The LeBron Era: How Many Titles will the Miami Heat win? - 07/17/2010
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Written by Evan Jacoby
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July 17, 2010
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LeBRON JAMES SIGNS WITH THE MIAMI HEAT “This fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.” The words that turned the professional basketball world upside down. Since LeBron James’ nationally televised and worldwide criticized free agency “Decision” on July 8th, reactions from fans, analysts, and media have run a full gamut of emotions. Hatred, embarrassment, betrayal, sadness; love, acceptance, admiration, amusement. Sports have a way of grasping the emotions of millions of people on a daily basis, but rarely does one event garner such an incredible response from such a large number of people, as this one did. Everyone has an opinion about LeBron’s decision, and everyone is properly entitled to. The self-proclaimed King is well aware of his super-stardom and global influence, and he put himself under the ultimate spotlight by creating a 1-hour primetime special out of a simple announcement. There was no competition to engage in, no athleticism to display, and no audience to “wow.” It was an unprecedented public event for an athlete, and one that had every viewer focused solely on this man’s character and composure. For the first time in his career, LeBron James had to impress an audience with his words, and not with his body. The King chose Miami as the new location for his throne. Miami, the same city whose team had just 2 days earlier announced the signings of two of the NBA’s most talented players in their primes, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The wait was over, and NBA fans from New York to China had their worst fears confirmed: LeBron chose to play WITH his 2 superstar peers, rather than against them. Not surprisingly, James made a whole lot more enemies than friends on this Thursday night. The city of Cleveland has disowned their hometown hero, the sports media community has come down with a furious wrath of criticism, and many NBA fans have questioned their investment in the sport’s future. LeBron even got booed at the ESPY Awards a week later, if not for his cowardly decision to play on a team already loaded with stars, then at least for his choice to air this announcement live on national television in a 1-hour special that tortured his most loyal fans. But I’m not here to vent any more feelings about my (former) favorite athlete’s critical decision. There are thousands of articles out there for fans to seek comfort. Whatever your feelings may be, there is a writer out there who touched on it. Love him or hate him, one thing is clear about LeBron James’ choice: it will forever be the turning point of this generation’s NBA history. By joining forces with fellow superstar Dwyane Wade and perennial all-star Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat, LeBron has finished off the creation of a monster that will become the most followed sports team of the next 5 years. And that’s where I want to chime in. Miami is now the center of the basketball universe. The team hasn’t won anything yet, but that’s where the fun starts. It’s time to do some analysis and make some predictions about the new-look Miami Heat juggernaut. What is the impact of LeBron James’ signing with the Miami Heat? How will this squad of superstars be able to coexist? How good can this team be? I answer all of those questions in the next section, in pursuit of the answer to the ultimate question: How many championships will the Miami Heat win? __________________________________________________________________ HOW MANY TITLES WILL THE MIAMI HEAT WIN? The day after James announced his intention to sign with the Heat, the city of Miami threw a wild party in its American Airlines Arena to celebrate the signings of its new “Big 3,” “Miami Thrice,” or whatever the group will end up being called. During this event, Dwyane Wade spoke to the crowd about his excitement to team with “arguably the greatest trio ever to play the game.” Despite his inclusion of the word “arguably,” Wade’s statement garnered much criticism. Did he forget about Magic, Kareem, and Worthy of the Showtime Lakers? What about Bird-McHale-Parish of the 1980’s Celtics? Or even Jordan-Pippen-Rodman/Grant or Shaq-Kobe-Horry/Fisher? The crazy thing is, Wade might end up being correct. This could be the greatest trio of all-time, even better than the ones I just mentioned. Let’s take a look at the 3: LeBRON JAMES - 29.7 PPG, 8.6 APG, 7.3 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.1 BPG (2009 stats)
DWYANE WADE - 26.6 PPG, 6.5 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.1 BPG (2009 stats)
CHRIS BOSH - 24.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.0 BPG, .518 FG% (2009 stats)
The resumes speak for themselves. James is the 2-time defending NBA MVP, and the world’s most talented player in his prime. He’s also the youngest of the three. He has the ability to play any position from point guard to power forward, can guard any of those positions as well as anyone, and the team will certainly use his versatility throughout games. Wade is another versatile guard that likes to play the point guard late in games, but is a natural 2-guard that can play the 3 with his great size. He’s also a great defender and one of the league’s top-5 best all-around players. And Chris Bosh is a blooming star forward who’s one of the best offensive front court players in basketball. Three superstars in their prime. Two of the world’s best players in the same backcourt. The most dynamic offensive trio we’ve ever seen, all with the ability to play tremendous defense. The question becomes, are there enough shots to go around? All three of these guys are used to taking 20+ shots per game and being featured on offense. Each player is used to being the main attraction, the star of the show, and the franchise player. How can they co-exist? I think the transition from solo stars to team players will be a seamless one for this trio. And here are 3 reasons why: - - - - - - - - - - - These guys played together on the 2008 USA Olympic Team and won a Gold Medal. They had a tight on-court chemistry that nearly matched their off-court friendship. Bosh, James, and Wade are all unselfish players that would love nothing more than to have superstars for teammates. Many people are worried about the shot distribution; as if it’s so tough for Dwyane Wade to run a pick-and-roll and have LeBron James and Chris Bosh on either wing to throw an alley-oop pass to? I’m not saying it will be that easy on every play, but these guys will be ecstatic at the chance to defer to their talented teammates. - A winning attitude is contagious, and will rub off on the entire team. All three players are superstars in their prime that have lived off their individual accomplishments. There’s only 1 NBA Title amongst these 3 players, and that was by Dwyane Wade back in 2006. The hunger to win and a desire for championships is what drove this trio to play together, and the winning attitude will prevent any lethargic on-court play. There’s nothing more powerful than a superstar who would die to win, and that’s what each player brings to the table. - They will not be alone! Not surprisingly, the signing of LeBron James has encouraged veteran role players to join this team at a reduced prize. Udonis Haslem is coming back to provide strength in the front court. Mike Miller is the much-needed sharpshooter that recently signed with the team. And Zydrunas Ilgauskas is James’ former teammate that adds great size, as well as veteran versatility on the offensive end. Mario Chalmers returns as a solid young point guard that can shoot well and play strong defense. And they drafted three promising second-round players in this year's NBA Draft. The Big 3 has some pretty solid teammates already! All in all, the only thing that could hold this team back is an ego trip. Each player is unselfish and committed to the defensive end, there are plenty of role players coming in, there is a great motive to win, there’s tremendous chemistry between the stars, and there’s an unprecedented amount of offensive talent. In my opinion, injuries and egos are the only factors in play that could derail this team. And without a past history of such, there’s no way to predict either. Is it possible that LeBron James becomes frustrated with his role, gets discouraged during a losing stretch, and turns on his teammates in a playoff series? Anything could happen. But given the fact that each of the 3 players are young, determined, and talented, it’s tough to imagine anything from stopping them from putting their differences aside. Basically, if you don’t think the Heat are going to win multiple championships, you’re banking on a major injury or unprecedented team disunity. And these things are potential factors for any team in sports. I’m not buying it. In that case, is there another team that is good enough to beat the Heat? That’s yet to be determined. James, Wade, and Bosh will be teammates for the next 6 years. Here are my 3 main thoughts on Miami’s competition: - - - - - - - - - - - In year one, the Lakers are still the team to beat. The two-time defending NBA Champions bring everyone back, including Phil Jackson. The Lakers are the one team out there that can match Miami talent-wise, and it’s only right that this becomes the 2011 NBA Finals matchup. But I’m taking Miami in this one. The Lakers are looking for a 3-peat, but Miami is hungry for its first. Kobe is a year older, Phil is a year older, Fisher and Artest are a year older. The Heat are just getting started, and I think they’re going to be their best in season one. These guys will do anything and everything it takes to win this first championship and prove it was all worth it. Lakers vs. Heat is the only right matchup in the 2011 Finals, and I think Miami is the favorite. - In years two and three are when the Heat will be their most dominant. I think the potential for a 3-Peat is quite legitimate. None of the Big 3 will be 30 years old yet, and they will continue to add better role players to the team. We’ve already seen a bunch of veterans sign on this summer, and the trend will continue going forward. And how significant will a year of playing together be for this team? The potential for unstoppable greatness will be the best for this team in 2012 and 2013, and I don’t see anyone stopping them. - Going further into the future is impossible to predict. Who knows what’s going to happen. But my thoughts are that the rest of the NBA will have their best opportunity to stop this team after 3 years. By then, other teams will have had more than enough time to put together their rosters to knock off Miami Thrice. With the experience that James, Bosh, and Wade get from playing together also comes with familiarity that their opponents get by playing against them. I think teams like Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Boston, New York, and Chicago have the pieces to keep getting better in the next couple of years. There will be other big-time free agents that get their chance to team together, and there are other superstars that are yet to find their niche. I think other teams will have caught up to the Heat by year four, and it will be harder for them to win. Essentially, I like Miami to win early and often. I like the Heat to come in and dominate the NBA next season, and be especially dominant the year after. At that point, the rest of the league should have the ability to play catch up, and there might be another “Big 3” out there somewhere in the league. It’s not that the other teams in the league shouldn’t try to win in the next 3 seasons, I just don’t think they stand a chance. There’s no way to downplay the incredible talent on this Miami team, and it’s impossible to put a ceiing on their expectations. All we can do is make our best predictions. So to sum up my thoughts: MY GUESS:
As much as I hate to say it, I think we've found our next basketball dynasty. These are all just fun predictions, and feel free to make your own. I’m just being realistic when I say that the Heat can easily win the next 5 titles. I’m picking them to win 4 of the next 6. For the sake of all NBA fans outside of Miami, I hope I’m wrong.
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