It isn't though. There's no consistency to it, no definition. It's basically either we looked good and we had heart, or we lost and we didn't have heart. It's a word people use who want talk, but have nothing to say. It's just lazy. I'm fine with the occasional metaphor, but trying to use it as measurable like rebounding or defense is incredibly stupid.
The Rockets are not a very emotional group. Lots of quiet soft spoken guys on the team. I think that is what they lack. They need more fire, a Kyle Lowry for this team would have been incredible.
Well... I hope he plays like that again in the playoffs. But there's no excuses for him to play with absolutely no effort during the regular season. If he's got a chronic injury, he shouldn't be playing at all until it heals!!!!
Wow, couldn't disagree more. I don't think anything is more real in any sport than playing with/without heart.
It's fairly ignorant, as well as stupid when people call McHale "gutless" and a "coward" seriously. I'm not a fan of a lot of the things McHale does. But the guy basically sacrificed his leg, or at the very least ever being able to walk correctly for a championship. I highly doubt most of the people calling him a coward would do something similar if they were put in that position. Not to mention he had to deal with the death of his daughter in the middle of a season and still came back to the team in a timely manner to fulfill his duties to the team. That's not exactly gutless. It's okay to not like McHale. But at least don't sound like a jackass in your criticisms.
Spirit... A sense of purpose, mission, urgency, righteousness. Off the top of my head. To play with heart is to play with emotion, like it really freaking matters, like you really freaking care. The player that plays with heart just flat wants to win more than the other guy and he can actually play with so much heart he wills himself and his team to do so.
And if you can't recognize and appreciate the player that plays with heart, as relative to the one that doesn't, I honestly can't think of a single reason you'd care about sports. To be a fan is an emotional thing. It is to be passionate. Not believing in such a thing as "playing with heart" seems to me to be almost dispassionate. Maybe it's just a semantic hangup.
My problem with the idea of "playing with heart" is that its insulting to the majority of basketball players who really commit to their craft, and put out immense effort day after day. It's too easy when your team is losing to turn around and say its because they're playing without heart. When it comes down to it, it's just about executing at an extremely high level night after night. Right now, GS is on top of the league. Is it because they're playing with more heart than others? Last year, SA won the championship. Because they played with more heart? When Miami won their two champions, they played with more heart? No. They just have great defensive schemes, people know their roles, they know how to share the ball, and they have some of the most talented players in the game. I'm not trying to downplay heart, but fans throw the term around too easily as we try to explain why our team isn't performing like we think they should.
Anything you could possibly come up with that is an advantage of "playing with heart" can be directly derived from something else tangible, and I guarantee you that.
The Rockets definitely started out this season playing with a lot of heart, hustle, and energy out there. It was almost reminiscent of the '08 22-game streak team and the '09 almost-beat-the-Fakers team. But it was somewhat short lived. I think a lot of it died with the acquisition of Josh Smith... And that's tough for me to say because lawd knows I want to love Josh -- I wanted us to go after him a couple years back instead of Dwight, but he's making it difficult. Now I'm hoping Terrence comes back soon and displaces Josh from the lineup. Terrence can actually make 3s, too.
I consider myself an extremely logical person, and someone who hates vapid sports cliches as much as anyone, so I know where you're coming from... but heart is DEFINITELY real if you ask me. Yes, most of the *results* of heart can ultimately be measured on a stat sheet of some kind, but you still know when your team has it and when it doesn't when you just watch them play. There can be two equally talented teams who play at two totally different levels because one of them is just more motivated than the other, be it the result of coaching, confidence/belief, chemistry, or something else entirely. That motivation is called "heart". All the talent, skill, athleticism, and experience in the world is utterly worthless if you don't give a f***. If you've ever played a sport in your life for any extended period of time, I think you know what I'm talking about.
People who argue that "heart" doesn't exist because you can't neatly define it must also believe that love doesn't exist. They claim to be logical but do not realize their own logical fallacy.
Remember, last year, when they had that period where they had to "gel"? Same thing is happening now. Corey and Josh are big parts of the team, and it'll take a bit before they can all relax and just play basketball.
