Originally Posted by J-Train Maybe Delonte West off the bench? Speaking of Delonte, they burned jerseys in Cleveland, but this T shirt was a big seller
I'm still picking LA, until I see something special from the Heat. Bynum (when healthy) and Gasol are both better than Bosh. Kobe is the best player in the league. Artest can bang with Lebron any day of the week. We'll see how Wade and Lebron do when Kobe decides to lock up and Ron-Ron starts getting nasty. Odom is a proven playoff sixth man, unlike Miller. Steve Blake was a really underrated pick up- He's a perfect triangle guard. Luke and Sasha provide proven depth on the wing. Caracter may provide a nice boost off the bench as well. LA is rock f'n solid. For the first time since they played Jordan I might actually root for them. I think that Boston, Orlando, and Chicago can play with the Heat. Still, I don't see anyone in the East that I believe can take them in a seven game series.
I seriously do not think they will be much better than Clev of last year record wise. Like i wrote in earlier posts, this is going to be a work in progress. Give them a couple of years to add some pieces and they will be a dynasty.
Dan Gilbert is not the only spurned front office man who thinks his star player didn't give maximum effort down the stretch... Bryan Colangelo unhappy with how Chris Bosh left Toronto Raptors - ESPN
So with the recent addition of Eddie House ($2.8mil, 2 yrs), Miami's roster looks like this right now: Heat Roster Joel Anthony Carlos Arroyo Chris Bosh Da'Sean Butler Mario Chalmers Yakhouba Diawara Kenny Hasbrouck Udonis Haslem Juwan Howard Zydrunas Ilgauskas LeBron James James Jones Jamaal Magloire Mike Miller Dexter Pittman Shavlik Randolph Jarvis Varnado Dwyane Wade Hoopshype has an (incomplete) list of their roster with salaries. I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are. This is how I see their roster: Stars (can they mesh?): Dwyane Wade LeBron James Chris Bosh Nice complementary pieces (can they complement AND compliment well enough?): Mike Miller Mario Chalmers (I'm being nice) Udonis Haslem Eddie House (inconsistent) Do they have anything left in the tank?: Zydrunas Ilgauskas (probably) Carlos Arroyo Juwan Howard (probably not) Jamaal Magloire Who?: Joel Anthony Da'Sean Butler (rookie) Yakhouba Diawara Kenny Hasbrouck (rookie) James Jones (Anytime you have a chance to get a guy whose NBA.com picture looks like this, you gotta do that deal.) Dexter Pittman Shavlik Randolph Jarvis Varnado (rookie) So the Heat have 3 stars, maybe 5 other rotation-worthy guys, and 11 12th men. Some of those guys will obviously be gone. They better hope one of their rookies steps up and one of their scrubs starts getting on the right track. Of course, it's easier for scrubs to shine when all they have to do is stand in the corner or under the basket and make open shots/grab open rebounds while your three star teammates get most of the attention. We'll see how it plays out.
It's weird, but the season will really hinge on Miller's, and to a much lesser extent, Arroyo's, ability to hit threes. If they can keep the floor spread, then LBJ and Wade can do some nice stuff. If they can't, I still think it could get pretty ugly in Miami.
Wow. What am I missing here? I look at that roster and think they are going to steam roll the entire league. Seriously, I'll be shocked if they win less than 65 games and VERY VERY surprised if they don't bring home the gold. IMO, this season will just be the Miami Heat show. I've heard a couple people refer to them as the Globetrotters against the Generals. It won't be that bad, of course, but it's going to be ugly!!! IMO.
Yeah, I think the only thing that can stop this team is bad team chemistry and injuries. However, that's two pretty big things.
Dwight Howard should be the guy who exposes the lack of big bodies on this team. But unfortunately he is not that guy and he has teammates who take turns disappearing. Really I see that as Miami's biggest match-up weakness. I'm interested to see how a Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum would do against this team. I'm disappointed Miami didn't use the D-League to their advantage, or haven't yet. It's really a resource that a lot of NBA teams foolishly write off. There is a decent amount of players in that league that just haven't been given the right situation. Ah well, something I'll take advantage of when I'm a GM. I do like what Miami did in bringing in veteran role players. Guys who have a niche and are content with sticking to it. It'll help them down the line. Guys like Juwan Howard can still give you good minutes. Remember PJ Brown's 6 minute explosion (much to the chagrin of Rick Pitino) in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals? Juwan is capable. I've thought Mike Miller could be the starter on a good team/contender for years. He's one of the league's great shooters, a good rebounder, and averaged only 1 less assist per game than Rodney Stuckey (You judge who that stat makes look bad). A jumpshooter who can shoot over 50% in a season is rare. Interested in seeing what Joel Anthony can do if they give him minutes. Was 18th in the league in blocks per game in only 15-20 mins per game last year.
As for chemistry, it could be a problem when your starting PG is also a gopher for towels and water. - Or perhaps excuded from Bron parties or dinners. Because, well, he's a nobody.
If you're a team that depends on your wing players scoring - like just about every team in the league - then get used to having your key guys shut down just about every time you play the Heat. LeBron and Wade will likely devastate teams with their ability to defend their key scorers. Bosh is also the fastest player in the league at his position and Haslem is a fine hard nosed defender. Unless you can punish them in the post, it's hard to imagine any team being able to outscore them. LeBron and Wade will take turns feeding the hot hand, and Bosh will get single covered all of the time. This won't be pretty. This will be a joke of a league, and maybe one or two teams will be able to compete. LeBron might have forever foreited his right to be considered one of the all time greats, but he'll likely win multiple championships on his all-collusion team.
Agree...if all are healthy and not flip saunders worn out, they can roll through the playoffs with the regular 8 man playoff rotation and take care of business with the stars, the complimentary players and a couple of the do they have anything in the tank guys. We just have to hope that one of the stars and one of the complimentary guys goes down around April.....for good.
The Lakers are better. I might be alone but I think that Boston is going to be pretty determined to knock the Miami Threet outta the playoffs.
I think the Heat will only go as far as they commit to smothering team defense. They only have 3 or 4 scorers on the roster. If they can defend without fouling, they will be unstoppable.
