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Yeah, Miami made it to the finals in the 1st year. It's not as if Wade, James and Bosh have made it to 5 finals and lost 5 times. They made it once together and lost once. They're only 0-1 together, it doesn't indicate in any way some NBA Finals losing pattern that can't be overcome. They're not the Buffalo Bills of the 90's
I wouldn't call the 96/97 rocket season, "well past" their peak.
Olajuwon was coming off of 2 Finals MVPs. He averaged 23 a game. Barkley averaged 19.2 a game, 13.5 rebounds? Drexler averaged 18 a game.
Plus the rockets had a good supporting cast...i.e. mario elie. Remember the intangibles coming together when the rockets won 2 titles in 94 and 95? Cassell, Horry, Kenny Smith.
Pippen was still NBA all defensive first team when he was with the rockets in 98/99. The lockout probably threw off everyones numbers that year.
I think it shows, nothing is really guaranteed in the NBA. You can go your entire career without winning a title (Karl Malone, second most points all time). You can get traded to some talented teams (barkley to the suns and rockets).
Dwayne Wade is already 30. Another 3-4 years, he's going to be the same age that Drexler was in 96. The next 3-4 years for the heat are going to be very interesting.
Dwade may be 30 but LeBron and Bosh are only 27 and 28 respectively. By the time Dwade's age and game hits where Kobe is now, LeBron will only be 30 by then. That's the thing with Miami, the 3-4yr age discrepancies should keep them at least contenders after they win the 1st 3.
The true test for the Heat will come in the playoffs---have they or will they mold their style of play for playoff basketball.
The free wheeling and open space hoops usually ends some place in the playoffs. The past three years or so, in my opinion, Lebron has trouble adjusting to the more physical and pounding nature of the playoffs. He is not chucking up threes this year, and appears a little more under control.
If this trend continues the Heat may be on the verge-----but time will tell----they have to get past a physical Chicago team, and when the Bulls get Deng back they will be tougher.
The true test for the Heat will come in the playoffs---have they or will they mold their style of play for playoff basketball.
The free wheeling and open space hoops usually ends some place in the playoffs. The past three years or so Lebron has trouble adjusting to the more physical and pounding nature of the playoffs. He is not chucking up threes this year, and appears a little more under control.
If this trend continues the Heat may be on the verge-----but time will tell----they have to get past a physical Chicago team, and when the Bulls get Deng back they will be tougher. Lets keep an eye on the Heat and see if they dont go back to free lancing-----I have a feeling that Riley and Lebron have had some discussions on this subject.
Chicago has the same problems they had last year. Drose is their only consistent offense. At least this Heat team isn't the same as last years. This Chicago team is exactly the same. Anytime you hold Dwade to minimal scoring and still can't beat Miami, you'll never beat Miami in a 7-game series unless you get a consistent 2nd scorer.
The Heat should be concerned with D.Wade's continuing subpar play against the Bulls. This goes back quite a few years, to when Shaq was on the team. I don't know if he softens up playing against his hometown team, but the Heat are going to need him playing much better than we saw in last year's playoffs or this past Sunday's game, if they're going to continue being successful against Chicago. The Bulls are a year older, and because their core is still young, a year better.
Although I think the Heat do have a good chance of winning a championship, I don't think people realize how much of a blown opportunity it was for them to lose the championship last year. In order to get to that point, everything has to work out right. You have to be healthy, playing well at that time, have good coaching, and have some favorable matchups. Championship don't just come. I don't care how good you are, you need a little bit more than talent to have a chance. Look at Dallas, they were fortunate that they faced a flat Lakers team in the second round. People forget how horrible they were in the first round including losing an 18-point lead to the Blazers. If they had faced someone like Memphis in the second round, they might not have had a chance.
Who's to say everything will pan out again for Miami? Is Wade going to be healthy? Without him they have no shot. What about their bench? Who is going to be able to contribute? Do they have enough size to guard bigger teams? Can you imagine the road they would have to the finals this year if they had to face someone like Indiana, Atlanta or Orlando, all of which would give them major match up issues. I just think that we need to take it a day at a time with this team. Too much can go wrong for this team just to have an easy road to keep going back to the Finals.
Meatkins, you speak to a point that I've said before: Lebron played the finals last year like he expects to be there the next 8 years, so losing this one is no big deal. As you said, beyond having the talent, alot of thing have to go right for you to make the finals and win the title. It certainly is no guarantee, even for a team as gifted as the Heat, which is what disappointed me about Lebron's play. No-one can convince me that he laid it all on the line against Dallas.
Dwade may be 30 but LeBron and Bosh are only 27 and 28 respectively. By the time Dwade's age and game hits where Kobe is now, LeBron will only be 30 by then. That's the thing with Miami, the 3-4yr age discrepancies should keep them at least contenders after they win the 1st 3.
Bwah hah hah hah! After they win their first 3? Good luck with that.
The Bulls did add Richard Hamilton------he has provided additional scoring for them.
I still agree with you that consistent scoring may still be a problem for the Bulls----a Bulls-Heat playoff matchup will be a slugfest.
Boozer is also playing MUCH better. His early season injury last year I think took longer to recover from than we knew.
Basically, the Bulls got noticeably better since last year.
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