JVG thinks the Heat will be the greatest team EVER

...well I imagine that quote was based on the Heat players all taking the Max and having to sign d-league guys and vet minimum guys to fill out the roster. What actually happened is all the players took a little less and they were able to afford some better players than what was previously considered. What I would be curious to know is if all these players took less to get a slightly better supporting cast based on Morey's projections. I'[m sure it's unlikely, but wouldn't that be a story if Bosh took the Morey iPad to Wade, Lebron and Riley and said, "how can we avoid this?"

 

They are going to double team Dream. They are going to double team Clyde. They are going to double team me. That's 6 guys.

-- Charles Barkley

 

Can people please stop bringing this up? It's not the same at all.

At those points in their careers

LeBron > Hakeem
Wade > Barkley
Bosh > Clyde

 

Also Haslem and Z took less money to play there. Mike Miller could get more than MLE elsewhere too.

 

You're either being sarcastic or you're delusional.

Bookmarked just in case.

 

I don't feel like reading all 9 pages, so sorry if this has been covered. During the 1996-97 regular season when all three of them played, this team had a winning percentage of 0.800 (32-8 in 40 games). How exactly does that equal not working? Certainly they had injury problems (though that didn't prevent them from reaching the WCF), but when they were all together and healthy, it certainly was working pretty well.

 

You missed the point. Barkley obviously was half joking when he said that. But the point is, when basketball talents play together, they don't just add up like simple math. There is only one ball.

Barkley and Dream occupied the same scoring space on the court. They had to take turn posting up on the left block. And they were both great rebounders, but only one of them could get the rebound in each possession. So if Dream was a 9 on a scale of 10 and Barkley was a 7, they didn't add up to 16, but more like 13 or 14 because there were overlapping skills.

On the flip side, sometimes two talents might add up to more than the sum of the individuals because they compliment each other so well they magnify each other's skills when they play together.

We'll see how LeBron and Wade play together. They clearly have overlapping skills.

 

He's probably right, for the most part at least. Maybe they'll drop a pair of games once in the season, and/or maybe it'll take just one season to REALLY put it all together. But if they stay healthy, they simply cannot be defeated. They're going to make the league boring once the initial curiosity of how they perform wears off.

 

Not to mention they started out like 23-1.

Injuries and age (and a little bit of a chemistry breakdown in the playoffs) is really all that kept that team back.

 

It won't be that hard:

1. If Yao's on the bench with a broken foot, nobody will guard him.

2. They will front him just like every other sensible team. With Bosh and LeBron at the forward positions, the Heat shouldn't have too much trouble defending Yao. If he does get the ball, either guy or Wade can collapse on him in a hurry and they are athletic enough to force turnovers.

3. Yao is exactly the type of player Ilgauskas can hang with. Dwight Howard can go around Big Z like he was being defended by a statue. Yao can't do that. If Yao has lost mobility, Big Z can probably slow him down enough just by forcing him to catch the ball far enough from the basket (easier said then done).

4. Yao's minutes will be limited.

 

Q: Who's going to guard Yao Ming?

A: Keith Jones

 

he averaged 30, 8, 9 last year basically with the defense all up in his grill.

he's going to take less shots but score more efficiently so 23 points per game isn't that big of a deal. i wouldn't be surprised if he scores more.

9-10 rebounds are a given b/c he'll have more energy to do this.

and we all know he'll do most of the playmaking. got 9 dimes last year. you don't think he'll get just as much playing with 2 top 10 scorers? a bonafide 3pt shooter in miller? c'mon now. lebron will average borderline a triple double, if not one.

so book it, and mark it. $50 to the tip jar.

 

Misleading title to thread.

JVG didn't say that the HEAT would be the best team EVER.....he said they would be the best team THUS FAR.....up to now....

He left it open that another team could come along one day and be better than them.

 

I always side with JVG...

But this time im gonna have to go against him. The Heat will have an awesome regular season but what JVG said was far to generous.

 

Lol. You're calling out losers while somehow insinuating that James and Bosh aren't losers. Did you somehow miss the fact that James left the Cavs because he couldn't lead his team beyond anything but embarrassing ousters against other teams they were supposed to beat?

 

Firstly, he (LeBron, btw I was saying your prediction for all 3 is ridiculous, not just him) averaged 29.7, 7.3, 8.6. That's some pretty generous rounding to say 30, 8, and 9, but whatever.

You're scoring prediction for him isn't too far off. I'm not sure what they'll individually average, but I bet Wade and he average 21-22 between them. Whether one guy is at 25 and the other at 17 or if they're both in that range I don't know. And yes, he will score more efficiently. So did the Celtic Big 3. Yet their scoring dropped 25% collectively. The notion that they'll score 70 points a game combined is absurd. 60-62 is more realistic.

Sure, more energy, but fewer opportunities. Bosh and Haslem, and probably Anthony will be better rebounders than anybody on that Cleveland roster last year. I think his rebounding will end up being a wash. Around 7.

Assists WILL drop. Assists, just like points, aren't aquired unless you have the ball. When Wade or Bosh are isolating (which they will, a lot) Lebron isn't getting an assist.

The argument that he has top 10 scorers actually works against him. They will be no better at converting open shots than Mo Williams (43 3P% 58 TS%) or some of his other teamates last year. Instead they'll be taking scoring/playmaking opportunities away from him.

Lebron: 20-24 PPG, 7-8 Reb, 6-7 Ast
Wade: 20-24 PPG, 4-5 Reb, 4 Ast (one will be on the high end scoring, one on the low end)
Bosh: 17 PPG, 9 Reb (now that there are actual rebounders on his team Reb numbers will go down too)

They will be a great regular season team which will give most teams a really tough matchup. However they will get absolutely abused by teams with dominant front lines. LA, Orlando, Boston maybe, and (hopefully, please Yao...) Houston will give them fits.

 

the combined score in the first half almost set an olympic record and team USA hit 13 3's, including 4-7 from wade (including the clincher) and 2-3 from lebron. it's safe to say the offense was run well. also, kobe was 3-8 on 3's. if he would have hit shots early (or at any point in the tournament) maybe they wouldn't have needed his excellent 4th quarter.

 

asdfg

 

This is ridiculous. The Bulls 72 win team was way better than the Heat.

1) They had the best player in history in his prime who was one of the best finishers in history.
-Wade is not even close in terms of clutch finishing ability.
2) They had 3 all NBA defensive players.
-James and Wade are pretty good defenders, but Jordan, Rodman and Pippen are considered all time greats at their positions. Rodman was the best rebounder in history.
3) The mental game of the Bulls was on a completely different level. They had already won 3 championships by that point and had the killer instinct of MJ who would demoralize opponents, an intimidating aura of invincibility, and one of the most irritating players in history (Rodman) who could get under the skin of any player (e.g. Malone, Kemp). Who on the Heat is gritty and irritating? Sorry, but the mental game of LBJ and Bosh is pretty pedestrian.
4) The Bulls' chemistry was built up over several seasons
These guys will be learning how to play with each other, trying to figure out who takes that last shot, etc.
5) They had an all time great coach.

The heat will be really good, but not on the level of the 96 Bulls.

 

That's crazy. Even if thetop record in the league, they are bound for a letdown every so often as well as injuries/resting players.