Nitro

I'll be going to a Heat-Nets game this year as well, just don't know when or what seats. It'll actually be the 2nd time I seen Bron on a new team (saw him as a rookie, and again in the 2007 playoffs). Also have seen Bosh (2007 playoffs) and Wade (2006 regular season and 2006 playoffs).

T-Mac was my favorite player, I watched him religiously since since like 2001. I know his game well. I agree he has amazing court vision and passing ability, but last year he had a very hard time getting to the rim, couldn't shoot the ball with any kind of efficiency, does not move off-ball (why he didn't work with Adelman well), can't defend with the loss of athleticism, and he's not a guy who does all the "little things." All of those things will be necessary playing alongside 3 of the top 10-15 players in the league who all need the ball in their hands to be very effective. I'm not saying the Heat shouldn't sign him, because at this point they are going to really need to dig around to get quality players around Wade/Bron/Bosh, which will be tough to do with their salary situation. All I'm saying is that it wouldn't be a good fit on that team unless T-Mac changes his game; something he seems to think he doesn't have to do yet, and something he hasn't had to do since he was a teenager. Honestly, T-Mac would be a much better fit in LA, even though I don't even know if that's the best idea in the world.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n12/MiamiCondoInvestments/miami-skyline-and-biscayne-bay-view.jpg I'm jealous.

T-Mac would be a horrible fit, even though I want to see him win a ring. He can't shoot the ball efficiently, needs the ball in his hands to be effective, is injury prone and an average defender WHEN HEALTHY. Bad fit alongside Bron/Wade/Bosh.

Honestly it won't take a whole lot to find a big-man that can defend/rebound well and finish off dunks. Honestly, if they got really desperate a guy like Jason Collins would even work (hell, he even shut Bosh down in the 2007 playoffs). They could always stick to Joel Anthony, consider signing Shaq, maybe try for Big Z (I believe he's unrestricted), Magloire, etc... They don't need much out of the position, just a big, serviceable body who won't kill chemistry. The beauty of this new super-team is they will have plenty of hungry veteran FA's lining up to win a ring or two. Look at the 2008 Celtics and the PJ Brown signing. I don't see this team having a problem with playing scrubs many minutes. They'll get an extra 3 solid role players (already got 2 in Miller and Chalmers) to compete against the Lakers. You beat the Celtics because they couldn't score in the halfcourt; partially because of the Lakers' defense, partially because of the Celtics offense. You're talking about a team who scored 100+ points in only 3 of its last 21 games. Defense is key to championships, but so is having star players that can score in halfcourt situations. That's where the Lakers really beat the Celtics IMO, Kobe + Gasol was too much. And please don't compare this Heat team to those teams. The Suns had horrible defensive talent, were way undersized, and played a system that didn't take defense seriously. The Kings didn't have enough talent defensively or a star that could dominate end of games (they choked so badly in 2002). The Mavs never had this kind of talent as well. It's not that this team will be scoring 110PPG or locking teams down like the Celtics...but when you have 2 of the 3 best players in the league, and also a top 10-15 player, and soon to be a perfect role player in Miller, you're going to find ways to win games. As Kobe said at the end of the season it's just about winning games. When you have that much talent that the Heat will have, they will find ways to win games. I'm assuming their identity will be a defensive one based on Spoelstra/Riley's history, and the fact that since the 2008 Olympics where they won Gold by dominating team on defense, the Big 3 will make it a point to do the same here. I think Wade/Kobe would cancel each other out, they always seem to play each other very evenly. Kobe would probably be more productive point-wise considering circumstance of teammates, but Wade will be more efficient from the field. LeBron ain't Durant...he'll take it right at Artest and won't be forced into volume shooting, and we all know how awful Artest is offensively. Gasol will probably outplay Bosh, but I don't see that being very lopsided. After that, you're trying to sell me on a supporting roster that you always bash? I'm sure you consider Miller a better player than Odom (at the very least more consistent), Bynum hasn't been healthy in the post-season in like 4 years, and depending on how Miami decides to use the PG position Fisher could be at a major disadvantage. IMO some of the other rumored FA's thinking about tagging along in LA to win a championship would be just as likely to try the same in Miami. And as I'm sure you can tell, Riley is damn good at selling that franchise haha.

They weren't scrubs defensively of course, but at the same time I think they were largely so effective because of the slowed-down, defensive gameplan Miami uses. Since Wade came into the league the team hasn't had a top 10 defensive rating only twice...once they were 11th (08-09), and the other time was the season that led to the drafting of Beasley. And LeBron is an All-Defensive 1st teamer, and I REALLY think based on what I saw in the Olympics that Bosh can do just fine defensively when it's a major focus of his. We don't know how the rest of the roster will fill out, but I do think the system alone will make them at least a very good defensive team. May or may not be absolutely great, but certainly enough. First off, you have to consider pace and such with rebounding. They were top 10 in the league in opponent rebounding, and 6th in DRB%. Secondly, I don't get how you think Bosh/LeBron will only grab 15-16 boards a game when Bosh alone averaged 11RPG last year (identical to Gasol in terms of boards and TRB%). LeBron grabbed 7.3 last season on a team that pounded opponents on the boards even moreso than LA, and I actually expect his boards to go up now that he won't have to drop 30+ every night. If they get Mike Miller like the rumors suggest, you can throw in another 4-5 boards on top of Wade's 4-5 as well. I'll low-ball it and say Bosh grabs 10, LeBron grabs 7, Wade grabs 4 and Miller grabs 4...that leaves about 15-16 more for 4-6 other rotational players to obtain. Not a very difficult feat, and I really think those players I mentioned will probably be averaging more boards than that.

I don't know, I could see the Thunder going through sort of a "sophomore slump" at the beginning of next season, hurting their overall W-L to the point where Kobe would scoop up another MVP. Also wouldn't be surprised if LeBron averaged a near triple-double, Heat win 60+ and the media rides him to a 3rd MVP.

Ha it's still a big-time triple double, and 8-21 shooting is roughly what Kobe shot against the Celtics the entire series (and both he and Kobe were pitiful in terms of TO's against the Celts, but LeBron averaged over 3APG more). My point was that in a "down" game or series for LeBron, he's still going to make a huge impact on the game from a production standpoint. And off-games for James are rare....I used the example in a James vs. Bryant thread where last season LeBron had 8 games of shooting sub-40% while Kobe had 22 (and for the people who preach Kobe's injury, he had 25 sub-40% shooting games in 2008-2009). And the offense they ran was honestly as effective as it was going to get. Good defenses exposed the Cavs every year since they had so little versatility in talent around LeBron. Hell, the guy averaged 39/8/8 against the Magic and the Cavs couldn't even get that series to 7. I really don't think you can blame LeBron for something Mike Brown should have prepared for. Ultimately if what they ran was not in the best interest of the team, that should have been on Brown to adjust. His game certainly has weaknesses, but even when those weaknesses are exposed he manages to do some amazing things. As I said before (maybe in this thread or another), I am going to love watching LeBron play that ultimate Pippen role. Everyone is going to miss his 30PPG scoring and such, but he will have a great oppertunity to show the attributes which truly make him great. Honestly would not be surprised to see him average a triple double.

Haha I'm looking through it right now and one of the first posts I see... "I hope this [expletive] [expletive]ing dies in a car fire, he can rot in [expletive]ing hell, he's a dog [expletive]ing piece of [expletive]. Never show your face in Akron again LeBron because I swear to God I'll slice it off with a [expletive]ing katana." Excited to see the rest

Yeah, I'm sure Miami fans are SO concerned about LeBron's career post-season averages of 29/8/7 and resume of taking the worst supporting cast in NBA history to the Finals. Or his crappy 29/19/10 triple double in a game he quit in against the Celtics. Whatever mess LeBron leaves, D-Wade will just clean it up anyway...

Again, why do you think Heat won't have a good defense? Spoelstra is a defensive minded coach and the Heat had one of the best defenses in the league last year with little talent. Add an All-NBA Defensive 1st teamer in Bron, Bosh who did great in the 2008 Olympics defensively when he didn't have to carry the load offensively, and fill in gaps in the defense-oriented system and they should be fine. As I said before, I think individually their defense will improve immensely much like the 2008 Celtics' players did because they won't have to shoulder all the offensive load. The rebounding will be the biggest issue, but the Heat outrebounded teams last year with their top rebounder averaging under 9RPG. I know this is a different team, but with a similar system and mindset I doubt they'll be getting killed on the boards or on defense.

Wow...HUGE signing. Perfect compliment to Wade/James/Bosh. I know Poe is all for Wright playing PG, but if they are in a little jam Miller could play PG. He'll be lethal getting so many open looks from 3, and he's a very underrated passer. Defensively they'd have to put LeBron or Wade on quicker PG's, but offensively he's a perfect fit.

Who cares? Just because he won't score 30PPG anymore doesn't mean anything if he wins. He's a two-time MVP at the age of 25 and brought a team to the Finals and two 60+ win seasons in his first 7 years. That's a helluva feat. The only thing keeping him from top 10 all-time is championships. And now more than ever his passing, rebounding and defense will come to the forefront. His scoring is what everyone always wanted to see, but the other things he does are what makes him so special and different from any player in the modern era. I'm really excited to see him doing more of the 'other things' than scoring/dominating a team. We've seen him do that before, now it's time to win. He just gave himself the best oppertunity to be a part of the dynasty.

The Bulls had a young Pippen starting to bloom, an all-time great coach and a perfect supporting cast built around Jordan's talents. The Cavs have an old Jamison with a big contract, Mo Williams who chokes in the post-season, and a few other solid pieces and coach. Much, much different situation.

LeBron did it so his jersey sales would spike like Kobe's did when he changed from 8 to 24. All for business.

You think Kobe can guard Wade? Everyone excuses Kobe for shooting poorly against the Celtics but Wade averaged 33PPG on 55% shooting against them in the first round with no help. Wade's a former scoring champ. Wade and Kobe would probably cancel each other out, but Kobe would have just as much success of stopping Wade as vice versa. And Bron averaged 32/10 on 50% shooting against Artest last year; he's not Durant, he is the one guy who Artest's physicality won't be a major problem. And LeBron rarely scores inefficiently...I remember in a Kobe vs Bron debate between me and RD I brought up a stat that Bron shot sub-40% like 15x last season to like 40x by Kobe.

Was defense ever a problem of the Cavs? No. Was defense a problem last season on the Heat with far less talent than this upcoming season? No. Spoelstra will get them to play good defense. They won't be the 2008 Celtics or the 2004 Pistons, but I see no reason why they won't have a very good defense to go along with such a dangerous offense. LeBron was the 2008 scoring champ, Wade was the 2009 scoring champ (who averaged 30PPG+ on like 55% shooting against Boston with no offensive help in the playoffs...shot over 60% against the 2006 Pistons in the ECF). Both average 7-8APG. Bosh was averaging 24PPG virtually the entire season last year. They are all arguably getting better. The Celtics' Big 3 was already on the downside of their careers when they joined together, and even in their primes I don't think they'd be able to combine for the offensive abilities of Wade/James/Bosh. This Heat trio clearly have more firepower on offense than that team did. Yeah, but when he went to Boston he was able to put a greater focus on the defensive end, and it helped win him DPOY. Many of the little things he did on defense were because he didn't have that over-bearing offensive burden he had in Minny, and he was also in a system that preached defense. Ray and Paul never got attention for their defensive efforts individually until the Big 3 came to be. I think that same effect will happen with the Heat's trio (with Wade and LeBron already being All-Defensive caliber players).

I suppose, I just think they could have gotten more value for Lee. I'm sure the Rockets would have entertained a deal maybe doing a double sign-and-trade with Scola and another piece or two. In fact, after the T-Mac trade I'm sure they would have welcomed an offer from NY with open arms

Yikes...definitely should have gotten more value for Beasley. At least a servicable, Perkins-like Center. That's just a poor move IMO. Then again, Riley is a genius, so I'm sure he's thought this through.

As I said, the evidence may mean something or nothing at all because of the talent this team now has. But I don't see the point on gambling on Wright being a guy that can take 4-5 3's per game and knock 'em down at such a high clip. Not when they'll have a ton of players willing to sign for the minimum that have a more proven history, as well as Beasley as a trading chip to acquire that. And there's a reason he hasn't had consistent playing time and has only played over 20MPG twice in his six year career (both of those times being on horrible teams and still playing just average). The fact that he's played 70+ games only once in six seasons alone should tell you that's a horrible match for this team. With those 3 stars, they'll need consistency at the PG position. Yeah, I'll agree to disagree...I just think that because Wright's relatively athletic does NOT mean he can defend quick PG's. Totally different level of speed. Again...what mismatch? Just because he's 6'9'' means nothing if he doesn't have the necessary skills to use it to his advantage. His ability to shoot over shorter defenders from 3 isn't as much of a mismatch as him trying to defend quick PG's. No matter who they put at PG they won't have a hand in their face too much beyond the 3pt line. As I said before, there's PLENTY of SG's/SF's in the league that are relatively athletic and have good handles...but how many teams have actually used those players at PG, especially as a starter? Very, very few, and they were far more talented than Wright. And most of them were placed in that position because they had elite level passing ability, something Wright doesn't have and something the Heat don't need. It's always a great idea in theory, but it just doesn't translate on the court. And on a team that only needs 3pt shooting and defensive ability against PG's, the versatility and potential of Wright is minimized even more. IMO they need a proven sharp-shooter at PG that has some experience playing the position on both ends of the floor. Wright could maybe play spot minutes off the bench at PG, but having Wright at PG in the post-season is a scary thought.

LA has the same problems for the same reasons. Miami will do fine selling seats.

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Seriously, LeBron landed in your laps because you sucked so bad, he single-handedly brought them back to prominence, gave them major media exposure, a Finals appearance, 60-win seasons, multiple MVP worthy seasons, possibly saved the team from bolting to another city...give me a break. Ya'll knew this day would come and made the wrong moves to build around an all-time talent. He did what was best for he and his family. Classless. Absolutely classless. LeBron is still a young guy and is only one person. That's not to excuse his actions, but by making this statement you are bringing down your own franchise to an even lower lever than he is.

I would say the Nets, but they still have plenty of cap room, young talent and can maybe try to pry Melo/Paul away from their respective teams, or just wait until next offseason. The Travis Outlaw signing was horrible, though. Undoubtedly the Cavs had the worst offseason, though. Ouch.

Defense is important, but if the Lakers could win in 2009 with not a ton of defensive talent, so can the Heat. I mean, it's not like Wade and LeBron are poor defensive players; they both made All-Defensive teams last year. Neither are necessarily lockdown defenders, but they are very good defenders. And even Bosh is underrated defensively, and I think the 2008 Olympics proved that. As for the Celtics Big 3 comparison, they didn't have anywhere near the offensive firepower this trio has. And none of them were regarded as elite defenders before they joined forces. Spoelsta is a disciple of Riley, and even last year's Heat team was one of the best defensive/rebounding teams in the league. With each of the star's having each other as help, their defense will be greatly improved. And fatigue? With all the heavy lifting they've had to do in their careers, a ton of that pressure will be alleviated by playing with each other.

Eh, he still attracts some defensive attention, and can still finish around the basket and shoot a high %. He also causes problems for Dwight Howard, who will be one of their primary nemesis' over the next few years.