There comes a point where a player can't perform at their full ability due to fatigue. Players need to exert effort wisely.

KG being out of gas seemed to be more of a problem at the end than him not putting in effort. I feel like he had no legs, which allowed the Heat to grab rebounds over him.

What will matter the most is the crowd. Home court is significant. It can help make your body ache a little less and give you more confidence in what you do. It can help bring teams together like a tribal dance before going to war.

My main concern is how Miami has adjusted their offense to counter the great defense we had in the first half. I don't see how we took our foot off the pedal in the 3rd quarter. Miami found different places to get the ball to Wade that made defense more difficult.

And, by the way, "Shooting the lights out" has nothing to do with effort. And we don't need perfection. I guarantee it won't be a shutout. What we need is a philosophy that gives us the best statistical chances. This means protecting Pierce a little better from fouling out. It means forcing Miami to the shots we want them to take (and not trying to make it impossible for them to take any shots, a fool's errand).

And Pietrus needs to play smarter on defense. I wonder about the brain trauma he suffered after the 3 or 4 completely boneheaded defensive plays he has had in 2 games.

Yeah, this is why Doc needs to utilize the subs. No one other than Rondo can play huge minutes and not be slowed down. I'm equal parts frustrated with Doc's lack of substitutions as I am with the refs. A fresh bench player is better than a ragged starter.

the thing is, our bench always loses the lead when we have one. Also, the team produces less when rondo is on the bench. I think thats a huge reason why rondo didnt want to sit.

yeah well the bench just needs to suck it up from here on out. we have those fresh legs we need to use them and hope for the best. tell them to all move the ball and go to the rack when on offense and play the best defense they can on the other end.