I am going to go out on a limb and say that they will blow up this Miami Heat team in a year or 2. I actually give them 18 months. By the summer of 2012, they will have to trade away one of the two and let either LeBron or Wade take his talents to some other city. I know it's just 18 games, but I see structural problems. Sure they will get rid of coach Spo and sure, Riles will come down and the team will improve. They will listen to him and he has the stature to implement some interesting things with these fools. Also he will make defense a priority and that in and of itself will be worth 5 more regular season wins. Of course, they have enough talent to make it to the playoffs in the East under coach Spo or under my grandma for that matter. Riley's coaching will only upgrade the team to a much deeper playoff run, but I don't see championship credentials in this team. And thats not just because of the lack of a strong supporting cast or lack of depth. Those are peripheral issues that are actually fixable over a couple of seasons, if not right now.
The fundamental problem I see is that Wade and LeBron are not complimentary pieces. They want to and have no problems playing together, but they are not adding value to each other. Chemistry is a difficult science. It is very important in any sport, but more so in basketball and it's very hard to predict until the players actually play together. Unless you have a great glue guy like Stevie Nash who brings everybody together and makes them all better, it's hard to predict how guys play with each other. So nobody, myself included, ever commented on the potential fit of the Wade-LeBron duo. We all assumed it will work and it does for many stretches, but it's not consistent. You need a Jordan and a Pippen and I am afraid the Heat have 2 Jordans who are not as good as Jordan of course, and they have no Pippen. People don't appreciate Pippen and how important he was for the Bulls. He was very talented, but more importantly, was ultra-versatile. Plus he had the attitude and maturity to fill in any gaps for that Bulls team. He did everything that MJ couldn't or wouldn't do on a given night.
With Wade and LeBron, there are issues. They both came in to the league together and became big-time stars separately. Now they are together, but their games don't work together. The only options for them would be to make a Pippen out of Lebron, Thats not because he is the inferior talent or has been unproductive so far. It is only because he is the more versatile of the 2 and Wade can't do everything a Pippen or a LeBron can do. So turn the offense over to Wade and see if LeBron can do all thats needed to fill in the gaps. But who can make LeBron do that or is it even fair to LeBron to fit him into that role? He is one of the potential all-time greats and how can you make him a second option? So there is no easy way to make these 2 players complimentary. Short of giving them 2 balls and 2 hoops (and possibly 2 strip clubs in south beach), it's going to be hard to maximize their potential. It's not that they are hogging the ball or fighting for it, but they are not able to work well together. When LeBron is dominating the ball, Wade is nowhere to be seen and when Wade is on fire, it looks like they are over-paying LeBron for nothing. They both do similar things and are not both useful at the same time. They are not great rebounders or defenders or 3-point shooters. They don't have a great low-post game or a dependable jump-shot. Their style may be different, but their output and roles are very similar. And this despite the fact that LeBron is a triple-double threat every night.
Of course, chemistry builds over time and players evolve too. One or both can become a great 3-point shooter or an awesome defender and things can change. Richard Jefferson is supposed to have finally found his spot with the Spurs after an entire season. So 18 games doesn't make a season. But like I said, I see structural problems (not dead people :-) ) and I don't see an easy way out. The great expectations and lack of salary cap doesn't help either and I suspect this system collapses under it's own weight and the Heat will be forced to trade either Wade or LeBron after 2 futile seasons. Thats my prediction. Last time, Riley fired Stan Van Gundy and collected a easy ring with Wade and Shaq, but he may not be able to pull that scam again. He can and will fire coach Spo, but he ain't winning the championship with this group. This once again proves it's not easy or efficient to have 2 talented wing players as your superstars and 1-2 punch. It's always easier to build a team with a wing and a big combo - Kobe-Shaq, Shaq-Wade, Kobe-Pau. Their positions and their roles on the court are complimentary by design. Not the case with Wade-LeBron and thats what makes the Jordan-Pippen combo all the more impressive.
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