The Miami Heat generated a lot of hype this offseason, signing three of the NBA’s biggest free agents, but face some unique challenges if they want to win it all this 2010-2011 season.
This summer, Miami Heat had formed the NBA’s newest “Big Three”, even stronger than that of the Boston Celtics. With such an explosive team, they are poised this season to post some of the highest offensive numbers in recent memory.
The amount of talent these three possess will be able to generate the majority of their offensive firepower. In an email from Kevin Calabro of ESPN Radio, he shed some light on the situation of their offense, stating that the Heat are fortunate “Not only to have the ‘Three Amigos’, [but] one of the most underrated shooting guards in the league in Mike Miller”. On the other hand though, Calabro stated “I don't know that they have enough complementary players however.”
With such a new and unfamiliar roster, the Heat also have to factor in their team chemistry on the court. Besides Dwyane Wade, they are returning only three other players to the roster. All 11 other players are brand new to the team, and this poses some unique problems for the Heat. On the court, this means that the team as a whole, however strong looking, is largely unproven. None of these players, except Dwyane Wade, have won an NBA championship, and LeBron James is the only other player with extensive playoff experience. Remember, too, that the majority of the team is playing together for the first time, minus Bosh and Wade, who both played on Team USA this summer.
Another issue is going to be ball control. Namely, they are going to have to learn to play balanced now that they have such high profile athletes on one team. James, Bosh, and Wade have all previously been the center of their offense, where sharing the ball was not a problem. They are going to have to learn to put aside their egos and sacrifice their points-per-game totals in order to distribute the ball enough to keep everyone happy. Whether they can get this new philosophy to work remains to be seen.
The Miami Heat have a team that is built to win, and are looking to make a deep playoff run this year. Many fans and media members think they have enough to win the championship. When asked about how many games they will win, Calabro responded “I think the team will win 65 games because they have so much overwhelming fire power”.
However, despite all of the hype, in a recent GM poll by the NBA, over 70% of General Managers voted that the Heat would win the Eastern Conference, but not the NBA Title. When asked about this, Calabro concurred, stating “You must have good role players to win a championship. I think the Lakers are still the favorites in my book just for that reason”.
Whatever the belief among GM’s or media, the Heat have become one of the most explosive teams in the NBA, and with three of the best players in regard to their position, the Heat are going to light it up this year in the NBA.
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