ESPN is paying Mike Greenberg $6.5 million per year for gems like this:
“(People don’t realize) how hard it is to go down to Miami this time of year,” Greenberg said Tuesday on Get Up! setting up his doozy of an excuse for the Knicks.
“Just the reality of the temperature change, the heat, the geography. Being down there for three days it sort of saps a little bit of your energy and your strength. We talk about that primarily in football. I know this is an indoor sport , but I mean for the Knicks, whatever it is, (Jimmy) Butler has just destroyed them.”
No. 8-seed Miami Heat one game from returning to the conference finals D’Angelo
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Let’s get this straight, Greenberg is suggesting that just by walking off the plane in South Florida in May (not June, not July, not August … but May) when the high temperature is in the mid-80s (I’m not sure how we can survive this) and the humidity has been remarkably pleasant for these parts the last week or so, is the reason the Heat have dominated the Knicks and lead the NBA playoff series, 3-1?
Here’s the reality: It’s not the humidity, it’s the heat.
If this wackadoodle theory were correct, the Miami Marlins would be winning about 100 games a year boosted by playing 81 at home, even if it’s protected by a retractable roof. Has Greenberg seen the Marlins?
Or better yet, when the weather can legitimately be used as an excuse, the Dolphins and Hurricanes would be unbeatable at home in late summer and early fall playing in a stadium that some days doubles as a sauna.
Neither team has been relevant for more than two decades.
Greenberg appeared to be doubling down on what his partner, Jalen Rose, said. Rose first brought up the theory that playing in an environmentally controlled indoor arena when the temperature is still pleasant outside is a huge disadvantage for the road team.
“When you’re the road team, you gotta pay attention to that weather and that heat… it affects the endurance of your muscles and causes tiredness,” Rose said during halftime of Game 3.
Did the Knicks sign up to run a 10k at some point before Games 3 and 4 in Miami that affected their muscles and caused fatigue? Or maybe the team bus broke down and they were forced to walk to the arena.
Really, it’s like they were playing the Phoenix Suns on … the sun.
Somehow, I missed all the Heat fans being treated for heat exhaustion. Although I do recall having to remove my sport coat at one point on Monday because I thought it was a bit warm.
Exhausted, I somehow gutted through the deadline.
If the Heat make the NBA Finals and Greenberg and Rose are forced to take their show on the road, I hope they get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids. It may be too exhausting to sit on their seats and talk for three hours.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mike Greenberg, Jalen Rose making excuses for Knicks trailing Miami Heat