Now that the Miami Heat have signed LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade, the idea that they'll win the NBA Championship seems cemented in the minds of the general public. Super Friends, the Three Amigos, the Three Stooges, Menage a Miami, love them or hate them, and whatever you want to call them, their basketball supremacy seems assured.
That leaves me with just two questions. Can they break the single season wins record set in 1995-96 by the Jordan-Pippen-Rodman 72-win Bulls? And, how many Championships will they win? Resigning Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller bodes well for the Heat. The team is assured of fielding legitimate support for the big three which is realistically all they need to accomplish virtually whatever they want on the basketball court.
To answer the first question, let's take LeBron's Cavs as a starting point. With Mo Williams, an aging Shaquille O'Neal, and an underperforming Antawn Jamison (for part of the season), LeBron led the Cavs to a 61-21 record. You're asking Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Udonis Haslem (better in his role with the Heat than Jamison was in his for the Cavs) to turn 11 losses into wins to equal the record of the '96 Bulls.
Six of those 21 losses were at home while 15 were on the road. 14 of the losses were to the Eastern Conference while seven were to the Western Conference. LeBron's Cavs lost almost half their games to just four teams with losses to Boston three times and Orlando, Chicago, and Charlotte twice each.
Orlando and an improved Chicago team are likely to be the Heat's key competition in the East. Boston should slip some and it's somewhat surprising that the Cavs dropped only one to the Hawks who should only be better. Milwaukee (one road loss) should again be a tough matchup but losses against Indiana, Toronto, and Washinton (even on the road) are slip ups the Heat should be able to avoid.
The Heat should be able to clean up that one home loss to a Western Conference squad that Cleveland suffered (Denver) but it's not realistic to expect them to do much better on the road against a still stacked Western Conference.
In Dexter Pittman's rookie year, then, give his new team the Miami Heat five road losses to the West, get rid of one Boston loss, both Charlotte losses, and the loss to Indiana at home, leaving them two more incidental off-nights that they're sure to have getting adjusted to playing style. That still gives them 13 losses, leaving them three shy of the record--a realistic expectation in the first season together for "The Triplets."
Next: How Many Championship Will The Heat Win With LeBron James?
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Comments: 2
You have to remember the additional signings: Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller, etc. Miller can shoot very well and Haslem has always been a key part of the Miami Heat because of his ability to defend and shoot 10 -15 ft jumpers.