The 5 Biggest Reasons Why The Miami Heat Lost The 2014 NBA Finals

By Brian Kalchik

Top 5 Reasons Why The Miami Heat Lost The 2014 NBA Finals

LeBron James Heat — The San Antonio Spurs deserve the accolades they have been given after defeating the Miami Heat last night to win the NBA Finals, but the story now shifts to how the Heat lost this series. While LeBron James carried the Heat in every game, no other Heat player was a consistent threat to help LeBron against the Spurs. So why did the Miami Heat lose this series? Here are the five biggest reasons why.

5. Mario Chalmers

Mario Chalmers Heat

5. Mario Chalmers

Mario Chalmers Heat — As Miami's starting point guard, Mario Chalmers was pretty much a no-show in this series. In all five games, Chalmers scored more than five points in a game just once and was benched for the series-clinching defeat. Chalmers was also atrocious on defense. Whenever he guarded Tony Parker, Parker did whatever he wanted and got to the basket with ease.

4. Chris Bosh

Chris Bosh Heat

4. Chris Bosh

Chris Bosh Heat — I can't remember a big-name player who has gotten more credit for doing less than Chris Bosh. After being solid the first two games of this series (18 points in each), Bosh was non-existent. Bosh scored nine, 12 and 13 points in Games 3-5 and was absolutely horrendous on the defensive end, repeatedly giving up easy drives to the basket. In terms of plus-minus, Bosh was a double-digit minus in each game.

3. Poor Bench Production

Udonis Haslem Heat

3. Poor Bench Production

Udonis Haslem Heat — Outside of Ray Allen, the Heat's bench was seriously outplayed by the Spurs' bench. In each game, the Spurs' bench outscored the Heat's bench, including four games with the Spurs having a 10 points or more advantage. Players like Norris Cole, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem did nothing on the offensive end to combat the Spurs' trio of Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills and Boris Diaw.

2. Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade Heat

2. Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade Heat — Dwyane Wade was a no-show on the offensive end of the floor and became a turnover machine. Wade scored less than 15 points in three of the five games and had 18 turnovers in the series. He failed to be the reliable second scoring threat that he has been the past three seasons. The decision to rest Wade at the end of the regular season did not help him in the Finals.

1. The San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan Spurs

1. The San Antonio Spurs

Tim Duncan Spurs — Instead of piling on the Heat, how about giving some credit to the Spurs. The way that San Antonio played as a team in this series, no other team, past or present, would have been able to beat them four times in a seven-game series. The way they shot the ball, even when contested by the Heat, was something that we might not ever see again. The Miami Heat ran into a better team that had perhaps the greatest Finals performance in NBA history.

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Miami Heat

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