Beat The Heat!
It has been a while since I’ve written anything but I’m back hopefully for good!
With NBA free agency under full swing, fans and analysts alike are starting to formulate ideas of how teams are taking shape going into next season. Of course the headline that caught the most eyes was Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh each signing with the Miami Heat. This move could conceivably shape the NBA Finals outlook for the next 4-5 years.When you have the second, third and sixth best players on the planet on one roster, its not much of a stretch to say that.
In case if you were wondering, I still have Kobe Bryant listed as the best player on the planet for now, but sometime next year I expect LeBron to lay claim to the undisputed best player on the planet. With that said, playing alongside Wade and Bosh will undoubtedly take some of Lebron’s individual shine away from him.
Of course this is where I hit you with the whammy, I do not think the Miami Heat will win the NBA Championship for the 2010-2011 season.
First off, the additions of Lebron James and Chris Bosh and the re-signing of Dwayne Wade looks more like a collection of great individual talent rather than team talent. I know that may sound short-sighted, let me explain. Each one of those players were the cornerstones of their respective franchises. Lebron won two MVP awards and has a Finals appearance under his belt, Wade has an NBA Finals MVP trophy and Bosh was an immensely talented player on a poor team. In essence they were each “The Man.” Now that Lebron and Bosh are added, the question begs: Who is the man now? It’s unreasonable to think that at some point in the season that egos will not clash. In Cleveland, the offense ran through Lebron and in Miami and Toronto the same situation applies for Wade and Bosh. Who will it run through now? I’m sure there are plenty of interesting answers to that but it remains to be seen how the offense will run. I am also aware of that these three guys have experience playing together internationally but that is not nearly the same as the NBA where money and image precede winning.
Secondly, let us take a look at the rest of the roster, they sorely lack the depth of a championship squad.
The Heat were smart in acquiring Zydrunas Ilgauskas. He was a solid player in Cleveland for a long time, but we are talking about a guy who has missed 42 games over the last three years and has seen his scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage decline each year in that span. At 35 years old, he’s clearly looking at retirement at the end of this season.It also remains to be seen if he can even remain healthy for a full season and based on his age and recent injury history, I would say it is doubtful.
Mike Miller was a solid acquisition because he represents the only legitimate spot-up shooter on the roster not to mention the only viable threat from downtown. He’s a good player and it is unclear whether or not Miami will use him the starting lineup or off the bench.
The rest of the role players, we already have an idea of what they bring to the table. Udonis Haslem is cagy veteran presence but is unspectacular in just about in every facet of his game and Mario Chalmers actually got worse from his rookie year to sophomore campaign. Haslem has a ring but are the other guys really championship caliber role players? It remains to be seen but as of now I say an emphatic “NO!”
A bigger question is how the offense is going to be run. Lebron and Wade have very similar playing styles in the sense that they are both explosive players to the basket but both have mediocre mid-range and perimeter games. However, they both can not clog the paint at the same time. The big advantage for both of those players is their uncanny court vision, so I expect their passing abilities will help alleviate this probleml but it is a concern going into training camp nonetheless. How Bosh will fit into this crowded paint area will be interesting because you’re going to have three exceptional players whose individual strengths lie in the paint. Floor spacing is going to be a big issue especially when you only have one good deep threat.
With the lack of depth, each of the superstars are going to be called on to play big minutes and throughout an 82 game season, fatigue could be a factor that works against them as they enter the playoffs. Playing in the notoriously weak Eastern Conference will be beneficial to this team. The lack of consistently tough competition will probably allow this team to work out its problems on its way to a high playoff seeding.
I expect this team will win a championship in the coming years, I just do not think it will happen this year. There are other teams in the hunt who are just as hungry and although may lack the individual talent have better overall team chemistry. I will address the other contenders in my next blog so stay tuned! Real Sports. Real Talk.
July 17th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
I agree, the depth of a team and their experience overrides another team which is quite “top heavy”. Though the Heat will be very competitive this year and for the foreseeable future, they will not win a ring this year-the Lakers are still the team to beat.
At this very moment, the Heat do not have enough depth and experience convince me that they are clearly better than the celtics, let alone the Lakers. I do like the transactions the Heat have made, and the Godfather aka Pat Riley will surely continue the procedure, similar to what he did in 2004-2005.
The future of the heat will be based upon how well they develop their drafted players, along with being highly competitive each year (so wily veterans in dire need of a ring decide to give the last couple of years of quality service to the Heat at a discounted price for a higher probability of winning a title).
July 23rd, 2010 at 1:04 am
First off I have to applaud Pat Riley for pulling off one of the most remarkable off-seasons in NBA History, however I’m not convinced that the Heat can get a good player in the draft in the next few years because for one, they will be selecting very low where talent is usually non-existant and since they drafted Dwayne Wade, they have not selected a player that is still on their roster except for Mario Chalmers who is hardly a world beater.
Also with the way their salary structure is situated, I’m not convinced they will be able to sign a quality vet that can have a meaningful impact on a championship team. For example, look at a guy like Brad Miller who is the type of role player the Heat would need to win a title, he commanded $15 million over 3 years, which was actually a steal because some teams were willing to use the full mid-level exception on him. If the Heat are willing to be way over the luxury tax the next 4 years, then they might be able to pull something off.
July 27th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
1. I bet everyone said the same thing when the Celts got Garnet and Allen to join in…blah blah blah…they cant win cause they dont have depth and blah blah blah…the Heat are gonna win it this year and next year and the year after too. You guys realize we have the top 2 players statistically in the league?? and add Chris Bosh to that…here’s some analysis for you guys before you go talking outta your asses again…
http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=7063
2. Pat Riley has never ever drafted players worth a shit, except for Dwayne Wade. Look at this past draft picks, none of them are with the Heat except for Chalmers and Wade. Pat Riley isn’t one to draft and develop players. He signs and trades and likes players that are developed in the league.
3. The lakers couldn’t beat the heat last year and when they did, kobe threw up the luckiest shot of his life that he banked in for them to win by 1. The year before, same issue, we beat them at home and lost to them narrowly in their court.
4. Well why do the heat play the lakers so well?? Cause defensively we have a great unit under spoelstra. The heat were 2nd in the league in point allowed per game and top 5 in every other defensive category. So that shitty team with Wade played some defense, imagine how great they’ll be defensively with this unit.
End Thread.
July 28th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Moe you didn’t tear anything up, you argue like a 9 year old….half of your points have no correlation to what I’m trying to say. Boston’s depth was much better than what Miami has right now. Boston also had guys that they drafted that stepped up big…Miami has no such people on their roster even capable of doing that….Big Z, Jamal Maglore? Hahaha….Secondly the compilation of the Boston 3 party, each big player on that team has a diverse skill set, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were each able to stretch the court…Lebron and Wade’s skill sets are very similar, neither has a great perimeter game and its going to lead to a lot of clogging in the paint….also as for Miami’s great defense last year, those numbers are skewed, Miami played a terrible schedule last year…and you’re defense is gonna look good when you play the Pacers, Knicks, Pistons, Sixers, Wizards and Nets a combined 22 times not to mention, they matched up against the worst teams in the west….too….step yo game up and learn how to argue
July 29th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
“bostons depth was much better than what Miami has right now”
Well that’s debatable, because I think Miami’s debt is on par with Bostons
“Miami has no such people on their roster even capable of doing that”
Thats just an assumption, because we do have mike miller, udonis, and chalmers…
“”lebron and wades skill set are very similar…”
true, but they can very easily diversify their skill set. Their are aspects of their games that they havent even touched because their team was so dependent on them being the Man…I wont sit here and argue that with you, just wait till the season starts and you’ll see.
“Miami played a terrible schedule…”
That same schedule that everyone else played in the East…dont mean shit…checkout Miami’s defensive numbers against the elite teams and you’ll see.
Step yo game up and look up numbers and stats before you throw bullshit arguments and make fun of me with your immature opinions…you sound like a pissed off Cav/Bulls/Knicks fan…
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Sorry but Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers are not even comparable to Rajon Rondo (who was a role player on their championship team), Leon Powe, Big Baby Davis and James Posey (who was a great role player when Miami won in 2006)
As for Lebron’s and Wade’s Skill set diversifying, lol, do you think after 7 years in the league they’re suddenly going to develop perimeter games and specifically 3 point shots? They both live in the paint.
Miami was a mediocre team, it doesn’t matter what their defensive numbers were against elite teams. DId they consistently beat those elite teams? Do you stop to think that their slow paced half-court offense limits possessions and thus limiting the amount of points scored?
August 4th, 2010 at 12:03 am
Mike Miller, udonis haslem, and Chalmers over Rondo, powe, cry baby, and posey all day every day. All day eeeerrrrrday.
As for diversifying their skill set…there problem here with you and Rajiv is that you guys think with a football mentality where players are stuck in a position and role and can’t do nothing else….its not the same with basketball…Wade actually has perimeter game and so does Lebron…you act like they cant hit 35% of their threes and shoot over 45% from the mid range game…lol…dude just stick to football.
How is anyone gonna stop the pick and roll with bron and bosh, wade and bosh, or wade and bron?!?!?….you clear one side of the court and let bron and wade operate…or bosh operate in the post against garnet who got dominated by a white guy from spain lol….
come on rash…i know you trying to argue but its just pointless