BCWWF
09-22-2005, 11:18 PM
Threads are doing good lately, and I have an opinion on this so lets see if we can get a discussion going.
I find it amusing how the Miami Heat are the babyfaces of the NBA right now, yet when the Lakers did the same thing a few years ago they were slapped with a ball sack until their noses bled.
The Heat were one step away from being a championship team last year, or I will say a NCAA Finals worthy team. The Spurs were still a skip and a step ahead of them. They maybe needed a defensive stopping small forward or somebody to help out Udonis. Instead, they let go of two of the leagues better perimeter shooters leave and added a bunch of medeocre at best offensive minded players.
Two years ago when the Lakers took on Malone and Payton, that made a lot more sense then what the Heat did this offseason. Malone was still a well above average roll player who knew how to play good post defense, and Payton is probably a better point guard then Derek Fisher. Yet everybody was on their case about how they couldn't win with these personalities meshed together. I don't think so.
Then you go to the Heat, they add Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams, and Gary Payton? Besides none of them being as good as Malone and Payton were, all four of those players have bad attitudes. James "Have one good season so I don't have to work in the offseason" Posey, Antoine "I am huge but only jack up three pointers" Walker.
Let's go with this. You win an NBA Championship with great role players. Not don't try to take that out of context and bring up a team of all role players, because thats not what it means. It means that most teams who win an NBA Title have one or two great players, and then very consistent role players all around them. Look at the Spurs, they have Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Nazr Mohammad, and Bruce Bowen as role players. The Lakers dynasty had Derek Fisher, Deavon George, Robert Horry, and Rick Fox. The Bulls dynasties had guys like Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, and Toni Kukoc.
The Heat already had the two superstars, Shaquile and Dwayne, now all they needed to do was add another good role player or two to foritify them. If they had did nothing else this offseason but get Posey, they would probably be my pick to rep. the East this year. But they didn't.
All of those players are semi-stars who are used to calling the shots for a medeocre team. Why move Dwayne Wade, one of the best guards in the NBA, off the ball so that Jason Williams can run the court? Why have the most dominant center in the league so you can kick it out to Antoine for the three? Basically, why would you take the ball out of Dwaynes hands so that guys like Antoine Walker and Jason Williams can touch the ball?
The Heat added some players that we have all heard of, but they got rid of the players who really mattered. They didn't resign Damon Jones for god knows why, they traded old reliable Eddie Jones, and took the role of one of the best players in the league off the ball, giving him much less of an impact. Dwayne is not a catch and shoot player, he is a point guard, and one helluva point guard.
So I can't see how people are jumping on the Miami bandwagon. They took the shots away from Shaq and Dwayne, their defense probably got worse, and they added players who are used to being stars on bad teams. They will be a dissapointment this year. They will make the playoffs, but they will not make the Eastern Finals.
I find it amusing how the Miami Heat are the babyfaces of the NBA right now, yet when the Lakers did the same thing a few years ago they were slapped with a ball sack until their noses bled.
The Heat were one step away from being a championship team last year, or I will say a NCAA Finals worthy team. The Spurs were still a skip and a step ahead of them. They maybe needed a defensive stopping small forward or somebody to help out Udonis. Instead, they let go of two of the leagues better perimeter shooters leave and added a bunch of medeocre at best offensive minded players.
Two years ago when the Lakers took on Malone and Payton, that made a lot more sense then what the Heat did this offseason. Malone was still a well above average roll player who knew how to play good post defense, and Payton is probably a better point guard then Derek Fisher. Yet everybody was on their case about how they couldn't win with these personalities meshed together. I don't think so.
Then you go to the Heat, they add Antoine Walker, James Posey, Jason Williams, and Gary Payton? Besides none of them being as good as Malone and Payton were, all four of those players have bad attitudes. James "Have one good season so I don't have to work in the offseason" Posey, Antoine "I am huge but only jack up three pointers" Walker.
Let's go with this. You win an NBA Championship with great role players. Not don't try to take that out of context and bring up a team of all role players, because thats not what it means. It means that most teams who win an NBA Title have one or two great players, and then very consistent role players all around them. Look at the Spurs, they have Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Nazr Mohammad, and Bruce Bowen as role players. The Lakers dynasty had Derek Fisher, Deavon George, Robert Horry, and Rick Fox. The Bulls dynasties had guys like Steve Kerr, Luc Longley, and Toni Kukoc.
The Heat already had the two superstars, Shaquile and Dwayne, now all they needed to do was add another good role player or two to foritify them. If they had did nothing else this offseason but get Posey, they would probably be my pick to rep. the East this year. But they didn't.
All of those players are semi-stars who are used to calling the shots for a medeocre team. Why move Dwayne Wade, one of the best guards in the NBA, off the ball so that Jason Williams can run the court? Why have the most dominant center in the league so you can kick it out to Antoine for the three? Basically, why would you take the ball out of Dwaynes hands so that guys like Antoine Walker and Jason Williams can touch the ball?
The Heat added some players that we have all heard of, but they got rid of the players who really mattered. They didn't resign Damon Jones for god knows why, they traded old reliable Eddie Jones, and took the role of one of the best players in the league off the ball, giving him much less of an impact. Dwayne is not a catch and shoot player, he is a point guard, and one helluva point guard.
So I can't see how people are jumping on the Miami bandwagon. They took the shots away from Shaq and Dwayne, their defense probably got worse, and they added players who are used to being stars on bad teams. They will be a dissapointment this year. They will make the playoffs, but they will not make the Eastern Finals.