Heat vs. Bulls: Why Team Basketball Will Trump LeBron James in Playoffs
The Miami Heat learned a major lesson last season at the hands of Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. That lesson was the fact that team basketball can trump a trio of superstars when everything is on the line.
If LeBron James and company didn’t learn their lesson last season, they will do so this year, as the Miami Heat will once again be denied a championship because of team basketball.
Miami’s received a heavy dose this month of team basketball this month alone in a pair of losses to the Boston Celtics and Thursday night’s overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls. It’s these teams that play together collectively that Miami struggles with the most, and that trend will continue into the postseason.
Just look at the Bulls last evening. The reigning MVP, Derrick Rose, finished the game with only two points on 1-of-13 shooting, yet the Bulls found a way to win as a team.
If Miami’s top scoring option in LeBron ever scored only two points in a big game, the Heat would likely be blown out.
The biggest reason why Miami struggles against teams that play together is the fact that it doesn’t do the same.
Playing defense as a team isn’t a major strength for the Heat, and offensively, there’s way too much pressure on their Big Three to perform. Thursday night alone, 71 of Miami’s 86 points came from James, Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade. While it’s nice that the superstars are earning their paychecks, it amounts to horrible balance offensively.
Why does James get criticized so much for not coming through in the fourth quarter?
That’s because the Heat don’t have multiple consistent options to go to in the clutch, and the pressure rides all on LeBron’s back.
When the Miami bench chips in only a whopping seven points in a combined 97 minutes of playing time, the Heat become a very beatable team.
Consistency is the main problem, as the Heat can’t rely on anyone other than the Big Three to be there on a nightly basis.
A team like Chicago, on the other hand, not only shares the ball well, but their supplemental pieces contribute consistently. When the Heat bench gets outscored 47-7 by the Chicago reserves, it's going to come up on the short end of the stick more often than not.
The key word in all of this is team.
Miami certainly has the talent, but in a seven-game series, the best team is going to win.
Once they advance in the playoffs to the point where they will have to face the best all-around teams, the Heat could be in a lot of trouble.
We’ve seen the demonstration before, and we’ll likely see it again in about a month’s time. A great team will trump three great superstars at almost every occasion.
