Right Move, Right Place: LBJ's Miami Destination Has Enough to Win in '11
King James will officially be holding court in South Beach next season.
The one time hometown hero of Cleveland announced that he would be moving east to join fellow Team USA stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
LeBron’s unsteady announcement was foreshadowed when he said the biggest factor in his decision was to win multiple championships.
My Guy vs. Guy counterpart and fellow B/R writer Jason Zimmerman detailed why the 2010-2011 Miami Heat will not win the NBA title in his article, Right Move, Right Place: LBJ’s Perfect Destination Still Not Enough for Heat to Win in ’11.
As well received as I’m sure his article is in Cleveland, New York, Chicago, Boston and Orlando, it couldn’t be more wrong.
The main point of Jason’s argument is basically that there is no “I” in team, let alone three.
He rants that without the right supporting cast, Kobe would be more like T.O. than M.J., M.J. would be ring-less, and Bird and Magic would be remembered as college greats more than all-time legends.
And I have to give it to him; it’s a nice thought. It’s Disney. It’s those motivational posters in every second-rate office across this country. But more importantly, it’s wrong. The Miami Heat will not just win, they’ll win often, and they’ll win quickly.
The model for this team isn’t Larry Bird’s Celtics, but Paul Pierce’s Celtics...or should I say Ray Allen or Kevin Garnett’s Celtics? Yes, the Heat need to surround their trio with talent, but not really that much.
Sure, the most recent version of the Celtics have really good talent around them. Rondo was their best player this last post-season. Big Baby finally started playing like a man. Kendrick Perkins was great.
But let me ask you, three years ago, before the 2007 season, who thought Rondo was more than a liability?
Who thought Big Baby was good for more than six extra fouls?
Who thought that Perkins could be the difference in a series?
The point is, playing around greatness made bad players average, average players good, and good players great. Almost unquestionably Miami’s rendition of the Big Three is better than what Boston was able to assemble.
This will make Mario Chalmers better, and make Michael Beasley...well, whoever the Heat get back after trading Michael Beasley, better.
Frankly, with these three on the floor Heat would be fine pulling all 5’8” of me off the bench to play with them. But Riley is going to put a good team around them. Look for title hungry vets and naïve rookies to sign up with the Heat for minimum contracts to eagerly jump on board to round out the new focal point of the NBA.
Jason points out that there is significant competition for the Heat, notably with the defending champs out west and a slew of retooled teams in the east. The problem is that you can’t double team three stars with only five players.
The Bulls have the perimeter talent to make a run, but adding Boozer down low isn’t enough to make them great.
Orlando has Howard down low, but when they let Turkoglu go (who really saw that hurting them?), they lost the dynamic perimeter to be elite.
The Lakers, as defending champs with an aging coach, are really the foil to the Heat.
This should be a great series, and is my prediction for the Finals. Think of the match-ups.
Phil Jackson vs. Pat Riley.
Kobe vs. Wade.
Pau vs. Bosh.
Artest vs. James.
Wait...what? Artest vs. James?
Seriously, that’s the match up? Call me crazy, but unless the Lakers get better, I like the Heat in five.
When LeBron James declared he was headed to South Beach, Cavs fans instantly saw him as the Wicked Witch of the West.
I understand their anger, but as long as Karma doesn’t bite James, he isn’t going to melt. If you want to vilify James, then think of him as a modern day Tony Montana: The World is Not Enough.
