Don't Be Scared of the Miami Heat, They're Not That Good

I have to admit. I am really baffled by the fans who think the Miami Heat are shoo ins for the NBA title next year. 

This is a team that has serious problems and nothing that Pat Riley has done since signing the big three has done anything to change that.

First of all, the premise that these are three of the best players in the NBA is patently false as far as I am concerned. I'll give you Wade and LeBron but Chris Bosh? Puhleeze!

Bosh is a nice player who's never been a real impact on the court.

He has good stats. So did Vince Carter when he played for the Raptors. So did Elton Brand when he played for the Bulls and the Clippers.

Brand actually took his team to the second round of the playoffs and received several MVP votes four years ago. Bosh has never done that. 

It's easy to have big stats when you're playing for a losing team. 

Great players make a team better. When they join a team it immediately gets better: Tim Duncan as a rookie for the Spurs, Shaquille O'Neil when he went to Orlando, the Lakers and the Miami Heat. 

Bosh has never shown himself to be a great player. The Raptors were mediocre before Bosh and they'll be mediocre after Bosh. 

It will also be interesting to see how Bosh reacts to being the third fiddle. How's he going to handle it when he gets 10 touches for an entire game. How's he going to react when he doesn't even get double digit points in some games.

Then there's the two main stars. I'll be honest, I love Dwayne Wade. 

Unlike Bosh with the Raptors, the Miami Heat immediately got better as soon as Wade joined the team out of college. When Shaq joined the following year they won the title. Since then he's carried the team on his shoulders and made them much better than they should have been.

But Wade has definite liabilities. 

He's a 6'4" two-guard who's never developed a consistent outside game. He's a scorer not a shooter. 

He's never been a great defender, either. And most NBA championships are won with defense. He's strong for 6'4" and he's certainly not a major defensive liability.

But he's never going to be mistaken for Jordan or Kobe on the defensive end. He's not a shut down defender, and quality two-guards will get their share of points when he's on the court. 

LeBron isn't much of a defender either. He's gotten better the last couple of years and he was given a gift All-Defensive Team nod in both 2009 and 2010. But anyone who's watched the guy play doesn't think much of his defense.

He likes to make the occasional big block or steal. But he's not a shut down defender and I doubt he ever will be one. 

LeBron isn't much of an outside threat, either. Boston packed in the middle against Cleveland in the playoffs and dared them to shoot. 

Cleveland had no answer to that strategy and I'm sure the Celtics will do the same thing to the Heat if they meet in the playoffs next year.

That brings us to the rest of the Heat players. 

Yikes! What a bunch of journeymen, has-beens, and never-wases. 

Mike Miller is a decent sixth man but how often will he be on the court? He's played three positions during his NBA career, the two, three, and four. The same positions as the big three. 

He's a good shooter and a defensive liability. He'll only be on the court when Lebron and Wade are having a tough time getting open.

Then there's Udonis Haslem. He's a nice player. 

He also plays the same position as Bosh and LeBron. He'll look good in his sweats cheering them on. 

The fact is, there are really only two positions open on this team and that's where the Heat have major problems.

Their point guards are second year pro Mario Chalmers, journeyman Carlos Arroyo, and Eddie House, who was a pretty good player back when they still fetched the ball out of a peach basket.

Not one of these guys could start on another playoff team in the league. But one of them is going to start for the Heat.

Then there's the center position. The Heat have four centers under contract.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a statue who just turned 35, Joel Anthony is a 6'9" journeyman who's spent most of his career in the minor leagues, Jamaal Magloire is a 32-year-old journeyman, and Dexter Pittman is a rookie project out of Texas.

These are the centers the Heat are going to trot out against the top teams in the league. The Celtics who have a slew of quality bigs and just added Jermaine O'Neal.

These are the guys the Heat are going to ask to stop Dwight Howard who is spending his summer working on his game with Hakeem Olajuwon.

And if the Heat get past that team they'll face the Lakers, who will be licking their chops. 

These are the kinds of stiffs that Andrew Bynum scores 40 points a game against when he's healthy. These are the guys Pau Gasol makes look silly with his multifaceted game. Even Lamar Odom will go off against that lineup.

The fact is, this Heat team has serious holes all over the court.

They don't have a top shooter who can stretch the court other than Mike Miller. They're undersized in the back court. More importantly, they lack a defensive stopper.

They'll get their points, that's for sure.

But titles are won with defense.

Everyone loves to remember the young Michael Jordan who scored at will. They love to remember the big shot he made against the Utah Jazz that stuck a dagger in their heart. 

What fans forget is that Michael and Scottie were both lock down defenders. And the rest of the Bulls weren't slouches on defense either.

During the Bulls' final championship year, Jordan actually struggled on offense. There were a lot of 30 percent shooting nights. 

But the Bulls always played defense. That's why they won.

The Heat as currently configured will not be a great defensive team. That's why they are all but guaranteed to flame out in the playoffs.

ESPN won't be able to keep that flame out off their website. It will be right there for everyone to see.