The Heat Experiment

conno16

so how do you feel it has gone
personally looks pretty good to me
lebron has no peers, this is clear
i still think bosh is hugely over-rated but overall is a decent player
wade is a powerhouse
enough strength in the camp now to support lebron

i think they'll take the world championship this year and this is precisely what lebron deserves

Carcharodon

I think it has gone pretty well, all things considered. They overcame some early problems and found their groove after the Cavs game, they are definitely an explosive team and can cause some serious damage as was shown against the Lakers but I am still not convinced that they will win it due to some match up problems against some teams, not saying that they cant be overcome but I feel that some teams will cause them problems in the PG position and C position, especially the Celtics in the East.

I am not really sure why LeBron deserves it ? He has acted like a bit of a knob of late in my opinion, bit of an ego maniac but thats another discussion :pac:

conno16

The NBA owes him some rings in my opinion.
He has reignited a failing business and should be rewarded accordingly

bulls, celtics and the magic will cause them difficulties
but if they make it to the finals lebron and wade will not be denied

Carcharodon

Ok, if thats what you think

Sea Devils

Personally IMO it's a little early to actually talk about how they'll be doing in the Playoffs. The NBA regular season is nothing but a very long preseason for elite teams that doesn't mean squat, as evidenced by Cleveland's early exits and Boston surprising everyone last year.

Lafortezza

Bosh is one of those PF's that need to have the ball in his hands to post up, face up for elbow jumpers and drive and dish. In the current Miami setup he is reduced to a rebound/defence/get open for passes PF so he seems quite ordinary.

The other problem is that if either Wade or LeBron get injured the Heat become very average. The same applied to the Magic with Howard. But it doesn't apply to say the Lakers and Gasol/Odom, or Celtics with Pierce/Rondo, or the Spurs with Duncan.
Each of those teams has enough quality throughout their squads to survive with winning records, get a good seeding for the playoffs and then play reasonably up to expectations.
The Heat without one of the Big 3 will really struggle to get to the Conference finals.

If the Heat go deep in the Playoffs I think it will be more down to Wade than LeBron.

Kinetic^

conno16 wrote: »

The NBA owes him some rings in my opinion.
He has reignited a failing business and should be rewarded accordingly

bulls, celtics and the magic will cause them difficulties
but if they make it to the finals lebron and wade will not be denied

The league don't owe him anything. He owes it to himself to get a ring after the sham of a live tv event "the decision" was. Between that and the unveiling of the 3 together, I've a lost a lot of respect for him.

Miami won't win this year because they're too centralised around those 3. Spurs, Lakers & Celtics have too many dimensions to their roster and will cause them trouble should they meet in the playoffs.

cfitz

conno16 wrote: »

i think they'll take the world championship

Why would you call it that?

conno16

sorry i'm old school i guess

mc_grens

I dont think there's much question that they are deeply flawed. The Joel Anthony contract extension was a major mistake.

They're winning at the moment by running, and by giving LeBron the third Q and Wade the 4th, thereby avoiding the "who's the man" issues they had early on.

Problem is, come the playoffs you cant run. And come the playoffs you shorten your rotation, and the splitting time at alpha dog plan wont work so easily. Problem is, to win an NBA championship they will have to go through Boston and/or Chicago, and probably LA or San Antonio. All of whom have superior quality bigs.

If last years finals told us anything it told us that the one thing you NEED to win in the NBA right now is quality bigs. If Perk doesnt get injured last year Boston are going for a threepeat this year.

GoldFour4

They badly need to update at pg and center . A force like Darko Milicic would be better then Anthony IMO . Lots of talented young point guards around the place also , or maybe even a veteran like Steve Nash whos willing to give up serious money for a championship ring .

conno16

this is taking shape
big win last night
24 points from bosh too

Sea Devils

Even with their recent struggles and season long struggles against good teams except for last night!, I don't think the Heat will go quietly into the night. I think the only teams they'd lose against in a series in the East are Boston and Chicago, and I think both of those would go 6 or 7 games.

The regular season rarely does much except cloud people's judgement.

Flancrest

Lets be realistic here the only why Miami are going to win a championship this year is if they enter a 3 on 3 tournament.
Over a 7 game series any half decent coach is going to figure out how to stop them.
Of course any team with Lebron and Wade are going to cause problems for other teams thats a given but come playoff time that just won't be enough.
The playoffs are a different animal and what is needed above all is a deep bench.
In my opinion the Heat are 3 deep and that 3rd one (Bosh) is questionable. He built his reputation by playing in Toronto where he was thrown into the spoylight purely because they had no one else. This caused inflated numbers, media posterization and all star status. If you want to see the same situation evolving at the moment just Look at Kevin Love in Minnesota. Do you think he'd be getting those numbers and touches on a championship caliber team.

And as far as an earlier comment saying the NBA owes LeBron a championship for saving a failing business. I think you'll find that LeBron embodies the very characteristics that the NBA is trying to move away from. That being young , rich, spoilt athletes throwing their toys out of the pram when things don't go there way. I think you'll find the League was in a very steady position before Lebron came along. :(

conno16

will lebron leave the heat if they are not real contenders this time next year?
what sort of contract does he have?

Lafortezza

He has a long contract of about 5/6 years I think. He's not getting maximum free agent money as both he and Wade took salary reductions so that the Heat could afford Bosh.
I could see Bosh being traded next season or the one after, although his reputation/value has taken a hit with the way he has been playing this season so far.

I still think people are underestimating the Heat though. I think that each year they get a mid level exception and are able to sign 1 new player each year for an amount of money that would attract solid team players. So they might not win it this year or next but they are way younger than the Lakers/Celtics/Spurs so could go on a run after the gel together as a team after a season or two.

conno16

hard to know where to now for the heat..
they're very restrained in what they can do this summer
prob need another 2 serious players for next year

wade deserved better
acted like an ass in the last week tho

Kinetic^

conno16 wrote: »

but if they make it to the finals lebron and wade will not be denied

conno16

tongue in cheek my friend
personally i would have liked to see lebron win
the nonsense that is going on in cleveland is just pathetic at this stage

i think this season could have been a real trigger / springboard for the heat
basically there was a championship there to be won
celtics, bulls (esp), prob the lakers will all be in better shape next year
pressure will mount further on lebron in particular for 11/12

they were never gonna beat the mavs in this years finals - that was clear from the off, even to the untrained eye
Dirk is a dick as well
bad taste in my mouth today
NBA is the real loser I'm afraid

Kinetic^

conno16 wrote: »

Dirk is a dick as well

Why so?

El Horseboxo

I'm not sure what series you were watching but it was never clear Miami couldn't win it till maybe game 5. That was the first time Dallas looked in control and had figured the Heat out. Prior to that Miami looked in good shape controlling the paint and points off turn overs. It took an exceptional outside shooting percentage and some clutch 4th quarters for Dallas to even remain alive in the first 4 games.

Also to me Dirk is a model NBA player. Modest and leaves it all on the court.

Da GOAT

would be very funny if they traded Bosh, probably get a whole bunch of good pieces in return.

Personally I think they should trade him.

El Horseboxo

Bosh just isn't a fit in Miami. I'd trade him and get a true center if they ain't changing coaches. Someone good on O and D. But i'd get rid of Spoelstra. The guy can't coach. I know he's young but you need someone with more understanding of the game to succeed in the playoffs. Can't rely on two and a half men to just go out and do it for you. Some of the decisions do be nuts.

moneyman

conno16 wrote: »

tongue in cheek my friend
personally i would have liked to see lebron win
the nonsense that is going on in cleveland is just pathetic at this stage

i think this season could have been a real trigger / springboard for the heat
basically there was a championship there to be won
celtics, bulls (esp), prob the lakers will all be in better shape next year
pressure will mount further on lebron in particular for 11/12

they were never gonna beat the mavs in this years finals - that was clear from the off, even to the untrained eye
Dirk is a dick as well
bad taste in my mouth today
NBA is the real loser I'm afraid

Absolutely ridiculous. Why would you have liked to see Lebron win? Great player obviously but a cop out and a genuine dickhead to go along with it. A little humility would go a long way. Can't even back it up when it matters.

It was never clear that the Heat wouldn't beat the Mavs, as has already been pointed out. In fact I'd say most people would still have favoured the Heat even when they were 3-2 down. Don't know where you're getting that idea.

And the biggest head-scratcher of all - the NBA are losers in all of this?! The NBA is most definitely the winner in all of this! Superstars coming together in big markets is AWFUL for the NBA. It sets a terrible precedent and threatens to completely destroy the game if the trend really catches on. This shows that success is not guaranteed by teaming up with your all-star friends, and that's only a good thing for everyone. How you could claim the NBA are the losers in this is pretty unreal.

And Dirk is anything but a dick. You won't see him acting like a complete knob ala Lebron and Wade. Seems like someones bitter. Heat fan, perhaps?

Sea Devils

I'm actually starting to think that their championship window is not gonna be open for as long as some may think. Wade turns 30 next year, and LeBron (who turns 27 in December) has more mileage on his legs than any guy his age in NBA history. He's already just shy of 30,000 minutes in his career, between the regular season & playoffs.

Both guys are heavily dependent on their exceptional athletic abilities in order to play at their current level, and neither has a tremendously developed skill set. What's going to happen when those athletic gifts start to decline?

I think they have 3 more years to get it done, personally

conno16

Sea Devils - complete exaggeration man

c'mon MJ was about 35 when he was still winning titles
Lebron and the Heat have loads of time to rack up the championships
they should have one already though, thats my point

Imagine how the NBA would be embracing King James this week had he won the title he deserves
lets face it Dirk does not have the charisma or talent to assume such a role

all US sports need their heros and villains
the NBA is built around Lebron in this respect
I reckon there will be some disillusioned discussions in Olympic Tower NY this week and throughout the summer

Sea Devils

conno16 wrote: »

Sea Devils - complete exaggeration man

c'mon MJ was about 35 when he was still winning titles
Lebron and the Heat have loads of time to rack up the championships
they should have one already though, thats my point

Imagine how the NBA would be embracing King James this week had he won the title he deserves
lets face it Dirk does not have the charisma or talent to assume such a role

What on earth does charisma have to do with any of this?.

As for Dirk he's rightfully being lauded as one of the top 20 players in NBA history . I would definitely call that being embraced.

For the record I definitely think the Heat will win a couple of titles they're just too talented not to, but they need to be humbled first. Their arrogance in their abilities lost out to a team that had a better idea of what it takes to win and that was such a satisfying sight to see.

#15

conno16 wrote: »

c'mon MJ was about 35 when he was still winning titles

With a killer post game and a vicious attitude in 4th quarters.

LBJ has neither, and may never get them.

Sea Devils

#15 wrote: »

With a killer post game and a vicious attitude in 4th quarters.

LBJ has neither, and may never get them.

This. One of the things that seperates LBJ from MJ is that MJ had a tremendous post up game that spaced the floor for teammates in a way that allowed for easier shots. With LBJ he dribbles and chews up clock so often that his team mates are obviously going to be less then effective.

I can't wait to see if he finally develops a post up game this off season.

K.O.Kiki

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TkvX356cpQ

I'll come back in 13 years if LBJ can do this.

Carcharodon

conno16 wrote: »

Sea Devils - complete exaggeration man

c'mon MJ was about 35 when he was still winning titles
Lebron and the Heat have loads of time to rack up the championships
they should have one already though, thats my point

Imagine how the NBA would be embracing King James this week had he won the title he deserves
lets face it Dirk does not have the charisma or talent to assume such a role

all US sports need their heros and villains
the NBA is built around Lebron in this respect
I reckon there will be some disillusioned discussions in Olympic Tower NY this week and throughout the summer

What a load of crap in all fairness, you must be watching something different my man. Whatever about LeBron but questioning Dirks talent is just embarrasing for you.