Congratulations, Miami Heat. You’re still the second best team in Florida.
With Dwyane Wade staying put, and Chris Bosh making his way from Toronto to the sandy beaches of Miami, the people of South Florida have been enjoying a euphoric state of basketball bliss over the past few hours.
Pat Riley and his staff have put themselves in an interesting position. The eyes of the basketball world now shift to this team and look for Wade and Bosh to do something special. With not one, but two Dream Teamer’s suiting up, the Heat will burden an enormous amount of pressure entering the upcoming NBA season.
But there’s just one problem. Miami still stinks.
The Heat have yet to get out of the first round of the playoffs since 2006, and have a supporting cast of role players that make the Cleveland Cavaliers look like the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dwyane Wade is unquestionably one of the top talents in the league, but has not proven he can be a winner without another dominant player in his corner, like Shaquille O’Neal was in their 2006 Championship season.
Chris Bosh is NOT that player.
Bosh, the apparent love child of Sam Cassell and a velociraptor, is not worthy of a max contract. In the free agent summer of 2010, Bosh has been nothing more than an afterthought in the wave of a Lebron James and Dwyane Wade frenzy.
Chris Bosh is a name, and will not make nearly the impact that Pat Riley and the Miami faithful are hoping he will.
Last year, the Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat three times.
This year, Miami still doesn’t have a big man that can stop Dwight Howard. Howard has abused Bosh since he entered the league, and a change of scenery won’t alter that one bit. The Heat still don’t have a point guard that can stay in front of Jameer Nelson. Even if they put Wade on Nelson, guarding out of position creates the types of mismatches that Orlando and sharp shooting Rashard Lewis live for.
Bottom line… While teaming up superstars like Wade and Bosh makes for a great story in the headlines, that doesn’t always translate to championships. Just ask Karl Malone.
In the NBA, role players help to put their superstars in a position to reach greatness. Guys like Derek Fisher and Ron Artest of the Lakers are a prime example of that. The Miami Heat don’t have the depth or the fire power in their bench to be considered the best team in the league… or even the best team in their state. The people of Miami are setting themselves up for a huge letdown this season.
Of course all that could change if Lebron James decides to join his friends in South Beach.
► Read more articles written by DT.
Are you stupid.You must not watch basketball.It’s most likely you watch Disney Channel instead of ESPN.The best PF and 2nd best SG on the same team.This is a better combination than Me and Vince Carter.
I have to agree with Dwight.Wade can only win with Shaq at the Finals?…You must not watch basketball.Lakers need to bring in billions of all stars to win.Celtics the same.No one is on them for it.Who wins by themselves?Not even the best (MJ) can do it alone.Stop posting up if you don’t know.
lol… the BEST PF? Are you high? Ever hear of a guy named Pau Gasol? Or Dirk? Hell, I’d take Lamarcus Aldridge over Bosh, that lanky grunt.
Amare’ is just as good on the offensive end. Dunkin, Josh smith. bosh is good but not elite.
the heat will be better, but not champs. not by far.
@DwightHoward, Chris Bosh really isn’t that great.
@John, yes, Wade won with shaq. That’s it. There were a god damn lotto pick team when they got Beasley! Stop huffing sun tan oil and get a clue. Comparing Wade to MJ is blasphemy.
From ESPN writer Bill Simmon’s article that posted today. Suck it, haters…
“If one more person refers to Bosh as a “superstar,” I’m going to scream. His résumé: seven seasons, 11 career playoff games, one second-team All-NBA selection, never played in a big game in his life other than the gold-medal game of the 2008 Olympics. Now he’s fleeing frigid Toronto for South Beach, no state income tax, Dwyane Wade, max money and the playoffs … and this makes him a “superstar”? Did we really drop our standards that low?
Look, I need my NBA superstar to sell tickets, generate interest locally and nationally, single-handedly guarantee an average supporting cast 45-50 wins, and potentially be the best player on a Finals team if the other pieces are in place, which means only LeBron, Wade, Howard, Durant and Kobe qualify. There’s a level just a shade below (the Almost-But-Not-Quite-Superstar) with Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. (Note: I think Derrick Rose gets there next season.) Then you have elite guys like Bosh, Pau Gasol and Amare Stoudemire who need good teammates to help them thrive … and if they don’t have them, you’re heading to the lottery.
You know what we call these people? All-Stars. Although if LeBron picks Miami, we have to call Bosh something else: lucky. On a good team, he could absolutely thrive like Gasol did on the Lakers, although he’s not as sure a bet because Gasol played in so many big games overseas before the Lakers stole him. (Bosh had the opposite experience: He’s never played in a Sweet 16, a Game 7 or even Round 2 of the NBA playoffs.) Hearing Bosh referred to as a “superstar” these past few weeks left me with the same face Jake had on Monday’s “Bachelor” special when Vienna wouldn’t shut up and kept undermining and emasculating him. If Chris Bosh is your third-best player, you’re in tremendous shape. Just don’t think you can win a title with a 228-pound big man who doesn’t block shots and grabs 10 rebounds a night. You need more help than that. “
It feels good yeah, It feels goooood!!! Guess what Lebron the MVP Mr. Everything has gone to Miami and they still suck. Putting the teams hopes on three players and not thinking of team chemistry and what weaknesses the team would have to overcome afterwords was a joke. Miami would have been better served shoring up some obvious weaknesses around DWade as opposed to thinking three studs and a team full of duds around them were going to get it done. Miami was solid enough last season that the team could have been fine signing only Lebron and using the money they ended up spending on Bosh getting improvements at the 1 and 5 positions. As a result the weaknesses they show at those two positions has hurt the team quite a bit and it shows. Bosh has been pretty inconsistent as well.
Depth would be a word for a team that has some but Miami has absolutely none. Pat Riley should have been smarter than to put his teams future on the shoulders of Wade, Bosh and James. All the players signed at the minimum are signed at the minimum for a reason. Their is a saying that says be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Miami for better or worse you have got it now. My guess is it will be for worse. You won’t be a lottery team but you may not get a seed higher than you got last season. Have fun
ur stupid
LOL at the Sam Cassel Velociraptor love child comment! PURE GOLD!