How Pat Riley Can Fix the Miami Heat and LeBron James

The Miami Heat are broken. 

Unless, of course, you were expecting all along that the addition of Chris Bosh and that forward they got from Cleveland, James I think it is, would result in a net gain of one additional win after the first 19 games of the season.

Miami Heat 2009: 10-9

Miami Heat 2010: 11-8

Yeah , that’s what everyone had in mind when (and I quote Dwyane Wade here) the three kings teamed up to become “arguably the best trio to ever play the game of basketball.”

I’m going to tell you how I think Pat Riley can fix this mess, but can I get something off my chest first? 

Okay, there is no doubt that Wade is a genuine NBA superstar, and one with championship bling at that.  But I have to call him out on another front.  The man used the word “arguably” so I guess I should be giving him the benefit of the doubt here, but he also used the word “EVER”.  Damn, that’s some Hall of Fame hubris there my friend.

Let’s see Jordan/Pippen/Rodman, Johnson/Jabbar/Worthy, Bird/Parrish/McHale, Chamberlain/West/Baylor(or later Goodrich), Russell/Cousy/(insert third HOF’er here).  This whole “big three” thing has been done before.  Heck, it’s being done even as we speak in Boston right now. 

Garnett/Pierce/Allen, you may remember them.  Seems you’ve bumped into them a couple times already this year—hey, how did that turn out?

Secondly, I know Miami is not exactly famous for it’s low key restraint, but geez, the Heat’s introduction of “arguably the best trio to ever play the game of basketball” made your typical Mardi Gras bash look kind of quaint.  There was music, and dancing, lots of smoke (can’t forget the smoke when one is trying to make a good first impression).

And then the “big reveal.”  The Magic Moment.  Rising through the dramatically lit smoke like a trio of never before assembled hoop Phoenix came the “New” big three.  Complete with the WWE style posing and mugging for the camera, it was a production that would have made Vince McMahon proud.  That’s a lot of fuss for an 11-8 team.  Just my humble opinion but to me the parade should come after the championship. 

When Miami players and media talk about the unprecedented levels of backlash they see towards this organization they should do a little research.  The build-up to this moment was at an unprecedented level as well.  The Miami Heat are not a victim here.

So how can Riley fix this mess?

1. First off, I’m not sure it includes him taking over at coach, though, at the least, he needs to lay down the law and support his coach of choice.  There’s lots of speculation along these lines.  Riley has to put an end to that. 

I’m not necessarily saying that Riley taking over won’t happen, or for that matter that it wouldn’t help.  I’m just saying I don’t think it HAS to happen for the Heat to improve.  But he does have to end the speculation, at least in the minds of the players.  If Erik Spoelstra is the man, then he’s the man.  Make it the law.

2. Go get a point guard.  Since day one, people have been talking about the lack of an inside presence for the Heat, but for me the most glaring weakness has been at PG.  Not so much offensively but on defense.  It seems that Heat opponents have the luxury of running their offense anyway they see fit. 

The Heat just don’t have a great defender that can force an offense to alter the way they want to attack the Heat defense.  Offensively an upgrade at point wouldn’t hurt either though LeBron James (if so motivated) can be a great facilitator.  Running the offense through James isn’t the problem, but not having anyone to help shut down opposing point guards is.

3. Okay, here’s where the villagers (at least those in Miami) grab their torches and start chasing me around the village. (Don’t bother, it’s a big Internet, and I got a head start)  You really want to get your bang for your buck out of the big three?  Turn Bosh into the sixth man. 

Hear me out before you start howling.  I’m not talking about a demotion.  I’m not talking about cutting his minutes.  This is not anti-Bosh.  I’m talking the Kevin McHale treatment.  Think John Havlicek.  (I might add that those two fellas did just fine for themselves winning a combined 11 championships on the way to their eventual Hall of Fame recognition.) 

I sincerely doubt it will ever happen but if it did I think it would be a better allocation of resources by the Heat.  It would make substitution patterns easier.  It would allow two of the big three to share the court at the same time, and allow each of them to be a finisher while surrounding them with three role players. 

Those complimentary role players would have the job of doing some of the “heavy lifting”.  You know rebounding, defense, moving without the ball, that stuff.  

See, I think part of the problem with the Heat trio is that they share too many of the same strengths.  Their games, although different in style, ultimately come down to them being great finishers. 

Being a finisher is a wonderful thing, but as long as the NBA insists on using one basketball at a time it would probably benefit the club more if their talents complimented each other more instead.  Think about some of the other trio’s I listed earlier. 

Magic and Worthy were poetry in motion in the Showtime Lakers fullcourt game.  But when it didn’t lead to a transition basket Kareem would settle into the blocks and suddenly they had perhaps the greatest halfcourt offensive player of the last 40 years. 

Not only did he have the single greatest shot in NBA history in the “sky hook,” but he was a vastly under-appreciated passer as well, knowing exactly when to shoot, hit the cutting Worthy or bounce the ball back out to the perimeter. 

Jordan may have been the greatest but think of how well Rodman and Pippen complimented him.  Pippen as a running mate in both the full court and half court offense.  Rodman as a shut-down defender and one of the games greatest rebounders. 

Bird was a marvelous offensive player, both as a scorer and passer.  McHale was a matchup nightmare for coaches, too big for most forwards to try to defend, too quick for the centers. 

On defense Bird may have been too slow and shall we say “vertically challenged” to be a great individual defender, but he was one of the great team defensive players ever. Bird's ability to jump passing lanes was partially his own gift, but also a direct benefit of having the safety of exceptional big defenders like Parrish and McHale playing behind him. 

Today Pierce, Garnett and Allen all bring unique skills to the modern day Celtics.  Garnett’s defensive intensity fuels the team.  Pierce may have the most well-rounded offensive game of the three.  Allen brings his perimeter shooting as well as some underrated defensive skills and is one of the best in the NBA at moving without the ball. 

Together they compliment each other.  All three can be effective players without the ball in their hands.  I’m not so sure the same can be said of Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. 

I guess I’ll close with this.  The Heat are broken. 

Ultimately, though, we know which three guys really have final say on the direction of this club.  Will the “Big Three” be coachable?  Will they sacrifice their own individual moments for the benefit of the team?  Will they hold themselves accountable or justify their struggles with excuses? 

The biggest challenge here may very well be this.  For any of positive change to take place the “Big Three” may have to show a little humility.  I’m not sure if that is really one of their strengths.