Gotham2krazy

I would actually much rather watch CP3, Melo, and Amare for the sole fact that Melo is so damn crafty at scoring.

TwinkieFoot

Melo actually is my favorite player because of how much I admire his offensive ability. I think that if you were looking strickly at scoring, Melo would be the best player in the league because of how dynamic he is putting the ball in the basket. I also think the guy is a capable defender that can be a pain in someone's ass when he wants to assert himself on that end. The problem with him is that he doesn't "think" the game as much as he plays it. He has a certain tendency to make bone-headed decisions, especially when they matter the most. A foul here, a turnover there, a missed assist, etc. I think this is what ultimately seperates him from a Kobe Bryant, a Dwayne Wade or a particular "unmentionable one." I actually like CP3, Melo, and Amar'e much more than the Heat trio but think it'll be difficult for us to beat them. They would have 2 of the top 3 players in the series and might be able to effectively neutralize Chris Paul, who would be the engine of our team- a recipe for disaster.

Da Grinch

i think in essence the heat team is a redo of the bulls of the 90's but not at all a perfected version.

i think wade and lebron will avg. about 50 a game just like Pippen and jordan did , but that pippen and jordan are supreior defenders and that separates them imo until proven otherwise...i also dont think bosh is as good a fit as ho. grant or rodman , with wade and james they really dont need alot more scoring , they need defense...and bosh is a rather avg. defender, teams with speedy pg's and dominant inside players will still be the heat's achilles heel ...the bulls never quite got a handle on speedy pg's in the reg. season(for instance the year they won 72 games i think they lost to the raptors and damon stoudamire 3 times) but they were able to beat on teams who were dominant inside in their title years pretty much all year long.

i see a teams like the magic, hawks and the celts being problematic for them, they have talented insides and point guards capable of being deciding factors in various ways...the bulls of old had the option of putting pippen on point guards in the playoffs ...i dont see lebron guarding rondo , wade either especially if they then had to put an undersized pg on a 2 guard ....those bulls teams had bigger guards on them (6'6 ron harper, 6'3 kerr , 6'3 hodges, 6'5trent tucker , 6'6 bob hansen, 6'5 dennis hopson)

they could put pippen on smaller guards and not be overmatched elsewhere..they had better interior players, outside of bosh whose offensive talent may be sqaundered abit because i really dont see them going to him all that much .

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TwinkieFoot

I have to agree about Chris Bosh. One of the major reasons I was not a fan of adding him as a 3rd star in a scenario featuring the Knicks and the "unmentionable one," was his lack of versatility as a player beyond scoring. I felt his abilities would be best utilized next to another running mate e.g. Derrick Rose in Chicago. In spite of all of this with Bosh's length and leaping ability, I would imagine him being a frustrating help defender. I think that is where a guy like Pau Gasol earns his keep on a contender defensively as I imagine Bosh would with the Heat. Neither Gasol or Bosh are particularly good one on one defenders but there ability to successfully put a hand up does more than enough to distract/alter a shot and cause a miss. Since the game is much more perimeter oriented, I would value these qualities much more than a big man who can lock up an opposing big man on single coverage.

I think even more important than Bosh's length on the defense end is still his scoring ability. I see him maybeaveraging 17 or 18ppg but the simple fact that he is recognized as a capable scorer, serves more than enough purpose. Single coverage for Wade-"unmentionable one" is something that has been unheard of in either players recent career and Bosh permits this to happen.


You mention the Bulls and their ability to go big, being a part of their defensive prowess but the Miami Heat can do the same thing and likely will for most of the game. Mike Miller is likely going to start and Dwayne Wade at a speedy 6'4" is more than capable of defending PG's. This is a major reason why I think that even if the Knicks former their trio of Paul-Melo-Amar'e, the Heat would still win because Paul has had issues playing against bigger, physical guards (e.g. Chauncey Billups).

Beyond that, guys like Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Jason Williams, Zydranus Ilgaukaus, Joel Anthony and Jamal Magloire are excellent role players that certainly can help fulfill the Heat's championship aspirations. I honestly, don't see much hope for the league outside of the Lakers, who I still consider to be favorites. I think that if Bynum plays up to his potential, the Lakers can attack the Heat's achilles heal....defending post-scorers on single coverage. I also think a guy like Steve Blake adds another dimension to their game since he actually gives them production at the PG position over the 47 minute period that Derek Fisher is a no show. At 6-3, I could also see Blake switching off his PG assignment on defense and onto a bigger defender like Dwayne Wade/Mike Miller, in order to give Kobe Bryant the much needed rest he'd need while on the court.

E.H. Munro

I'm sorry, what has Wade won since Shaq's untimely death again? Do we remember the Showtime Lakers as Kareem or James Worthy's team? Because they were the leading scorers on that squad. And by a pretty large margin at that. No one cares what you'll think about in fifteen years. Wade will play Worthy to LBJ's Magic. And when Wade fades in a couple of years, due to age/injuries, he'll be "the other guy". In a decade no one will see this as anyone elses team. Hell, five years was enough for Mr. Bean, I doubt it will take LeBron any more than that. He doesn't have legal problems of the sexual assault nature to get over.

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