The Miami Heat have played more games than any other NBA team over the last three seasons. That’s the price they pay for winning back-to-back championships, but it could be taking its toll on the 2013-2014 edition of the team. According to LeBron James, the Heat are starting to break down both mentally and physically.
The Heat lost to the New York Knicks on Thursday and pushed the Brooklyn Nets to double overtime before coming up short again on Friday night. After the team’s most recently loss, LeBron admitted that fatigue is an issue.
“It’s a long and grueling season for all of us, not just us because we’re the champs,” James told reporters, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. “We’ve played a lot of basketball in our four years together. It’s taken a lot of wear and tear on all our bodies. It’s mentally fatiguing. And you just try to find the motivation the best way you can as an individual and as a collective group.”
LeBron fouled out of a regular season game on Friday for the first time since 2008, so you know something has to be out of whack for Miami. It hasn’t helped that Dwyane Wade has been out with a knee injury and both Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier are also nursing injuries.
“We’re banged up right now,” James said. “We’re not an excuse team right now, but we’ve got three starters [out]. And even though we’ve got a lot of depth, it’s hard to make up for three starters being out, so we could all use a break for sure.”
It’s worth noting that the Heat coasted through the early part of last season before going on to win 27 straight games beginning on Feb. 3. They won 37 of 39 games to close out the regular season and played some of their best basketball in the playoffs, winning their second-straight NBA title. More uninspiring play is likely on the way, but don’t be surprised if we see a three-peat.
