Inside The Heat

Dwyane Wade Gives Blunt Reason For LeBron-Led Miami Heat Loss In 2011 NBA Finals

Shandel Richardson|
Feb 5, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade (3) and forward LeBron James (6) in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Heat defeated the Clippers 116-112. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Feb 5, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade (3) and forward LeBron James (6) in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. The Heat defeated the Clippers 116-112. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat

The Miami Heat endured one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

It was the first year the Heat fielded a team with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who were three of the top 10 players in the league. After taking a 2-1 lead, the Heat lost three straight games.

While speaking on a podcast, Wade offered his thoughts why things didn't go according to plan. He placed blame on the players and coach Erik Spoelstra.

"We got outplayed and we got outcoached," Wade said. "And if you go back and you ask the players, you go back and ask Spo, the coaching staff got outcoached and the players got outplayed."

Wade specifically pointed to Game 4 when the Heat were on pace to putting the series out of reach. The Heat led by double-digits in the second half before the Mavs rallied. The moment changed everything.

"When it came down to winning, we didn't close our games," Wade said. "At home, we're up 15. You don't lose that ... That's players and that's coaches. We got outcoached by Rick Carlisle and his staff and we got outplayed by Dirk and Jason Terry and J. Kidd."

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here