Right now? Unlikely, but with a couple of tweaks and some growth I definitely think so. Wade and Bosh are both declining. They barely squeaked through what was supposed to be a cakewalk of a playoffs set last season. They are not getting any better. Rockets are only going to get better. With Dwight we match their biggest weakness well. Add another star and I think we can edge them. I doubt it in 2014, but I think we'd give them a decent run for their money. But 2015... Yeah. I think by then we will have made another big move and will have a team that has grown together and gelled, and we will be right at the top by then. We probably won't even need Beverly to smash Lebron's knee by then.
no homerism, but yes we can. we've played miami tough even before harden, now we have harden and dwight. Just can't leave battier and miller open for threes.
We can beat Miami Heat just like that! The secret weapon is Beverley. Let him play 30 minutes in the first game. He will break two knees. We win the title in six games.
After more thought, I'll add a little to this: I think the biggest reason folks believe we had a "problem" late in games was the mistaken idea that this was a great offense in the first place. Really, it wasn't. The "overall" numbers we put up were due to two things: pace and effort. We played faster than anyone else, giving us more possessions, and Asik's offensive limitations were partly offset early in games due to his superior work ethic. Late in games, though? When the pace slowed to a crawl and opposing big men were willing to finally match Asik's effort, this offense just wasn't that great. There's one legit creator, a mediocre PG without much range, a big man that can't finish and either an undersized PF or one that just isn't good. There's no mental confidence issue or anything like that. The team just didn't have the horses to be much more than average in that setting. With DH, everything about that changes.
I thought the Spurs would be imposing with a Duncan-Splitter front line but that didn't work out like I thought so I am going to reserve judgement
Maybe. Indiana, Chicago, & San Antonio I'm sure have given Miami all they wanted inside and more but all have still come up short.
They weren't really healthy against the Spurs. We would have to be playing on roids and hoping that they are all fatigued to win it
If you're talking about in the Finals next June you can't discount the fact that the Heat have played well over 100 meaningful games each season for the last 3 years. Steve Kerr was on "Open Court" on NBATV talking about folks who say that the Bulls would've won 8 straight if Jordan hadn't "retired" and said that people were not taking the number of games into consideration.
The Heat are going to hate playing against this new Rockets team. If their 3 ball is not falling, they are done. The Rockets can keep up with their up tempo game PLUS shut them down inside the paint if the Heat decide to play the half court game.
I was going to say the same exact thing. All those teams had chemistry, vets and inside presents and still couldn't beat MIA. I know Pop lost 2 of those games for the Spurs, but thats the thing it is hard to beat them in 7 games. U have to have it working on all aspects of the game, including coaching.
In the playoffs, it's a three guard rotation for the Rockets: Harden, Lin, Bev. And the Rockets win at both guard positions. Miami still probably wins next year, because Lebron is by far the best player on the planet. But the Rockets would at least give them a challenge.
Lets just worry about getting to 50+ wins first this season please. Its going to take time for this thing to come together first, and we still dont know how these pieces are going to fit. So to answer your question.... my guess is no, the Heat would beat the Rockets fairly easily. Mostly because of the matchups though. However, if Houston gets much better at the defensive end they have the size to frustrate the Heat in the way that Indiana continues to do. Right now the Rockets dont have the perimeter defense to guard Miami. They can pack the paint all they want, but Miami is just too good from the perimeter. They need to be able to do both if they want to beat them.
I want to see the "settled" roster, but the potential for a deep playoff's run is there. The Rockets are going to be very, very good. I don't think Wade is going to be able to complete a full season any more. Miami is not the same without him. I don't think the Heat will win a third championship in a row. It is going to likely be one of five or six different teams from both the East and the West. The Rockets will be in the mix.
Dwigh Howard beat the Heat by himself when with the Magic, if we had him in our two games this season, we most probably would have beaten them both times
I think we won't even have to face the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. They'll have problems with Brooklyn, who have old vets but would give their all for a last shot of a championship! But that's assuming we will come out tops in the West.
