Miami Heat Should Settle for Nothing Less Than an NBA Title in 2011-12

I know what you're saying: This is not news.

They were in the Finals last time around, so anything less than a Finals win is step back. Year 1 was still a step forward, right?

Well, there's more to it, actually. These results would be a sign of a positive trend for about 28 other NBA teams—the teams that didn't have warp zones to dominance (yay, Nintendo).

A team favored to win it all and failing to do so, however, is trending in the wrong direction. It doesn't matter how far it got before it was finally knocked out; this team isn't supposed to ever get knocked out.

We're talking about a team that came together for the express purpose of winning championships quickly, consistently and—if their comments at the intro party were any indication—with a minimum of effort.

When LeBron James predicted eight NBA titles, I'm pretty sure he didn't mean a few years down the line. The sheer braggadocio dripping from these guys following D-day was captured perfectly in Flo Rida's, ahem, song "We Already Won."

Not "We Should Win Soon Enough"—the plan was to win rings, not just contend for them.

Countless Miami fans in denial about their team's goose egg will tell you that any team making the Finals in its first season together can call it a successful year.

Wrong.

When you're a posse of mercenary megastars that stomps in promising to rival the '60s Celtics, you've officially relinquished the right to use the "...but look how close we came" clause should you come up short.

That's why they call it "coming up short;"the results don't measure up to expectations.

The only people not predicting a Miami championship last year were either, a) in-denial fans in Boston and L.A. trying to mask the fact they were scared shirtless of them, or b) media personnel who clearly felt that maintaining the illusion of fair competition was a professional obligation.

For further evidence, see the total lack of surprise from all sides when they cracked the Finals, or the fact that at no point were they not the favorites to win, even when they were down 3-2.

The maddening thing about this team (and its fans) is, before the game starts it's the most cocksure bunch you ever did see, as if there is no way it can lose. Then when it loses, there's always an excuse and/or a mitigating factor.

"Nobody wins it all on the first try..."

"Sometimes you have it, sometimes you don't..."

"They still made great progress as a team..."

Spare me.

The Finals debacle will not go down as a feather in anyone's cap, or a notch on anyone's belt. The time when this team can take solace in their "progress" is long gone. They "progressed" into championship favorites the second LeBron said ITMTTSB.

One season down and no ring is what I call regression.

This team came together under the apparent belief that a string of titles was pre-ordained by the mere fact of them converging on the same roster. It was a power move, and it was made with nothing less than instant gratification in mind.

Anything but a Larry O'Brien is thus a miserable failure, versus both team goals and onlooker expectations. I stress this because excusing away their Finals loss is just another way for LeBron, especially, to duck the criticism he rightfully deserves.

There's this unspoken idea that LeBron's immense talent makes him naturally irreproachable, and that we (i.e. those who don't share his deified image of himself) are misguided in withholding the debt of unflinching respect he feels he is owed.

That young man will never snap out of this mindset, let alone own up to his own failures, if every one of them is excused and rationalized.

This includes any attempt to disclaim that every ringless season from here on out will be a massive pooch-screw and an even bigger blemish on the careers of everyone on the roster.

Now some of you (who can't resist disagreeing with me, even against your better judgment) will say that last June proves that it's not that easy, that this team is not as unstoppable as everyone thought and it's unfair to put such pressure on them.

Again, spare me.

They asked for the pressure. All those with explanations for the Heat's underachievement are usually overlooking the fact that their "weaknesses" became utterly moot in the postseason.

The point and the pivot are thin? The team had injury problems, did it? Oh, they're still getting accustomed, are they? None of that mattered from April on, and if not for a screenplay-worthy perfect storm of Dallas heroics and a disastrously un-LeBron-like LeBron, the Heat would be NBA champs right now.

Imagine being in the last leg of a race, with the pack five seconds behind you, and suddenly snapping your ankle. Then realizing you can still hobble to the win, before being struck by lightning. That's basically what it took to stop Miami in Year 1: a conspiracy of freak occurrences.

Temper expectations for this year? A resounding "no." They were championship favorites last year (amid more talk of shortcomings and liabilities) and nothing about them has changed since (unless our heavenly father hates them even more—someone text King James.)

In fact, they now have the benefit of added experience, and the first real chip on their shoulder. So we should logically be dialing up expectations for this team.

Of course, since there is no loftier goal than the one already in their sights, suffice it to say the Miami Heat should settle for no less than a championship this season and beyond.

Continued failure in these most favorable of conditions should be met with louder criticism and frankly, another good dose of ridicule for this preening hardwood Rat Pack that laughs in the face of the competition.

After losing the Finals, the Heat were somewhat of a laughingstock for their attitude backfiring, but people still fear this team like no other—and they should, considering the many new colons they've already torn this league (besides Dallas).

In my humble opinion, however, if Miami goes one more year without winning it all, it will be a joke as a basketball team.

Somebody should have told these guys that's just part of the deal when you do what they did that fateful summer.