So now that the National Basketball Association’s free agent frenzy is pretty much over, it’s time to sort through all the moves made and figure out who won and who lost. Let’s get the no-brainers out of the way first. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors are going to not only struggle to win games next year but are most likely facing huge losses in attendance also. The loss of LeBron James is a big blow to the Cavaliers, but this team won more games than any other team last year. The rest of the roster had something to do with those wins. If the remaining players can figure out how to play together and share the load rather than being spectators to the King James show, they can still be competitive. As far as winners in free agency, the most obvious winner is the Miami Heat. However, in today’s NBA it seems to me it’s all about size and “length” as the analysts call it. You have to have good big men to compete for championships. A lot of NBA experts say the era of the dominant big man is over, and that is probably true, but you can’t win in the league without a dominant physical presence inside. It’s just that most successful teams do it by committee now. The champion Lakers have Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. The Eastern Conference champion Celtics go with Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Glenn Davis and Kendrick Perkins. After Perkins was injured in the finals, the Celts signed Jermaine O’Neal in free agency in case Perkins can’t start the season. The New York Knicks are still a long way from being a title contender, but signing Amar’e Stoudemire, a terrific big man, was a step in the right direction. I think a team that may have moved themselves into the contender category is the Chicago Bulls. They signed Carlos Boozer to go with Joakim Noah and Luol Deng inside, and have one of the league’s best point guards in Derrick Rose. The Bulls have been slowly putting together a good team in recent years, and Boozer may be the missing piece that puts them over the top. The Heat have been anointed as the league’s Superteam, and James recently promised Miami fans multiple championships at a rally to welcome the new players. With the roster they currently have, however, the Heat will be easily pushed around inside. Chris Bosh is a terrific player but he is a finesse player. They recently signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas, LeBron’s long-time teammate in Cleveland, but there’s no way he matches up with the big men in L.A., Boston or Chicago, and certainly can’t match up with Orlando’s Dwight Howard either. There are rumblings that Miami may try to sign Shaquille O’Neal. That would help but still, King James couldn’t win it all in Cleveland with Shaq and Big Z, why would Miami be different?
Miami Heat – Superteam?
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Georgann Rosal
February 18, 2013 at 10:06 pm
Bosh won his first NBA title after Miami defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4–1 in the 2012 NBA Finals.
medicare supplemental insurance
January 18, 2011 at 7:07 am
This is the year for the Miami Heat. LeBron and Company are brining home the hardware.