Why the Miami Heat Will Destroy Everyone in the Regular Season

Prior to their opening day matchup with the Dallas Mavericks, the Miami Heat saw their opponent revel in their championship that they won over them only a few months back.

Dallas saw their first ever championship banner raised to the rafters before the start of the game. They had their fancy ceremony, took pictures, bragged, flaunted their 'ship in their former Finals opponents' faces, and even came out wearing warmups that read "2011 NBA Champions" on the back.

If the Mavericks had given out their championship rings, they might have been losing their opening day game by more than 40 points. The Miami Heat didn't like seeing that banner being raised, they didn't like the bragging, and they certainly didn't like the Mavericks wearing those jackets during shootaround.

It's not that the Heat were mad that the Dallas Mavericks were the winners of the 2011 championship. They're angry because they knew they thought they should have had it. Save a Game 2 collapse and the Heat find themselves up 2-0 going to Dallas. Have a healthy Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem and things get a lot easier. Make sure LeBron James averages at least 24 points per game and you have a trophy.

The 2010-11 season was the year of excuses. The Heat know they have no excuses for the 2011-12 season, and they made sure not to have any after this game. Even without Eddy Curry, Mike Miller and Shane Battier being hampered by an injury in the short time he played, the Heat knew that they would have no excuses if they walked into Dallas and then lost again.

From 2:30pm to 5:00pm, the Heat weren't looking forward to making an excuse. They were looking to dominate, and dominate they did. Leading by as much as 35 points in the third quarter, Miami played 36 minutes of championship caliber basketball and beat their Western Conference rival 105-94.

LeBron James led the way with 37 points, 10 boards and six rebounds, while Dwyane Wade chipped in 26 points, eight rebounds and six assists of his own. Udonis Haslem had nine points and 14 boards (six offensive) in his first healthy start since November 2010. Chris Bosh struggled with only four points on 2-of-9 shooting to go along with six boards, but it didn't even matter.

The Heat had only two players score in double figures and they were outscored 29-8 in the fourth quarter, yet still managed to beat the defending NBA champions in their house by 11 points. The score doesn't even come close to telling the story. The Heat controlled this game from beginning to end and had no intention of letting up on the gas petal up until the point where they had complete control of the contest midway through the fourth.

Nowitzki struggled with 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting, harassed by physical defense by Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony the entire way, as well as terrific help defense by everyone on the floor. The Heat made it a purpose to frustrate and make him work for each and everyone of his points. Trust me when I say it, none of those 21 points were easy.

Jason Terry was the only player on the Mavericks to have a solid game, finishing with 23 points and hitting four three-pointers with the majority of those coming in the fourth when the game was well decided.

Miami put on a clinic. They were clearly the more athletic and talented team on the floor, but that doesn't matter as evidenced by last year's Finals. You can have five of the best athletes in the NBA in the same starting lineup and some more supreme athletes on the bench, but that doesn't mean a lick when you're attempting to play a game that's specifically created to involve the entire team. It takes teamwork, chemistry and hard work, and that's why the Heat won this game.

Already hooking up for memorable alley-oops, the Heat looked like a team for the first time. Every single player was in sync. No silly turnovers, nothing too fancy, and team basketball allowed the Heat to beat out the well balanced Mavericks. This team wasn't playing out of anger or spite anymore, they were playing with a strictly business mentality.

Their goal was to win and they accomplished that easier than anyone could ever have expected. You can say that Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and J.J. Barea could have made the big difference, but playing without those four does not mean that the Heat automatically became a team that's 35 points better.

Neither does losing Lamar Odom in the third; it's his own fault for getting himself frustrated and allowing himself to get ejected.

Last year, we saw the potential of the Miami Heat. A 58-24 team that had no problem in using its talent to beat you, but would struggle when going against a team that was built on chemistry and having a great understanding of how to play the game. In their first year together, the Heat didn't know how to achieve that type of success. They had the talent and the athleticism, but they didn't know how to play a team game.

Why would they? These were three players who had resided in offenses that focused solely around them. Wade at least had spent time with a great Shaquille O'Neal from 2004 to 2007, but James and Bosh had played in offenses that had no idea what teamwork meant. Cleveland and Toronto played on teams that centered solely around their stars, while everyone else stood around and waited to see what happened.

Not anymore. What you just saw on Sunday afternoon for the first time was a team that meant business. Forget spite, anger and frustration, the Heat don't care to live in the past or listen to any outside sources. They're out there playing their own game to win and having fun while doing it. Judging by one game, you can already tell that this team is dialed in.

Just take a look at the improvement of LeBron James' post game. Going up against the likes of Shawn Marion and Jason Kidd, the same two players that had stifled him in the post only a few months ago, James was hitting on post up opportunities like he had been doing it his whole career. Against two stellar defenders, James had the quietest 37 points you could ever witness.

Dwyane Wade? He was being Dwyane Wade. Cool, calm and collected throughout. He played well in the scheme of the offense, hit shots from inside and the mid-range, and played solid individual and team defense. We didn't get to see too much of the offseason improvement of his body since James was handling the scoring load, yet it's still obvious to see that Wade is just as strong and fast as he's ever been.

As for Chris Bosh? He's certainly seen better days. He was getting open, but his shots weren't falling. We know what he's capable of and we definitely know he's better than four points and seven rebounds. It was an off game, everyone has them, and the team didn't need his presence as much as they usually do, so the team didn't allow him to get into any sort of rhythm in the second half.

Having Udonis Haslem was easily the greatest improvement the team has made over the offseason. Consider him a free agent signing too since he was only healthy in the 2010-11 campaign from the season opener up until November 20th. You don't get nine rebounds and 14 points from Anthony and Juwan Howard combined, and you certainly don't get the physical defense and hard work that he pours in as well.

The biggest surprise of the day came from rookie point guard Norris Cole. Finishing with seven points and two boards, Cole was an excellent spark of energy off the bench. He played fearlessly and aggressively on both sides of the ball, and fit in well with a high-octane offense that likes to run. If Chalmers is going to continue converting one field goal per game, he could see his starting spot taken once again.

As long as Wade, James and Bosh continue leading this team and guys like Haslem, Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier make healthy contributions, this Miami Heat team is going to wipe the floor with the NBA. You can call it getting overzealous after a big opening day win, but what possible argument could you propose that goes against it?

You can say I'm getting a little too ahead of myself after one game, but there aren't many teams better than the Dallas Mavericks. The only teams you could currently put above the Mavericks would be the Chicago Bulls, Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami. Sans Chandler, Butler, Barea and Stevenson, the Mavericks are still a legitimate championship contender that is extremely capable of going back-to-back.

Miami took arguably the fourth best team in the NBA and was up by 15 at the end of one, 21 at the half, and 32 by the end of the third quarter. If you look at the score, you won't get how badly the Heat dominated the NBA champions. This game was 78-43 at one point and they managed to keep the lead above 30 points for too long.

Every step the Mavericks attempted to take, the Heat matched it with five of their own.

For those that want to say the Heat won't get anywhere because of their lack of depth at center, all you need to do is look at last year's stats to see just how well off they were without a capable big man. For the majority of the season, the Heat played with a center who was averaging a grand total of one point per game and still managed to win 58 games and come up two games short of a title.

Be serious now. The rest of this Heat team improved. Do you still think that they're going to suffer because of significant problems at center? LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were the only players to score in double figures Sunday afternoon and the game wasn't even close. Chris Bosh scored four points and the Heat were up by as much as 35 points.

You didn't even have to watch the game against Dallas to realize what this team is capable of. They weren't going to regress in any possible way. They brought back Udonis Haslem and added Shane Battier and Eddy Curry, and came back a completely new team, and with attitude, that prides itself on teamwork and hard work, rather than spite and vengeance.

The Heat possess juggernauts on both sides of the ball. On offense, you have two of the league's most prolific slashers, now complete with post games, and a solid mid-range and post threat to complement them. Outside on the perimeter, the Heat sport a terrific veteran presence in Battier and James Jones, who is coming off a career season where he shot 43 percent from beyond the arc, to help attract attention to the outside.

On defense, the team now sports three of the league's top perimeter and individual defenders in Battier, James and Wade. Near the post, the Heat still have a terrific shot blocker in Joel Anthony and an excellent physical defender in Udonis Haslem.

The Heat thrive on offense thanks to their defense creating turnovers and initiating fastbreaks, and there's no doubt that they'll be doing the same this year.

Throw in the fact that they lack a solid center or point guard and it still doesn't matter. If you have enough teammates that posses the talent, are willing to learn in order to coexist, and commit to one ultimate goal, you have yourself a championship caliber team. The Heat are three for three in those categories, and there aren't many other teams out there that could possibly deter them.

The Heat aren't the team making excuses any longer since they ran out of them the second the 2011 NBA Finals ended. Soon enough, the only ones with excuses will be those who criticized them since they were brought together.