How the New York Knicks and Their Fans Could Learn from Miami Heat's Mistakes

It's been almost a year since Chris Bosh, LeBron James, and Dwayne Wade decided to join together and play for the Miami Heat, creating a Big Three. Since then, the team has become one of the most scrutinized and heavily observed teams the NBA has ever seen. It seemed most of America was overjoyed at the Heat losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. I congratulate the Mavericks on the first NBA championship.

In New York, the Knicks have two pieces to starting a Big Three of their own in Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. With the deep free agency pool possibly coming up after next season,  there is a chance the Knicks will add another superstar. It could possibly be Dwight Howard or maybe Chris Paul. Either way the Knicks will win more games and gain more attention.

But one question has been on my mind and hopefully on the minds of other Knicks fans too: Does New York really want a Big Three like Miami's?

New York's bench is not deep, and taking on an enormous contract like Paul or Howard's would only deplete it further. In the last decade, teams like the Spurs, Lakers, and Mavericks have proved to us that good role players can mean the difference between champion, and going home in second place.

Imagine the Knicks with a Big Three going up against the Mavericks this season in the Finals. Shawn Marion played exceptional defense, and it could be possible that he would eliminate Carmelo as a factor in a playoff series.

When your team revolves around three players, none can be off at all in a playoff series or you will lose, as shown by LeBron James and the Heat.

Coaching could also come up as an issue if New York were to get a Big Three. A famous phrase is "defense wins championships," and it seems Mike D'Antoni blatantly ignores that. Outside of Dwight Howard, none of the potential Big Three members are known for their defense, especially Amare. Having Mike D'Antoni as the coach would not improve the situation at all. Erik Spoelstra proved having a good coach is needed to go along with All-Star players.

Since Miami's loss in the Finals, many have wondered if LeBron finally cracked from all the pressure he has been under this season. If this is true, it should worry Knicks fans. A Big Three would capture attention, especially in New York, where the press is known for being harsh on players.  I'd be curious to see how Carmelo, Amare, and either Chris Paul or Dwight Howard would react to the constant media bombardment.

Ultimately though, the biggest lesson the Knicks should take from the Miami Heat's season has been known all along.

Basketball is a team sport, and teams when championships.

A well built team is prepared for a star to have a bad game, because it has other players there to step up while not derailing team chemistry. If you have a team built on three stars and nothing else, there is nobody to step up. There won't be good chemistry if a team revolves around three all-stars, especially when two of them have shoot-first mentalities.

As a Knicks fan, I want them to be competitive. Right now, I feel that would be more likely to be done with two stars and a good group of role players, rather than three stars and a weak supporting cast.

I bet if you ask Dallas the same question, you'd get a similar answer.