Haven't their opponent the aging Spurs been "irrelevant" for more than half a decade? They'll be in the thick of things as long as they have Lebron. Its just if it means FINALS relevance They'll need to make under-the-radar cap friendly moves the Spurs way. But not sure if Heat organization is built like that. Probably not too far off, HISTORICALLY The Heat's team age now by minutes played is 30.3. Older than the Knicks, Celtics & Mavericks (though older players get hurt more, so it can falsely bring down the average putting in younger backups for more minutes) Chicago Bulls last title with Jordan, was 31.7. Heat might not be favored in this next Finals. Going with the same core into next year no changes, he wheels can fall off just naturally even without incident. They might just need to move Bosh for prospects for longer term success (thats where a team like Houston could come in but they're not likely gonna use assets THIS year it doesnt appear)
This is real. Kyrie Irving and most likely Nerlen Noels (#1 overall draft pick at center) will be with the Cavs while the Heat will have a lot of missing pieces with Battier, J.Howard, R.Allen, M.Miller and Birdman likely all retired, or with another team. Wade and Bosh stats have gone downhill, Wade once was a 30pts a night scorer and Bosh was grabbing 10 rebounds a night for 3 NBA seasons. I don't know if Bron's back is going to be okay continuing to carry both of them. If Bron goes, so goes the Heat.
Until the NBA decides it's time to change the story line and turn someone else into the face of the league.
I'm one to believe he's not winning anything without his two sidekicks. Bosh & Wade are still better than any combination in the league
Considering age I'd take Kyrie Irving all day every day over Wade, Varejao does all the center stuff Bosh won't do, Zeller is a good backup, and then the #1 pick for the Cavs might turn into something. Plus Waiters, Thompson, Speights... the Cavs have some young talent
Better than any 2/3 combination? Maybe not anymore, but at this time at least close. Are they still better than Westbrook/Ibaka? Are they better than Ginobili/Duncan? Ibakan shrunk in the playoffs, and Ginobili is older than Wade. ANd clearly Lebron is a better first option than anyone else. I think it really comes down to Wade. Bosh is a nice 3rd best player, but he's been clearly exposed the last 2-3 years. There are any number of PFs now that would be as good or better option. But Wade, when healthy and on top of his game, in today's NBA - dribble drive oriented - that combo with Lebron is what makes them so dangerous.
