Lebron James, Dwyane Wade Give Miami Heat the Most Versatile Lineup of All-Time

The new big three in Miami has been analyzed and discussed from just about every angle imaginable. We've wondered how well the team will come together.  We've wondered if James, Wade and Bosh can set aside their individual egos for the benefit of the whole. We've wondered how many games they'll win... how many championships they'll win.

Among all this speculation is also the question of who will start and at what position?  But with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on the same team, does it really matter? 

Player Efficiency Rating (PER) is a stat that was developed by ESPN's John Hollinger.  It factors positive and negative individual stats into a formula that attempts to determine how effective a player is. 

Last season, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh were ranked No. 1, 2, and 4 in the league in this stat.  James and Wade are ranked No. 2 and 6 all time in PER.

Long story short: Each of the men who make up Miami's big three are extremely versatile.

One early projection of what Miami's starting lineup will look like is: Chalmers, Wade, James, Bosh, and Ilgauskus.  This is a very conventional option of Miami coach Erik Spoelstra.  But with James and Wade I don't see Miami going conventional very often.

According to an article published yesterday on miamiherald.com, Spoelstra expects to use LeBron in multiple roles.  I'm sure the same could be said of Dwyane Wade.

LeBron James is listed at 6'8" and 250 pounds and possesses vision and passing skills superior to those of most starting point guards.  He can easily play positions one through four.

Dwyane Wade is almost as versatile as James.  His size limits him to only two positions on an NBA squad but he can play either the one or the two brilliantly.

The wild card that isn't being talked about much and isn't in the title of this article is Chris Bosh.  Because of his lateral quickness and reliable jump shot, he can play positions three through five.

You may think this would be a huge liability on defense but Miami could go European on us and play a zone defense.  With that much length and athleticism in their lineup they'd have little trouble covering the whole floor out of the zone.

The versatility of this big three will cause coaches, players and fans around the league an unprecedented amount of headaches.

Possible Starters:

PG: Mario Chalmers, Carlos Arroyo, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade

SG: Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Mike Miller

SF: LeBron James, Mike Miller, Chris Bosh

PF: Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, LeBron James

C: Zydrunas Ilgauskus, Joel Anthony, Chris Bosh