shot. Arroyo also needs to put up some points. Even if he scores 8 or 10, that just gives the Wizards one more body to guard.

I NEED the rest of the line up to step up tonight. The past few games Bosh, James, and Wade have been doing all of the scoring. These guys need to make a name for themselves and get involved. Jones and House should knock down some 3's and create a spark off of the bench. When these two guys are able to get going, the lanes will open up for the big 3.  As for the rest of the squad, they have to fight and scrap for the win in every second they play of tonight's game. This week is extremely important, and a grounded team that will do anything to win is crucial.

I know a lot of distraction exist in Miami right now, but everyone has to look past that. Lets take care of business tonight.

Get em.