The Sports Brewery

SBST: the good, the bad, and the ugly

Posted on 12. Jul, 2010 at 10:30 am by Meerkat in Basketball, Miami Heat, NBA Basketball

So how do you think Micheal Beasley was feeling right before LeBron said “South Beach” as his decision?  The dude knew he was gonna get shipped outta town if LeBron was coming in.  It must suck to realize that you’re expendable when a super team is in the works.

So while the dust is still settling from last week’s huge free agency whirlwind, I’m gonna try and get a grip on what this all has given us as NBA fans.  Here we go, the good, the bad, and the ugly … of the South Beach Super Team.

the GOOD:

We all can argue that LeBron should have went here or there all we want, but we did find out that Bron-Bron is all about the rings.  By bolting Cleveland and skipping past NYC (knicks & nets) we found that the Prince’s desire to earn his “King” title is more important than cashing in.  I’m impressed by this, because most athletes wait until their final push to jump to a playoff contender and take less cash for the trophy.  Not James, he is in his prime and he is thinkin multiple championships and he doesn’t wanna wait.  Good for you LeBron.

How about the excitement of the Heat’s potential when the season kicks off in November?  How will the rest of the roster fill out?  Apparently, Mike Miller will join and Haslem will stay.  The formula is simple really.  Grab guys that can drain from downtown or be gritty at rebounding and defense.  Selfless role-players with a particular skill set.  (hmmmm, I hear Shaq and Iverson might be available, though, they got egos)

I think LeBron should play PG.

With James at the point, mismatches will be an issue for every team, every game.  LeBron loves to be the distributor, and if he is bringing the ball down the court and dishing off to Wade or Bosh or wide open 3-point shooters, the Heat will roll over teams while James might come close to averaging a triple-double.  This could give a lot of us flashbacks of some guy named Earvin “Magic” Johnson (settle down bbryan, i said could!).  Hell, maybe James will bring back the no-look pass.  Showtime in Miami?

We all are gonna enjoy those first match-ups against the Lakers, Celtics, Magic, Blazers, Thunder, Bulls … and oh yeah … Cavs and Knicks.  The NBA will be faaaaaaaaan-tastic in November and December!

the BAD:

You should know by now I’m not the biggest fan of Stern’s NBA system.  But the one beautiful aspect of it is the fact that small market teams can build consistent winners (not so in monopolized MLB, see Evil Empire).  The Spurs, Cavs, Jazz, Blazers are solid examples, now look at OKC rising up.  This is all possible when star players are evenly distributed across the NBA landscape giving all teams their one star player to build around.  Good NBA GMs build consistent winners by grabbing role players to fit in and promising young players to grow into a bigger starting spot (see KP formerly of the Blazers).  But with LeBron, Wade, and Bosh all in one city, the balance is off a little.  A huge hole is left in Cleveland, a hole is left in Toronto, and the Knicks and Nets are left holding their hats.

The playoff teams will be pretty much the same as last season.  With the glaring difference being the Cavs falling down and out.

[2010 playoffs]

1. Cleveland, 2. Orlando, 3. Atlanta, 4. Boston, 5. Miami, 6. Milwaukee, 7. Charlotte, 8. Chicago

Chicago is a better team by adding Boozer.  And obviously, Miami is gonna be the team to beat.  But when you compare Miami, Chicago and Orlando to the other teams, there is a big gap in potential.  The Eastern conference is now a 3-headed monster and though I’d like to say four with Boston, I just don’t see the elder Cs running with these younger squads in the spring of 2011.

With a super team in Miami, to me, it further ruins the regular season.  We all know, right now, that Miami will be the #1 seed.  The Heat will destroy all the teams not named Bulls or Magic.  Sure they may get tripped up along the way from the Cs and Hawks, but make no mistake, they are gonna steam roll.

Let’s not forget that Boozer and Stoudemire left the West and came East, thus lessening the potential of stud teams from the Western conference.  And the breakup of the Spurs is on the horizon.  Oh, I’m sure Kobe and the Lakers are smiling right now.  The Blazers better rise up or start over.

With three stars in Miami, TV ratings for Heat games will be thru the roof.  But what is best for the NBA is that the super talent is evenly dispersed.  So expect every other TNT and ESPN game to involve the Miami Heat.  Maybe Pat Riley will pull a Longhorns move and strong arm the Southeast and form their own TV network (South Beach Super Network?).  How do I get excited about an NBA season that will consist of the Heat and Lakers on every night?

the UGLY:

Envy & jealousy.

After the Prince announced he was gonna take his game to South Beach, it was as if Lucifer opened up a can of HATE the size of … uh … let’s say … Ohio?  With one sentence, James made lifelong enemies in Ohio, NY, New Jersey, and maybe Chicago.  But obviously, the venom is most lethal from Cleveland.  The burning of jerseys and a hate letter from the Cavs owner shows how low that city is dipping right now.

Dan Gilbert’s letter is certainly the lowest of lows for any owner.  Blasting LeBron by saying his act is one of “cowardly betrayal”.  Ouch.  From what I have read and heard about the Cavs, is that the franchise went out of their way to spoil him.  And when a kid gets everything he wants but is still unhappy, the kid is gonna leave to get what he wants.  Gilbert is just upset that he got played.  And what is more American than free agency?  Remember, Dan, LeBron left because you couldn’t put a championship team around him, it wasn’t because of money.  You had 7 years to get 1 ring, and didn’t get it done.

Of course, a lot of weight falls on LeBron’s shoulders, he is no angel in my eyes.  Did LeBron really quit in the Celtics series?  I don’t wanna think he did, but I have not watched him as much as “Joe” the Cleveland fan has.  Was the 1-hour decision special obnoxious?  I certainly think so.  Yeah, it was all for a good cause and it was a ratings giant for ESPN, blah, blah, … but a shiny turd is still a turd.  LeBron has an ego, he wanted his moment.  Simple as that.

How will “Joe” the Cleveland fan react when LeBron plays in Cleveland?  I hope he shows him some respect, he did lift that city up for 7 years and gave them exciting basketball.  But I think his reception is gonna be bitter and very ugly, mostly because that town needs a championship really, really bad, and now they think LeBron ran out on them with their potential championship in his back pocket.

Tags: Miami Heat, NBA Basketball