The Miami Heat are the best thing to happen to the NBA. Since LeBron, Wade, and Bosh hijacked the summer of 2010 and made it their own, the Heat and to a lesser extent the NBA, have been the hottest thing going. What was deemed a selfless act, LeBron’s “ The Decision” has actually catapulted the NBA back into the mainstream sports world.
Prior to “The Decision” the only time anyone talked about the NBA in a meaningful way was during the playoffs. Since then, the NBA is in the midst of what is arguably it’s best regular season in a decade.
LeBron had every reason to leave Cleveland. The men running the team could not surround him with any talent. He gave that city his heart and soul for the first part of his young career. He willed them to playoff victories and even a finals appearance in large part due to his toughness.
When Cleveland had to show him that same toughness on the front office level, all they could give him was has-beens like Jamison and Williams. If LeBron had one of the two players he is currently playing with in Cleveland, there is no doubt he would have won a title.
What James, Wade, and Bosh didn’t understand though, was that it wouldn’t be only 2 games a year in Cleveland that they had to deal with a high level of venom and hatred from fans, the media, and players, but every single game they played outside of their home arena.
This isn’t new. It shouldn’t surprise anyone. It is exactly what the Yankees went through when they traded for Alex Rodriguez in 2004.
Instantly they became the “Evil Empire”, hated by every fan and player in the league. In the process they ended up selling out every game they played in. They became must watch TV. Every loss magnified, every win expected. Their star power helped launch the MLB into the 21st century. Baseball has thrived since.
It took A-Rod two MVP seasons, and several miserable playoff series (Boston in 2004, and every one after that) for him to settle down and become a winning player. A-Rod (LeBron) came into a team that already had a proven leader and winner in Derek Jeter (Wade), even brought along a side kick in Gary Sheffield (Ilgauskas), to help take pressure off himself.
It wasn’t until 2009, 5 years after he came to the Yankees, and years after his closest friend on the team (Sheffield) left, that he came to terms with himself and figured out his role on the team. He didn’t have an MVP caliber regular season, but in the post season he morphed into a clutch, feared, leader, something he wasn’t over any of the previous 5 seasons.
LeBron is feared, but a leader or clutch? Those questions are still open for debate.
Will it take the Heat 5 years to win? Not in a league where the Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs are all coming of age. But what took the Yankees years to figure out was who fit what role. Was Jeter the clubhouse leader or A-Rod? Who did the manager side with?
It took many painful losses and a managerial change to get the answers to those questions. The same long and painful process may be in store for the Heat.
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