The Miami Heat have had time to absorb their loss in the NBA Finals, so too have sports fans. The large majority of sports pundits, personalities, and fans, blame LeBron James for the loss in the Finals. I agree with this statement to a center extent. If LeBron James plays better in the Finals, the Heat may have indeed won the series, or at least pushed it to seven games. Thinking that only James’s lack of play was the sole reason that the Heat lost is not true – there are at least five other contributing factors as to why the Heat lost the series.

Reason One: Mike Bibby starting over Mario Chalmers.

Mike Bibby was the starting point guard, but Mario Chalmers outplayed him consistently throughout the playoffs. When Bibby was starting he had little to no production in the Finals, as well as being a defensive liability. The younger Chalmers was a better defensive and offensive player throughout the series. The fact that it took until the last game of the playoffs for Chalmers to win the starting spot, is a travesty. Chalmers’ Game 6 was the best game of any Heat point guard for the Finals.

Reason Two: Coaching

Erik Spoelstra’s coaching tactics can be called into question. He was never able to draw up an offense that was able to score efficiently and effectively against Dallas’s zone defense. Furthermore, his rotation did not make sense. He switched starting point guards in the last game (Bibby did not see any playing time, which begs the question why he saw any to begin with), something that should have been done as soon as Joel Anthony was made the starting center over Zydrunas Ilgauskas (another move that probably should have been made a bit sooner). He also gave ice cold Eddie House playing time in the last few games of the Finals and froze out James Jones during the Finals. If Jones had been kept in the rotation, his three-point shooting would have greatly benefitted a Heat team, which could not consistently hit the long shot. Furthermore, Jones game would fit seamlessly against a zone. He is a spot up shooter, who cannot create his own shot, so putting him on the weak side of the offense, would mean that Jones would be able to take spot up threes (he wouldn't have a man on him because of the way zones work). If Eddie House was to see large minutes in the final two games of the Finals, then he should have seen more playing time throughout the playoffs (not a lot of minutes, but some of Bibby’s could have gone to House). Spoelstra did not have a rotation that he stuck to throughout the playoffs, which is not a good sign about his future with Miami.

Reason Three: Injuries

The Heat battled injuries to two players that were supposed to be their fourth and fifth best players throughout the season: Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller. The players that saw the most minutes in the Final did not have a lot of time to gel in the regular season, instead they had to gel during the playoffs. Miller was still hurt throughout the playoffs with two thumb injuries and a shoulder injury, limiting his effectiveness shooting the ball. Wade also hurt his hip in Game 4 and was not the same player during the last two games of the Finals.

Reason Four: Lack of Size

The Heat did not have the size to contend with Marion, Chandler and Nowitzki in Dallas’ frontcourt. The Heat need better big men next year. They will have Haslem back for a full season and that will help, and Joel Anthony should continue to develop, but the Heat need to find upgrades for Magloire, Ilgauskas, and Dampier. An athletic big man that can protect the rim would greatly help the Heat.

Reason Five: Immaturity

The Heat acted immature during the Finals. This showed itself when Dwyane Wade gave a fist pump after nailing a three pointer in front of the Dallas bench towards the end of Game 2. Dallas later came back to win this game. There is no harm in celebrating a win, but make sure you have won the game first. Wade’s premature victory celebration was immature. Immaturity reared its ugly head again, when James and Wade mockingly coughed towards the cameras making fun of Nowitzki. Even if this was just a joke about the media from James and Wade, it was in poor taste and showed great immaturity. The Heat will not win a championship until they mature.