Anthony Himes, Jesse Redmond
Editor-In-Chief, Sports Editor

ahimes@mavs.coloradomesa.edu, jdredmon@mavs.coloradomeds.edu

The Miami Heat won their first NBA title last season since LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwayne Wade to make up the big-name trio, often heralded as the “Big 3”. Since the victory, the conversation has largely switched from what used to be whether or not the Heat will win again this season to who will they will beat for their second straight title.

 

Jesse Redmond: To say the Miami Heat are a lock for the NBA title this season is feigning complete ignorance to the current forecast of the entire league, not to mention the strength of the Western Conference alone. Oklahoma City, San Antonio and the conference’s dark horse Denver Nuggets all pose a threat to the most overrated team to hit the court since the 2003-04 Lakers scooped Malone from retirement to make one last run at the title only to fall flat in five to Detroit in the Finals.

Anthony Himes: Obviously, it’s too early in the season to say it’s a lock because anything can happen, such as injuries. But compared to last season, the Heat got a lot better. After a couple seasons together, the chemistry with this year’s team is about as strong as any other team’s, which makes for a good postseason push. Ray Allen was the biggest pick up, and he has shown that he still has his legendary jump shot so far. Rashard Lewis was also a good pick up.

JR: If we’re going to start going over pick ups in the offseason, I think there are bigger fish to fry in this conversation. What about the super-team forming over in Los Angeles with the acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash? If you think that their early season struggles are going to last throughout the season, you might as well be arguing for the last-ranked Pistons to win it all and begin their legacy with Greg Monroe. The Knicks, Celtics and Bulls are all primed to make a run for June and pose a big threat to the Big 3’s sometimes lazy defensive play.

AH: The Lakers will obviously get better, especially when they hire a big-named coach, which we all know they are going to do. The Thunder trading away James Harden might have hurt their chemistry because of how close they all were. Otherwise no one from the West will take down Miami. The Bulls are missing some guy named Derrick Rose for most of the season, the Celtics are getting pretty old and everyone knows the Knicks will implode at some point, that’s just what they do. LeBron James is the league’s best player and also one of the best defenders and Wade has always played solid defense.

JR: Funny you bring up teams imploding. Because the Heat know a little bit about that topic. Like in the 2011 NBA Finals when they blew their last three games to Dallas, by giving up two straight 100-point games to Dallas to lose the series, after doing it only once before in the playoffs leading up to the series. Or last year, when they almost did it again against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals losing three straight to fall behind 3-2. They do that against the Derrick Rose and the Bulls in late May or the revenge-seeking Thunder in the Finals and King James and the Heat will be looking on as someone selse hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy.

AH: 2011 ended ugly for the Heat, but they learned from that, James became a better player because of that, and they went on to win it all easily against the Thunder. The only thing the Celtics’ series proved was how great of a team the Heat were. Only great teams battle the way they did and come back to win the series. Great teams find ways to win when the situation is tough, and that’s exactly what they did. With this year’s squad, they are too good to look at any of those situations. But if they happen to do it again, I wouldn’t count the Heat out.

JR: I agree with you that LeBron grew as a player because of the 2011 Finals embarassment, but that doesn’t translate to success for the rest of his career. This season, there are too many teams who have made a lot of solid offseason moves who are out for blood. The Heat are no longer that team desperately fighting for the ring to justify LeBron’s taking his talents to South Beach. They are the reigning champions and they have a target on their backs. The last time Wade won the Finals, he led the Heat to a disappointing 2006-07 campaign that was riddled with injuries and a pathetic 4-0 loss to Chicago in the first round of the playoffs. And since we’ve never seen LeBron in this kind of situation, we’ll just have to wait and see how it pans out. My money is on them falling flat and proving that they are just another self-proclaimed “dream team” as Vince Young would say, instead of the next great dynasty in the NBA.

AH: LeBron still has a lot to prove. He did promise the city seven championships, so one would not cut it. Wade also didn’t have the talent in 2007 he has this season, so they should fair much better. It is a new situation for the King and the Miami Heat, but they silenced their critics in the past, so I wouldn’t expect anything different this time around.