Secondly, this is not a team that "bought" a title. This is the reality of the new NBA. You need three key guys that fit together, and whether you acquire them all at once, over a period of time, or through the draft is secondary to the overall goal. I don't get this anger towards free agency. All of a sudden there is a code of honor in how a front office should manage the team? This is a league in which guys are traded, cut, and return to the team that they were traded by. C'mon.
The Heat earned two NBA titles while trying to push basketball offense into its next stage of evolution. They are providing the NBA with it's most compelling storyline since the Lakers of the early 2000s. I don't know about you, but I love this team because I think they make basketball more fun. And that's the ultimate goal right?
Here are 9 more reasons to like the Heat.
Shane Battier
Everyone on Miami saw the floor in game 7 against Indiana except for this guy. He proceeded to play a measly 28 minutes in the first four games of the finals. All he did in games 5 through 7 was shoot 11 of 18 from three, and 6 of 8 in the deciding game 7, offseting Miami's Boshplosion (0 points 7 rebounds) that would have been fatal for the Heat if not for Battier's efforts. This guy is the consummate "plays the right way" player. Hating Battier because you hate Duke or the Heat dismisses the greater character that this man possesses and the type of role model he is for kids. It also discounts the importance of his intangibles to these Heat championships and to basketball in general. But don't take my word for it.
I love @ShaneBattier
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) June 21, 2013
Norris Cole
Full disclosure: I like pretty much every irrational confidence guy in the league. Ultimately Cole had to be benched in the deciding games of the finals because he was a liability on defense, but he did have a solid year in his second season as a pro. 0 turnovers in games 3 through 7 against Indiana is impressive considering that the Pacers might be the best defensive team in the NBA. A four year starter at Cleveland State, Cole did not take the easy route to the NBA. He can serve as a model for every kid with a dream at a small school.
Mike Miller
Miller has been left for dead on the side of the road about 78,933,620 times in his career. Yet, in back to back seasons, he has been the catalyst for a major upgrade in the offense of an NBA champion. Last year, it was his NBA Jam Mode 3 point barrage. This year, it was simply his presence on the floor which provided much needed spacing for LeBron during some very key stretches (who kicked to this year's role player in NBA Jam Mode, Shane Battier). How can Americans not love Mike Miller? We've pretty much proven that we love zombies right?
Udonis Haslem
Seemingly older than Juwan Howard (the new "older than dirt," according to Twitter), Haslem was a forgotten man in these finals because the Spurs are a terrible match up for him. However, a big reason the Heat are here is because of two separate 8/9 performances during games 3 and 5 in wins over Indiana. If you like players who "bring their hard hat to work," then this is your guy. Haslem, Miller, Battier, and our next man constitute the Heat's "zombie" crew.
Chris Andersen
There's nothing America loves more than a comeback story. So how can you root against a recovering drug addict who was wrongly accused of hounding gigabytes of child porn? Plus, he's a walking conversation starter. Don't know what to say to that cute friend of a friend in your crew out at the bar? Point to this man. You will undoubtedly find something to talk about. Plus, for NBA junkes, the fact that the Birdman saved the Heat's season is reality-altering (there is no way they would have been able to contend with Hibbert and West without him, the finals would have been Spurs-Pacers without him, and this makes my head slowly collapse in on itself).
I'm going to let my Kansas bball homerism shine through a little here. This man is criminally underrated. The only time we ever talk about him is when he's screwing up or if he's draining threes, but Chalmers' game is so much more than that. He's the perfect guard for this team. He's always been a good enough shooter to be a shooting guard (ask Derrick Rose if you don't believe me), but can handle the ball like a point guard, and has the maturity to command the offense when called upon. Everything the Heat do is based around rotating LeBron, Wade, and Bosh to create mismatches or holes in the defense, and Chalmers is the one that usually sets this whole process in motion.
His underrated defense, his ability as a ball handler on pick and rolls, and his weird effectiveness as a screener on pick and rolls (PROOF; LeBron had space because Parker had to respect Chalmers' shooting) all make him a very valuable guard. This guy is one of the five best players on a team that has made the finals three years in a row and NO ONE talks about him as one of the better guards in the league. Yes, he can go through stretches where he makes you scratch your head, but so can Wade and LeBron (the 3 possessions in a row that ended in TOs down the stretch in game 6 come to mind), and even Tim Duncan (the two missed bunnies to tie game 7). It's basketball. Shit happens. It's time to start giving Mario Chalmers his proper due for Miami's success.
Dwyane Wade
OK, I can totally see how you can hate "Three" as he's demanding we call him now (even though he couldn't make a three to save his life). This is more of a personal choice for me. I've always liked basketball players who crashed their way to the rim (it's why my favorite player as a kid was Allen Iverson, and why Derrick Rose scares the living shit out me), and Wade has earned my respect on that front. Everyone who gripes about his injuries makes me mad. He is not "injury-prone," those are wounds from past wars. Wars in which he is 3-1. Other than that, yeah, it seems like he could be kind of a dbag, and there's this too.
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| Pure genius here (via Grantland.com) |
No one got the monkey off their back more than Bosh did this postseason, even in light of his offensive no show in game 7. The reason he continually gets kicked around when the Heat lose is the same reason that we keep taking out al-Qaeda's #3 in command: they're easy targets. Yes, Bosh can float in and out of games, but I would argue that he was the Heat's 2nd most important player in these finals. His pick and roll defense was exceptional, rattling the Spurs offense to its very core. And in game 6? He wrestled the ball away in a crowd of Spurs in a play that will go down as one of the most impactful of all time in any sport. The Heat would not be back to back champions without Chris Bosh. FACT.
LeBron James
The evolution of the league's best player has been fascinating to watch. He began as a gob of talent with a remarkable instinct as a passer. James worked relentlessly on his shot to the point where he has now become one of the best jump shooters in the league (which was the theme of his game 7 dominance). Last year he added a sorely needed low post game and finally won a title at the same age that Jordan won his first title. He has the highest career PPG in game 7s ever, tying the single game record last night. Oh, and there's this too.
LeBron averaged 25.3 PPG, 10.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists for the series. Only other player to avg 25-10-7 in NBA Finals was ... James (2012)From the perspective of a fan of the sport, how can you not enjoy what this man is doing right now? He's chasing Jordan. And where is the personal hatred coming from? Think about how people would judge you if their basis was one of your lowest moments. LeBron screwed up, but he was just an arrogant dick, it's not like anyone actually got hurt. Other than Cleveland. But this is sports. Cleveland always gets hurt. That's the law of the land.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 21, 2013
And that dickishness seems to be closer to an isolated incident than to a true reflection of his character. LeBron has loosened up a bit and finally has a sense of humor about himself (two titles probably helps to ease the mind a bit). All the while he's never been in any kind of serious trouble (on the court, off the court, legal, etc...). Hell, he's married to his high school sweetheart. Think about that for one second in light of the fact that this is the NBfuckingA.
For being one of the most recognizable people out of 7 billion on this planet, LeBron James comes off as a pretty reasonable guy. At the very least, he's a more likeable person than MJ. And the evolution and maturity of his game proves that he believes in hard work, something that we all like to say we're on board with (even if we don't necessarily always follow in those footsteps).
There will always be haters reserved for those at the top. But let's stop with the silliness that these titles were "bought" or that the Heat somehow aren't legitimate champions. This is the NBA. Players talk to each other. Chris Paul gave a toast at Carmelo's wedding that included a plea for them to play together. Whether a player is traded or acquired through free agency is simply an issue of semantics in the larger game at play. I bet if you looked at all the contracts the Heat scrapped to be able to afford Bosh and LeBron, that deal might look similar to Boston's Al Jefferson/5th pick (Jeff Green)/West/Gomes/Telfair trades to acquire Garnett and Allen. The best player in the league was playing on a shitty team and history proved to him that he could not reach his ceiling without a lot of help. So he got some help. Now he's at the top. Can you blame him?
Other than the excessive flopping (of which sadly, there is a heavy strategic argument in favor of doing), LeBron and the Heat are everything you could want in an NBA champion. You know how NBA fans can talk endlessly about Jordan, and Magic, and Wilt, and Russell, and well...you know what, I'm just going to let Andy Bernard explain it.
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