As I laid in bed the other night, a million things rushed through my head. Not only how I continuously fail to get a summer job, but also the fact that I head off to college in less than a month. But more importantly, I couldn’t realistically fathom how the Miami Heat are possibly going to play together. Yeah that’s right I said it. Putting two of the top three NBA players together, and three of the top ten. It’s a perfectly drawn up recipe for a brutal “ego-thunderstorm.” It would be like having Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco on the same team…oh wait….
Basketball-wise it would be like Jordan teaming up with Larry Bird and Karl Malone in the 90s…hence the “Dream Team.” So is it possible to have Dwyane Wade coincide with LeBron James, and then Chris Bosh on top of all that? I just can’t imagine how the basketball would be played.
Granted they’ll run the east coast, but it’s going to be a slow start for the newly established powerhouse.
Let’s start out with the main attraction, LeBron James. Averaging 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists per game throughout his 7-year career, it is without a doubt that his scoring will decline. When you have the 2006 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, and inarguably the third best overall player in the entire NBA at your side, LeBron’s chance of averaging 30+ points has essentially been negated.
His scoring will drop to about 18-24 points per game, but his assists will increase. He should be able to average double-digit assists pretty easily and will flirt with Oscar Robertson’s 1961 record of averaging a triple-double in a single season. We could very well witness the second player in NBA history average a triple-double over the course of a season. We clearly see how LeBron fared with shooting-guards like Anthony Parker and Delonte West, but never would anyone imagine LeBron teaming up with the next best player in the NBA.
Miami Heat shooting-guard Dwyane Wade.
Two players, on the same team, both averaging 25+ point per game over their seven-year-career (both drafted in 2003)? I don’t think so. Lets face it. They know they’re the best. Just like Kobe is king of Los Angeles, just like Tiger Woods, Lance Armstrong, Sidney Crosby, Usain Bolt, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps. They’re the best at what they do and they know it. There’s absolutely no hiding it, especially when the entire world knows it. Mix two of the top three basketball players in the world together, and things might not go so smoothly.
Ever since Dwyane Wade has entered the league in ’03 I’m convinced he is one of few professional athletes who is impossible to hate. 
Instead of glowing with rays of cockiness, rudeness, selfishness and any other –ness that most athletes are plagued with, he is a man who loves what he does, and just focuses on it. He glows with rays of swagger, hunger, passion, and an obscene knowledge for the game. He is a fearless competitor who plays with his heart. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear “Crunch-Time-Player”, Dwyane Wade. In my opinion, and as my friends would know too well, Dwyane Wade literally defines “Crunch-Time-Player.” Five second left, down one, you’re going to want to get the ball in Wade’s hands. There is no one else (robots don’t count) on this planet who would rather take the shot.
Trying as much as possible not to get side tracked, we move on to Chris Bosh, the only player in the NBA who emulates the team mascot in which he plays for (not counting the Heat…a forecast is barely a mascot). (Part 2 just for fun)
Bosh, who was also drafted in 2003, has established himself as one of the elite big-men in the entire Association. With the exception of light-out-shooting, there is really nothing Bosh can’t do. He can fly, dunk, rebound post-up, dribble, consistently knock down 18-footers, and make flashy passes (and even act?). He is the perfect size for a power-forward, but too small to match up against most centers. In my mind he is essentially the black Pau Gasol, but with more confidence, swagger, and the super-star mentality.
Bosh’s numbers will go down because there isn’t enough time in the 48-minute-span to get him the touches and looks he was used to getting in Toronto. Safe to say, he is the third option.
This brings me back to my point on team chemistry. Sure they were all “brothas” or what not on the ’08 USA Olympic team, and have told every source of media they’re all extremely close and team chem won’t be an issue. Come December or January, when LeBron doesn’t get as many shots as he wants, or when Wade doesn’t like the looks he’s getting, or when Bosh isn’t getting enough touches in the paint, there will be issues. Coach Erik Spoelstra will have his hands full trying to baby-sit a bunch of grown men who can’t yet get their act together.
Who is gonna be the alpha-dog? All three players have huge egos, and they’re all in their prime. Their journey to a legendary career has barely started and they’re already teaming up.
Compare it to when Garnett and Ray Allen teamed up with Pierce on the Celtics. You can’t. Both players
were past their prime, at their last resort to do anything to win, luckily, the pieces fit the puzzle and all is well in Beantown. On the other hand, LeBron is coming off back-to-back MVPs, Wade is coming of an NBA Championship, and a Championship MVP in ’06, and all three players are coming off countless, literally, countless numbers of all-star selections and all-NBA team selections. Needless to say, they are all in their prime.
Rocky start for the ’10-’11 Miami Heat. Their checklist is as follows: need to disregard all previous accolades, figure out how to play selfless team-basketball, contact Ron Artest, hire a psychiatrist or two, start a reality show, get prime-time on VH1, compile a record breaking win streak of 34+ games sometime in February-March, make an expected Finals run.
Should be an interesting year in the NBA.
