When Miami Heat general manager Pat Riley talked forwards LeBron James and Chris Bosh into coming to South Beach in the summer of 2010 to team with guard Dwyane Wade, it wasn’t to be a part of a rebuilding process. The Heat reached The National Basketball Association Finals in 2011 only to fall to The Dallas Mavericks in six games. Last season was a different story as The Heat got past The Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to attain an NBA Championship. Just like the last two seasons, The Heat have taken the best punches that the other NBA teams have given them, but they are now poised to run away from the rest of the pack in The Eastern Conference.
After a 109-105 victory over The Cleveland Cavaliers last night, The Heat’s current winning streak is at 11 games. The Heat enjoy a six-game cushion over The Indiana Pacers for first place in The East. Miami knows how to turn it up a notch as this team resembles a red Ferrari on Interstate 95 that can leave a pack of tractor-trailers in the dust.
James is already a three-time NBA Most Valuable Player and he might be on his way to winning the award for a fourth time this season. James is shooting close to 57 percent from the floor including a career-high 41 percent from beyond the three-point arc. For the month of February, James has already had seven games in which he scored 30 or more points. For the month James is shooting 64 percent from the floor. At 28-years of age, James is in the prime of his basketball career and he is making the game appear to be extremely easy. When The Heat won the championship last season it was almost as the weight of the world was lifted off of the broad shoulders of James. James has now put to bed the myth that he could never win a championship or deliver in the clutch as he was also named NBA Finals MVP. Now this season James has gotten back to just being a basketball player and you can see the difference in his game.
James isn’t by himself in leading The Heat as Wade is once again returning to “Flash”. Like James, Wade is shooting a career best from the floor as he is knocking down 51 percent of his shots on the season.
For the season The Heat lead The NBA in field-goal percentage at .495. We all knew that Bosh might be the man to take a backseat as far as scoring in this “Big Three” as his 17.1 points per game are his lowest point output in a season since the 2004-2005 season when he was a member of The Toronto Raptors, but like James and Wade, Bosh is enjoying a career high in field-goal percentage as he is shooting near 55 percent from the floor.
It is no question that for Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra that his team lacks size as they are last in The NBA as they grab 38.6 rebounds per game, but they are fourth in opponents rebounds as they only allow 40.1 per contest. The Heat’s lack of size has seen them combine to go 0-4 this season against The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks who are their main competitors in The Eastern Conference. The Pacers lead The NBA in rebounding at 46.0 per game, but both teams have size in the paint as Indiana has the likes of center Roy Hibbert while The Knicks have big men such as Tyson Chandler. The Heat have struggled against these teams this season, but in a seven-game playoff series The Heat know how to change the ledger in their favor.
Last season in the playoffs, The Heat allowed their opponents to shoot 43 percent from the field, but only 30 percent from downtown as was evident in Miami’s five-game opening round victory over The Knicks when forward Carmelo Anthony was only able to shoot 22 percent from beyond the three-point arc while he was 33 percent for the regular season last year. After trailing Indiana 2-1 in The Eastern Conference Semifinals, Miami smothered The Pacers to win the series in six games as Indiana never cracked the century mark for scoring in the entire series.
The Heat still have two games remaining with The Knicks while they have one more against Indiana. Like I said at the start of the season, The Heat will win The Southeast Division by default as it is home to three of the worst teams in the league. Like The Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980’s, The Heat will always be a title contender with James, Wade, and Bosh. Riley was the head coach of the majority of those Laker teams as they went to The NBA Finals eight times during the decade while winning on five occasions with a core of James Worthy, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Heat have made The NBA Finals in each of James’ two seasons on South Beach and barring a setback they are poised for another one this spring. The NBA Finals preview could be read like that of a Hollywood summer blockbuster. Coming soon to an NBA arena near you, The NBA Finals starring The Miami Heat.
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