Miami Heat: Comparing the 2006 Team to the 2011 Team, Which Was Better?

The two most successful Miami Heat teams take each other on in a dream match-up as we pit the 2006 championship squad against the 2011 team that took the Dallas Mavericks to six games in this year's NBA Finals to see which roster would come out on top.

If only Fantasy Island were real.

The 2006 Miami Heat team wasn't always regarded as the best in the league. They finished the season with a second seed after only compiling a 50-32 record before going on to defeat the Chicago Bulls in six games, the New Jersey Nets in five games, and the defending Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons in six games before taking on the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

The story has already been said before many times, so I won't go in to specifics. Just know that Dwyane Wade tore the Mavericks a new one and led the team to a come-from-behind, six-game series win to secure the franchises first championship.

The 2011 Heat, on the other hand, were regarded as the best coming in, only to see their stock decline once we actually saw them play together. They had chemistry issues, as the three had trouble adjusting to their new niches before finally coming together and finishing their first season as a team with a 58-24 record.

Their postseason was the most impressive as they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games, the defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics in five games, and then the team with the top record in the Chicago Bulls in five games.

It all came to a crashing thud though once they ran into the Dallas Mavericks. I won't get into specifics, so just know that Dirk Nowitzki tore the Heat a new one and won in six games in sort of come-from-behind fashion.

We compare these two teams in head-to-head match-ups, so make your bets now on who comes out on top between these juggernauts.

Point Guard: Jason Williams vs. Mario Chalmers

It just didn't feel right to put Mike Bibby as the team's starter despite him starting in all but one of the Miami Heat's games in the playoffs. It would be a complete landslide in Jason Williams direction, so we'll go with the Game 6 starter and the starter for next year in Mario Chalmers.

The Heat didn't exactly receive the Williams from his Sacramento and Memphis days, but they did get a legitimate perimeter presence and floor general.

Williams was extremely crafty with the ball and was often compared to Pete Maravich because of the way he led his teams' offenses by deceiving opposing defenses with trickery and passes that they had no chance of reading.

Williams wasn't pulling off many of those notorious passes in his time with the Heat. He was much more fundamental when it came to passing and was even taking more conservative shots as he hit a career high 37 percent from deep. He complemented the team very well as a veteran point guard and went on to average 12 points and five assists per game.

After an impressive rookie season in the 2008-'09 season, Chalmers hasn't done a lot more than disappoint. He has failed to build off that season and has been placed on the bench a number of times after the team gave him chances to start, only to see him play inconsistent ball.

It wasn't until the Finals that Chalmers began showing his worth again as he averaged 12 points per and was arguably the third-best player on the floor.

He'll have a starting spot next season unless the Heat make a big splash via trade.

The advantage goes to Williams here for his ability to lead the offense and shoot at a consistent rate.

Advantage: Jason Williams (2006)

Shooting Guard: 2006 Dwyane Wade vs. 2011 Dwyane Wade

This is easily the toughest one to debate here.

When it comes to the 2006 Dwyane Wade, you have a player that has a solid slashing game, but also a solid mid-range game that comes equipped with an exceptional bank shot.

Compared to the Dwyane Wade of 2011 whose jump shot was non-existent for the most part, but had an unbelievable slashing game that came as a result of his experience and his teammates' ability to draw attention away from him.

Which the 2006 Wade could say as well considering that he had a 7'1", 300 pound giant manning the middle and attracting double- and triple-teams whenever he touched the ball.

The Wade from 2006 had a number of attributes on his side that the 2011 Wade cannot say. Besides the obvious advantage with the consistent jumper, Wade also has youth and durability on his side.

The championship season came a year before Wade began suffering from his serious injuries that ended up keeping him out for half of the next two seasons.

While that Dwyane Wade had his fair share of advantages in his youth, the 2011 Wade has advantages with experience.

The 2011 Wade has already had experience of being the best and worst, dealing with possible career threatening injuries, playing in a few more post seasons, and growing up overall as a player and teammate which barely puts him ahead of the 2006 Wade that went absolutely berserk against the Dallas Mavericks to the tune of 35 points per game.

It's tough to bet against a player that averaged 35 points per game in the Finals, but experience beats out youth here.

Advantage: 2011 Dwyane Wade

Small Forward: Antoine Walker vs. LeBron James

If you thought before this article that this would be a huge mismatch, then you were absolutely right.

So, so right.

Antoine Walker joined the team in the year the team won the title and split time starting at the small forward position with James Posey. It wasn't until the post season that Walker started getting consistent starts and responded by averaging 14 points and six rebounds.

The only problem was that he hit 41 percent from the field overall and only 32 percent from deep after connecting on 36 percent during the regular season.

Walker was a solid role player who would spark the team with his ability to hit three-pointers from as far out as 30 feet, but wasn't a solid defender and would sometimes shoot his team out of the game with his tendency to take too many shots.

There isn't much to say about LeBron James other than that he's a lot better than Antoine Walker ever was, even in the years where he was averaging better than 20 points per game.

James is too fast, too strong, and too athletic for Walker to handle and it would be a massacre if Walker was to defend the two-time MVP. LeBron has too many weapons in his arsenal on offense and is also too quality of a defender to allow Walker to drive or to allow him any decent looks from the perimeter.

James Posey would have provided the 2006 Heat with a solid defender on LeBron, but his offense would be no match and James would still carry a huge advantage.

Advantage: LeBron James (2011)

Power Forward: Udonis Haslem vs. Chris Bosh

The only member of the 2006 team remaining on the current team not named Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem played a huge part during the team's championship run in 2006 and could have played once again had he not been hampered by an injury he suffered in November that still ails him to this day.

Haslem might have only averaged nine points and four boards during the 2006 post season, but it was his physical defense on Dirk Nowitzki that led to the Miami Heat's victory. Knowing that Nowitzki's shot was basically unstoppable, Haslem did the next best thing of defending him by playing physical and frustrating Dirk into the toughest shots that he could possibly take.

What Haslem could do that Chris Bosh couldn't do in this year's Finals was making Dirk take shots in spots he didn't want to be in while also being harassed by hard-nosed defense.

With Bosh, an injured Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony, and Juwan Howard all taking shots at guarding Dirk, there was no definitive answer to playing defense on him and he was able to play comfortably by taking shots wherever he pleased.

Not to say that Bosh was all bad during the team's Finals run. He averaged 19 points and eight rebounds, provided the Heat with a reliable mid-range shot, a steady driving game aside from Dwyane Wade (since LeBron James didn't want to show up to the party), and even hit the game-winner to secure Game 3 for the Heat, their last win of the series.

Haslem has the definitive advantage on Bosh when it comes to playing defense, but he struggles greatly at creating his own shot. He finds the majority of his shots coming off of kickouts from teammates and rarely drives, compared to Bosh, who is one of the best power forwards in the league at creating his own shot since he's so quick off the dribble. He's long enough to shoot over defenders and is strong enough (when he wants to be) to drive.

It's too close to judge with Haslem's defense offsetting Bosh's offense. We'll just leave this one for the readers to decide as we leave this at a deadlock.

Advantage: Draw

Center: Shaquille O'Neal vs. Joel Anthony

If a 38 year old Shaquille O'Neal was dominating Joel Anthony in the post last year, then there's absolutely no chance that Anthony can actually defend an O'Neal that had averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per in the regular season and was only a year removed from a near MVP.

The Miami Heat didn't receive the Shaquille O'Neal from his Los Angeles Lakers three-peat days, but they still ended up with the most dominant center in the league by far, as well as a post threat who could attract some attention and free up easy drives for Dwyane Wade and easy shots for the perimeter players in Antoine Walker, Jason Williams and James Posey.

The cohesion and chemistry between Wade and O'Neal was immediate, as they won 59 games in their first season together and could have made the NBA Finals if not for a rib injury that Dwyane suffered during their Conference Finals series against the Detroit Pistons.

With Wade healthy in 2006, the Heat made it to the Finals with ease by defeating the Pistons in only six games.

O'Neal only averaged 13 points and nine boards during the NBA Finals, but his influence in attracting double teams was what led Wade to average 35 points and an eventual fourth championship for Shaq.

Let's attempt to compare him to Joel Anthony: a 6'9" power forward that is being disguised as a center for the fact that the Heat have absolutely no centers that could actually start and play in a 48-minute game.

Even with Jamaal Magloire and Erick Dampier on the bench, they would still have way too much trouble corralling a 2006 O'Neal.

This one goes to Shaq in a landslide.

Advantage: Shaquille O'Neal (2006)

Bench: James Posey, Gary Payton and Co. vs. Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Co.

Not as easy as it sounds, it's tough to compare these benches because of the lack of production the 2011 Miami Heat got from their supposed top contributors in Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem.

For the sake of argument, though, let's just say Miller and Haslem are healthy.

Unlike the 2011 bench that featured three superstars, two quality role players, and a whole bunch of other guys, the 2006 squad featured two dynamic players and a plethora of solid role players that includes a deep bench that featured the likes of many veterans, three-point specialists and defenders alike.

The majority of the players that came off the bench could have been possible starters on a number of teams, with the likes of veterans in Gary Payton providing support at the point guard, as well as a huge shot that gave the Heat a victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, and Alonzo Mourning contributing with a number of huge defensive stands throughout the season including a Game 6 effort where he notched six blocks in a game decided by only three points.

Coming off the bench along with those two were frequent perimeter contributors in James Posey and Jason Kapono, as well as a solid defender in Shandon Anderson.

The 2011 Miami Heat bench features two extremely reliable role players in Miller and Haslem with both players unable to prove their worth last season due to injuries.

When healthy however, Miller is one of the league's most consistent three-point shooters and Haslem is the teams best post defender as well its most reliable mid-range threat next to Chris Bosh.

After that, though, it gets ugly. James Jones was solid for the most part on offense, but was a horrid defender, Mike Bibby fell way off during the postseason, Eddie House is streaky and the rest of the bench is filled with big men that have one foot in retirement.

Advantage: 2006 Bench

Coaching: Pat Riley vs. Erik Spoelstra

The student takes on the master in this match-up with an ending that you won't be very surprised to see.

In one corner, you have young (as far as coaching standards go) Erik Spoelstra. He's been the head coach of the Miami Heat since 2008 and has now led the team to three consecutive postseason appearances with two of those seasons featuring Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem and a cast of rookies and aging veterans.

Spoelstra was up to a huge task this past season by having to corral the combined egos of Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh all being on the same team and all three having to make difficult adjustments with their new team.

Each player was recognized as a first option for the first seven years of their career and were then forced to become second or even third options in the case of former Toronto Raptor All-Star Chris Bosh.

It started off ugly with a 9-8 start and the team would even go through rougher stretches throughout the season. Despite all the criticism and the constant pressure of the Heat's fan base placing all the blame upon his shoulders, Spoelstra persevered and led the team to a solid 58-24 record and a strong postseason run that had the team a few moments away from a championship in their first season together.

Spoelstra's inexperience shows from time to time, especially with his inability to create a solid offensive set, but he's a terrific defensive coach and is one of the best coaches in the league when it comes to making mid-game adjustments.

Still, he's taking on Pat Riley here: a coach that has over two decades worth of coaching experience and quite a few championships to show for it. Riley also had his fair share of egos to deal with in Miami as he took on the likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Gary Payton throughout the team's rough patches during the championship season, when they only won 50 games.

Advantage: Pat Riley (2006)

And the Winner Is...

This was surprisingly more difficult than I imagined.

Coming into writing this piece, I believed that the 2011 team would win in a landslide just because of the big three in Wade, James, and Bosh.

The Wade of 2011 has an advantage over the Wade of 2006 and LeBron has a gargantuan advantage over the slower Antoine Walker, but each position and intangible after that goes in favor of the 2006 squad.

The championship team had a bench, reliable shooters, veteran leaders that could still contribute, defensive stoppers coming off the bench, and a lot more solid post defenders with Haslem, O'Neal, and Alonzo Mourning all taking turns in the middle.

Not to mention, they had the biggest advantage of all in the middle with Shaquille O'Neal having to be defended by either Joel Anthony or the three other dinosaurs on the bench in Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Erick Dampier, and Jamaal Magloire.

Anthony is too small, Ilgauskas couldn't defend that well in his heyday, and Dampier and Magloire can barely trudge their way up the court without needing a breather.

With O'Neal in the middle for the 2006 squad, the 2011 team would be lost and looking for an answer. They would end up having to double or triple team O'Neal every single time he touched the ball and that would play right into the hands of mastermind Pat Riley, who had his offense designed so that Wade could be fed off the big man's passes as well as the plethora of shooters that would be constantly left open because of the attention that O'Neal drew.

The 2011 squad still has the big three, though. Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem might be in a deadlock, but the experienced Wade of 2011 has the capability to score all over and defend the Wade from 2006 while James abuses Walker on both ends of the floor. The only problem is that the team just doesn't have the pieces outside of the big three to compete.

I have to give this one to the 2006 team strictly because of the influence of Shaquille O'Neal. The 2011 team has absolutely no answer for him and it would either result in high percentage shots for O'Neal or wide-open shots for the players that he passes to.

Winner: In a close one, the 2006 team.