Great(ness), now what?

Last night in south beach with all of the critics watching, the Miami Heat demolished the San Antonio Spurs with a 19 point beating on the NBA’s biggest stage.

This was a beat down of epic proportions. The 103-84 win by the current defending champions suggest that when they are in fact on, there is not a team in the current NBA that is better.

But last night the Miami Heat also proved that when there is one team of men that makes the rest of the league look like little boys (when they wish) is terrible for the league as a whole.

Last night’s game from the middle of the third quarter on was unwatchable, but not because both teams played poorly; rather it is because the Heat were in fact too dominant for the Spurs.

The 33-5 run that spanned from the waning moments of the third quarter into the middle of the fourth quarter was spectacular for Heat fans. Miami made 12 of their 13 shots, did not miss a three pointer, and committed one turnover in that eight minute span.

One run and the game was over, the benches were emptied by both teams with roughly five minutes to go in the NBA Finals. Both teams knew the game was over in what was supposed to be the tensest moments of the game. It was possible to hear David Stern yelling at the television ‘YOU CAN”T WIN BY THIS MUCH!!!! PEOPLE AREN’T GOING TO WATCH THIS!!!’ from Massachusetts.

Yet after seeing the ratings from last night’s game certainly calmed Stern down. The blowout win last night drew a 10.2 overnight rating, which was tied for the fourth highest game two rating since 2004.

This number is baffling for multiple reasons. Ignoring the local market viewings for a moment, it is stunning that THIS many people across the country want to watch the Heat win in lopsided fashion.

Greatness is fantastic in hindsight. It keeps statisticians and sports fans up for hours debating who was better and who was best. Yet in real time, one team ruling the NBA like Joseph Stalin once ruled over the former Soviet Union can’t possibly be entertaining.

Even when Michael Jordan was at the apex of his first prime in the 1993 NBA Finals, his Bulls never won a game by more than ten points. It was still a series, even though many thought that the Bulls were the better team and was eventually going to win; Phoenix still had a fighting chance.

And while the Heat are this good, people still watch, even when they destroy their competition like they did last night.

The de-facto ‘f- you Miami for throwing a dynasty parade before playing a single game’ hate, while still a great reason to hate the Heat, is looking more and more futile by the day.

It is common knowledge that the Heat have the best player in the world, the backing of the NBA officiating crews across the league, a good coach, and an all time great defense; yet there is any kind of hope they will lose.

When Miami plays as well as they did last night on the defensive end there is no team in the NBA that can beat them. The mindset shifts to ‘oh well the Heat are on tonight, guess this game is over.’

The compelling aspect of sports is that you don’t truly know who is going to win. When the Heat are this sharp during a game victory for them is a certainty. Combine the loss of the unpredictability element with the level of dominance and the game becomes unwatchable.

Nobody is punishing the Heat for being this great; they are punishing the rest of the league by being this dominant.