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Can the Heat win a title? Where do they go from here?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Piotr Rasputin, Jun 12, 2011.

  1. Double Down

    Double Down Well-Known Member

    I honestly don't think they need to add or subtract anyone. What they could definitely benefit from is James spending the offseason trying to develop a mid-range game or the ability to play with his back to the basket. Yes, he is a wonderful basketball player, probably one of the best ever. But so much of that right now is hit off-the-charts athleticism. I don't think it's a question of desire with him. I think he wants it. But it's also about acknowledging there are still holes in his game, and that he'd benefit from about 500 mid-range jumpers and 300 post moves a day in the off-season. Part of his struggles against the Mavs have to do with the fact that he just doesn't have the feel for that beautiful mid-range jumper than Jordan (and later Kobe) made a living off of. He's so strong, and so powerful, but he doesn't have a great soft touch. Some of that is probably because he's never had to have one. When you're on the cover of SI at 16, there probably aren't a ton of people who can pull you aside and say "You still need to work on this, even though you're fucking amazing at so many other things."

    It will be interesting to see what kind of introspection the off-season brings. I don't blame him at all for lacking any right now. But there is a reason Kobe Bryant has 5 titles, and it's not just that he played with Shaq. It's because he was fucking obsessed with studying game tape of older players and trying to incorporate that stuff into his game. When Kobe came into the league, all he could do was go to the basket. So he shot however many jumpers a day until he had a mid-range game. Then he developed a 3-point shot. Then he worked on playing with his back to the basket. In many ways, he was just copying Jordan's evolution, but that seems like a dumb thing to knock him for. Why wouldn't you want to improve your game in similar ways to the greatest guard of all time?

    Great players evolve. Magic learned to become a better outside shooter, and developed a baby-sky hook to give him a post game. Duncan developed that beautifully mechanical bank shot. Karl Malone turned into a really good jump shooter on the pick and roll. Shaq developed an ugly but effective jump hook and became a very good passer out of double teams. Bird became a better passer and pretty decent defender as his career went on (before injuries). I could name a ton of other examples.

    LeBron has fixed some holes in his game. He's a very good defensive player now, thanks to playing with Kobe in that Olympics and realizing he just wasn't working hard enough. And he's a better outside shooter than he used to be. But he's still needs to evolve. And I suspect he will. If he doesn't, it will be a failure not just for him personally, but for this whole generation of coddled athletes, where getting anointed as the GOAT at a young age -- even before you've accomplished what really matters -- totally stunts your long-term growth. In some ways, the sycophantic side of the media has played a big role in that attitude. (They're also balanced out by the other side of the media that pounces on failure, and the two sides play off on another.) But the struggle is all part of it the process.

    I think LeBron will win two or three titles. But I'm glad it's not coming easily. I want to see the grind. For everyone's sake, I want to see him forced to reach his potential.
     
  2. mb

    mb Active Member

    For his sake, he better get on that shit, STAT. Because we've now got last year's Celtics series and this year's Finals. If he had problems in his head before, they're not getting any better.
     
  3. JakeandElwood

    JakeandElwood Well-Known Member

    The thing with the Bulls is they need a shooting guard who can create his own shot and be a good defender.

    Boozer is a waste of space defensively, and while Rose got much better under Thibodeau in only one year and should only get better, he still isn't an elite defender. So, that left Noah, Deng and Bogans/Brewer as top defenders. If the two guard is a good slasher/shooter but can't play defense then the Bulls' great defense suffers big time.

    And there's no slam-dunk awesome name out there on the free agent market either. They'll have to get a great find late in the first round or get creative with a trade.
     
  4. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Did anyone see Windhorst's gamer on ESPN.com? Half the article was "LeBron will leave the game in his Rolls Royce go back to his mansion and have his cook make him a five-star dinner and then fly off on a private jet to his vacation."
     
  5. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Miami lost the NBA Finals in six games. The margin was so thin that if LeBron weren't called for a very questionable charge toward the end of Game 6, the Heat might very well be celebrating today. Who knows what happens if they take two of three in Dallas and come home up 3-2.

    What they need to do is fix their point guard (a healthy Mike Miller?) and get a legit inside presence. But they are very close as it is, so no need to blow anything up.
     
  6. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Miami can't afford to blow anything up. It just needs to beg other players to come there and play for the minimum so they can have the honor of sitting courtside while King James shits the bed next season. :D
     
  7. HejiraHenry

    HejiraHenry Well-Known Member

    I'll say this Heat roster never wins an NBA title, especially if the 2011-12 season gets disappeared.

    The problem at the heart of the James/Wade conundrum is that they essentially play the same position. If they are going to win a title together, James has got to do the thing he has refused to do to this point in his career, and that's develop a post-up game.

    He may have an extra-long offseason to work on that, if he so desires.
     
  8. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I'm going to start rooting for the season to be canceled if it means we get at least another year of "Why does LeBron choke in the playoffs?" talk.
     
  9. Stoney

    Stoney Well-Known Member

    What the hell does Miller have to do with the point guard position? Healthy or not, he's never been and never will be anything remotely resembling a point. Any improvement to the Heat's point guard play will have to come from outside their roster. Bibby's finished and Chalmers will never be a true starter calibur point.
     
  10. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    Ever the voice of reason, Whitlock says blow it up:

    http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/miami-heat-lebron-james-dwyane-wade-chris-bosh-blow-up-the-big-three-061311?GT1=39002
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Whitlock also said the finals were over when Miami went up 2-1.
     
  12. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    yeah

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    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
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