Keep Your Shoes On

A funny thing happened during last night's Heat-Knicks game. As Mike Bibby went up to battle for a rebound with Dwayne Wade, he lost his shoe. The Knicks grabbed the rebound and were headed down the court, but Wade made sure that Bibby would be playing the possession with only one shoe, as he hurled it a good distance away from Bibby.

An interesting and comical strategy by Wade. Luckily for Bibby and the Knicks, the offensive possession ended in a quick basket. But it brings up an interesting argument. Was that a smart move by Wade? Or was it a cheap move? Clearly there were no dirty motives here, as you can see both Bibby and Wade had a chuckle about it. But one can argue that Wade gave his team a competitive advantage, essentially making the possession 5 on 4.

Mike Bibby back when he learned how to tie his shoes

But you could argue that the Knicks were already at a disadvantage having Bibby on the floor, but now he only had one shoe putting the Knicks in a deeper hole. When you are as old and ineffective as Bibby its essential that every part of your game is thoroughly checked before stepping onto the floor. These aren't the days on the playground where no shoes meant you were faster and more agile. These are the days when scientists and multinational corporations are spending enormous amounts of time and money into researching what makes the best shoe, because the shoes matter.