Why the New York Knicks' Big Three Can't Compete with the Miami Heat

The New York Knicks' “Big Three” are good, but they’re no Miami Heat.

I must admit Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler are great together, but the New York Knicks' record doesn’t prove it. The Knicks are just 5-4 this season, while the Miami Heat are 8-2 and look like a team on a mission.

LeBron James is scoring at will, while Dwyane Wade continues to play at a high level and Chris Bosh produces points down low. James leads the league in scoring with 29.7 points per game, and while Anthony is only two spots behind him with 26.6, James’ new post game is frightening for every organization not named the Miami Heat.

It’s no coincidence that the Heat lead the league in points scored per game with 108.1, because they’ve stopped taking shots outside and started driving and playing grown-man basketball. Unlike last season, James and company have stopped settling for outside shots and started using their athleticism to get the ball to the hole.

It's an athleticism that Anthony, Stoudemire and Chandler can’t match. So far the Knicks’ trio have averaged 19.9 points per game, while the Heat’s big three average 23.5.

Even with the size advantage the Knicks have over the Heat, Miami has better rebounding statistics than New York. The Knicks are 24th in the league with 40.3 rebounds per game, while the Heat are eighth in the league with 43.9.

I know it’s early in the season, but the Heat’s chemistry that they developed last year has paid off this season and the numbers are showing it. A team can’t be first in the league in assists and not have great chemistry.

The Heat are first in the league with 23.7 assists per game, and the Knicks are 22nd in the league with 18.9.

Basically, Stoudemire, Chandler and Anthony will win a lot of basketball games for the Knicks because they’re great players, but don’t expect them to beat the Heat. The Heat have found their identity. That’s going to win them a lot of basketball games and, dare I say, the NBA championship.

They’re using their athleticism to run the floor, James is playing in the post and driving to the hoop, Bosh is scoring the majority of his points down low and Wade is taking care of the late-game heroics.

The 2011-2012 NBA season will be the year “King James” gets his crown, and not even the Knicks' Big Apples can stop them.