2013 NBA Swan Song

Always best to leave commentary on a 7 game back and forth NBA Finals until a few days (in this case nearly 2 weeks) have passed to let the dust settle. Begrudgingly, congratulations to the Miami Heat. They really earned that one and by having the current best player in the world on their roster they were able to push over the top. Let's start with him as we run down some of the key players and people of the NBA Finals:

LeBron James - Well we can now put to rest any questions of his "legacy" in terms of championships. He's got multiple titles and was the best player on his team for those titles. Not like Juwan Howard wearing a suit to get a ring. This is justified, he never deserved some of the flack he received, but again, he invited it with the way he joined the Heat. Also, it is clear after talking with some people that my LBJ comments weren't well received. It's not a popular theory to question the best player in the world in his prime, but I stand by my comments. I'm still not sure he can  be the best player on his team at age 33, 34, 35 like Michael and Kobe. I will grant that his shooting barrage in Game 7 was impressive to an extent, since he did make nearly everything he put up, but he was also as wide open as you can get in the NBA for many of those shots. When he's less physically imposing 4-5 years down the road it becomes easier to get up on LeBron the way Paul George did in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. I'm glad it took him 10 years to learn how to hit an open jumper, if it takes him 10 more years to figure out how to hit a contested jumper, LeBron certainly won't win any more titles as the best player on his team. But for now, the King reigns supreme.

Tim Duncan - What a shame for Timmy. He threw down a classic closeout game in Game 6:  30 pts, 17 reb only to watch his team piss it away in the last 30 seconds. With a chance to take matters into his own hands in Game 7 he missed a point blank runner over Shane Battier he has probably made 1,538,204,302 times before in games and practice. That was all she wrote for the Spurs at that point. No one will question Tim Duncan's legacy. Not after a decade and a half of keeping his head down, working hard, and being so consistently good night in and night out even into his Age 37 season. Seriously, you want the model of consistency? Check out his Per 36 Minute numbers for his entire career here. It's incredible. He's like a robot. People think this was Tim Duncan's last hurrah, that once Westbrook gets back, that once Doc Rivers and Chris Paul are finalized as Clippers, that once Memphis grows up for good, the Spurs will be relegated to the middle tier in the West. I find that to be more questionable than those who were attacking LeBron's legacy at age 28. Tim Duncan is certainly older, and missing that runner shows his age, but he was throwing down 40+ minutes in 3 games in 5 nights and didn't miss a beat. Picking against Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan is like picking against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Yes they both haven't won a title in years, but they are always as good of a bet to get one as anybody. As a Mavericks fan, I won't feel safe until Tim Duncan retires for good.

Dwyane Wade - Man, he looks ragged. Remember the days when Dwyane Wade would explode to the basket throw up some crazy layup attempt, have it go in, get fouled, and crash to the floor? Those days are gone. G-O-N-E. There are two people whose "epitaphs" I'm ready to write after that series and Wade is one of them. What we are talking about here isn't that Wade won't be valuable in some capacity, it's that he is simply Dwyane Wade 2.0 now and not in a good way. Sure, he got in the way back machine Game 7 and started hitting everything from the same spot on the floor, but when you watch him, it seems like he's so easy to guard now. He's become a slash and kick player the same way Steve Nash is. He's no threat to go to the basket and that's where you saw so many 14 point games from him. We do have to take into account that he is actually 31 years old unlike LeBron at 28 and we also have to take into account that Wade absorbed as much contact in his career as LeBron has, only he doesn't have the body to take it the way LeBron does. Wade had a great run, but he's a sixth man at this point in his career. Can't argue with 3 rings though.

Tony Parker - I never liked his game. Ever. He can't defend and for a decade he couldn't shoot either. He still can't shoot that well, but at least he can make a basket outside the paint now. He's like a poor man's Steve Nash to me at the same points in their career. Which bodes well for Tony, I think he still has years to go in this league, but I think his game is too static and if I was Popovich it'd give me a heart attack every time he starts weaving around defenders like its a dog agility course or something. People remember the ridiculous buzzer beater in Game 1 that sealed the deal for San Antonio, but many people don't remember how out of control he was. He single-handedly botched that entire play and really got lucky to get off the shot in time. Even looking at his stats for the series they were mediocre. I couldn't believe that prior to hurting himself in the regular season there was talks of him as 2nd or 3rd in the MVP race. Sure, he's better than Gary Neal and many other starting point guards in the league, but he went into this series overrated and got exposed some.
















Chris Bosh - Ha. Hahahaha. I'm tired of people defending him on various grounds like: 1) Oh he'd be the best player on almost any other team; 2) They don't use him right; 3) There's just not enough ball to go around. First, he wouldn't even be the best player on all of the lottery teams from this year. So stop. Please. He was a good player on a bad team who had NOBODY else. Someone has to score 22 points a game on the team when you have nobody else. Look at DeMarcus Cousins of the Kings. He's skilled and has some talent, maybe as much as Chris Bosh, but would you really say he could be the best player on almost every other team? No. They don't use him right is a bizarre argument. How else are they supposed to use him? A back to the basket post player? Do you see how badly he got abused trying to bang bodies with any good big man? Believe me if he could play like that now, Spoelstra would use him like that. Having a good low post player helps immensely in today's NBA offense. It forces teams to crash down low opening up the 2-3 shooters that Miami likes to have on the floor at the same time. It also gives LeBron and Dwyane a low post pass option as they drive and draw the low post defender. So if he could play that way, I'm betting he would be asked to play that way. Lastly, this was Bosh's best opportunity to get the ball. Dwyane was miserable the last two rounds of the postseason. He could have stepped up and made himself a force as the second banana to LeBron. He shrank from the moment. He was even worse than Dwyane for those same series. How many times did he see him miss a wide open shot followed by his Ostrich scream and being upset with himself. I wonder if being the 3rd or 4th option on the floor at times just stunted his offensive prime. It has to be hard to be motivated to work on your game if you've spent most of the last three years watching LeBron or Wade or Wide Open Shooter X run much of Miami's offense. It's not so much that Miami needs to trade him, because really he's a fresher body than Wade and if he put his big boy pants on hed should be the more valuable piece over the next 2-3 years. It's more that Bosh needs to get out of there if he wants to prove he's more than just a sidekick. Besides how can you trust a guy who celebrates championships with a sexual champagne shower photo one year, followed by confetti stuck to his face the next? The guy is just a tool.

Manu Ginobili - Yeah, not much to say about him. Those 8 turnovers in Game 6 were pretty embarrassing and he was marginalized for the first 4 games of the series. He had the huge Game 5 and a decent bounceback Game 7 but I think we forget that he's turning 36 this summer. It doesn't feel like he should be as old as Duncan, but he was stashed in Argentina for a few years before finally breaking in with the Spurs. Of any of the so-called "Big 3" (I hate that phrase, it should be reserved solely for a coalition of world leaders that put differences aside, came together to fight mutual enemies, and changed the history of the world. Not three great to semi-decent basketball players on one team. That's really lazy to use that phrase for them and inappropriate given where it came from) for either team, I think Manu is the most likely candidate to be dumped, retire, or have his role sharply reduced. It's just time. There no reason he can't be a Big Shot Rob for the next couple of years giving you 17 minutes a game of change of pace offense and lightning in a bottle. But the days of Manu getting 25 minutes a game should be done.

Ray Allen - Best shooter of all time. Period. Sorry Reggie. This shouldn't mean that he's a top 40 or 50 player of all time, because he's not. It took him teaming up with two better players in Boston and three better players in Miami to barely win two titles. Ray Allen also was the epitome of what this generation's NBA is like: "I'll go anywhere for a title shot. Even if I already won one." Jumping from the Celtics to the Heat was a good move for Ray Allen's jewelry collection but it still rubs me the wrong way that a guy could jump to a rival, especially one that they almost beat in a grueling Eastern Conference Finals in 2012, but that's professional sports in the age of free agency. The rivalries are only for the fans now, not the players. But Ray Allen cemented the best shooter ever legacy with that ultra-clutch game-tying three in Game 6.

Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Gary Neal - Maybe it's unfair to lump Kawhi Leonard in with these two since he's a better, and more dynamic, player. But it's the new guard for the Spurs that provided electric moments for them in these Finals and may be poised to be even more effective in 2013-2014. By the end of the series, Kawhi was easily the second best player on the Spurs offering his best defense of LeBron (which was decent for the second-year player) and a new sense of confidence on offense. The Spurs remain in good hands.

Chris Andersen - All I can think about is whether he will decline the actual Finals ring and tattoo the ring on his finger. Every time I look at him I feel like his neck tattoos are strangling him. I will say this. He earned his ring. He worked hard in the ECF and the Finals to get some time on the floor and do his best to contribute.

Mike Miller/Shane Battier - Spoelstra nearly let Mike Miller's "Olé" defense beat him. I don't know how you can really find too much use for Mike Miller anymore. He gives up more points than he contributes.. Sure he's a better pure shooter than Battier, but Battier showed in Game 7 he's the better all around player. If Battier doesn't show up Game 7, the Spurs may have won. By all accounts, Battier is one of the nicest players around and a great diplomat for the sport, notwithstanding an interview he gave on Mike and Mike shortly after the Finals were over where he said he didn't join the others at the club but went to a secluded bar where he could just be himself and dance on the bar. I thought that was a great story.

Gregg Popovich - The Legend. Even without this win I seriously think he belongs on the Coaching Moutn Rushmore with Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach. Spoelstra gets credit for designing a small-ball offense that actually wins championships but the Spurs offense is simply beautiful to watch. Some will detract from him and say well he didn't have to go through a healthy Thunder team, but really, what he did in dismantling the Grizzlies who everyone thought was the best shot to beat Miami is more than enough to counter those claims that the Spurs didn't really earn it. I hate the Spurs, I hate Popovich, I hate Duncan, I hate Ginobili, I hate Parker, but I really respect them. The hate is probably boiled down to being division rivals and just pure jealousy of how the Spurs have conducted themselves as a franchise since Duncan and Popovich came on board.

Erik Spoelstra - This guy has the thankless job of coaching the best player in the world and the lack of respect that comes with it. If the Heat lose, it's his fault. If they win, it's LeBron's vicotry. I do give him that credit for coming out of the film room as a tech and designing a decent offense that focuses on the skills of his players (something D'Antoni should have learned by now). But really, everytime someone identifies keys to beating the Heat, it's limiting turnovers and keeping them out of transition. Their half-court offense is decent at best but often times bogs down horribly bad. I don't think he'll ever win coach of the year but it takes a lot to maintain control of a team with as many stars and perceived stars as there are on this roster.

The NBA Officials - No one talked about them once. That was the best officiated Finals I've ever seen or can ever remember. Good job refs for letting the players decide this one.

The NBA - I think we may have just watched the Swan Song for the Heat and the Spurs in their present forms as NBA Title contenders. I have a hard time believing the Heat can three-peat based on their lack of a killer instinct, Wade's aging knees, and just the sheer mileage put on their collective bodies going to 3 straight Finals. I think the Pacers (and possibly the Bulls) will finally get the Heat's number in the postseason. I also have a hard time believing a 38 year old Duncan and Company can lead the Spurs back after the gargantuan effort put forth to come up short. They will be professionals and they will still be a tough out but i think it's a tall task to ask that they get back. I think we may have just watched the best NBA Finals we are going to see in the next 10 years.

Where Do We Stand on LeBron James?

If you missed Part 1 find it here. We left off deciding that the 2013 Miami Heat, besides its incredible 27 game winning streak, just aren't among the league's elite. I love that Simmons picked up on it a week after I did: legacies. But the reality is this Miami team is just not dominant enough to be a top 10 all time even if they won Games 5 and 6. Well, they lost Game 5 in shocking fashion by getting lit up by the artist formerly known as Manu Ginobili, giving up 110 points and 60% shooting.  No top 10 team of all time gets blasted like that in Game 5 of the NBA Finals in a 2-2 series. It just doesn't happen.  That's not to take away from what Miami has done this year. They are in the Finals for the 3rd straight year, they won 66 games, and an amazing 27 games overall. But when we discuss GOATs you have to hold a team to an extraordinarily high standard. Miami didn't meet it this year.

So that leaves us with LeBron. We seemingly reassess this guy's legacy every time there is a big game. Weren't we just here in Game 7 of this year's Eastern Conference Finals? It's not fair for the guy since he is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time (Top 10 for sure) and one of the most versatile greatest players of all time since Magic Johnson. But, what LeBron has done is unique compared to the greats he is often judged against. It starts with his "Decision" and ends with the "Miami Heat Victory Party" before they even won a game. He marginalized himself. No one else is to blame.  He made his free agency decision a national spectacle and then contributed to the Count that will live in infamy Not 1, Not 2, Not 3, Not 4.... And really that's 90% of the reason he has to stand up and answer these legacy questions every time there is a pivotal game. The other 10%? Game 3 of the NBA Finals this year. No legend has such a loss of confidence and such a conspicuous no-show as LeBron had and did in Game 3. 7-21 for 15 points. Sure, LeBron does not need to score to have an impact, he did after all have 11 boards and 5 assists. But he had a whopping -32 while on the floor and just looked lost and confused out there. Then comes back, as he has in all the games this year when the Heat lost and threw down monster performances.

Can we really take LeBron seriously in GOAT conversations when he requires extrinsic motivation like having his back against the wall? Michael did it to murder his opponent's soul. Kobe does it in his ever relentless quest to get better. LeBron is simply gifted with so much overall talent he gets bored. We, as fans who judge who the best of our sports are, take it as an insult that a player with so many gifts gets bored with them and needs to pander to the lowest common denominator. Fans are used to seeing the best of the best operate with a cutthroat mentality and desire to not only win, but destroy.  LeBron seems content to waste NBA Finals games in order to give him the edge he needs to win the series. Fine, the goal is to win rings, but let's not pretend that LeBron has approached anything near the level of domination the way Jordan, Bird, Russell, Magic, and Kobe ever approached the game at its pinnacle. LeBron is simply Shaq in his prime. An unstoppable force when he wanted to be, aloof other times it suited him. And that is really where the career legacy of LeBron should start and stop. He plays the game liek Magic did, but not to the same level of excellence. He is physically imposing just like Shaq and that's where his dominance lies, in his physical attributes.

I have often questioned what LeBron's second career will look like. LeBron is finishing his 10th year where hes been to the playoffs 8 times and the Finals 4. But what will happen to LeBron in this second decade? Is he actually skilled enough to do what Duncan has done for 16 years? Be the same guy night in, night out for 16 years. Duncan's per 36 minute numbers are nearly identical every season. Does he have the drive enough to change his game and give himself longevity the way Kobe and Jordan did by evolving their talents? Or will he simply believe he can rely on his imposing physical talents the next 5 years? Shaq peaked in years 8-9, maintained a just past peak level in years 10-11 and then the wagon came apart in year 12 with a little renaissance in year 13 before he was never the same again. Was it a shock that he became marginalized after 13 years? It can't be. He was a physical brute who relied on his size alone. When his body started breaking down from the physical trauma he had nothing left to fall back on. This is why Kobe may still have a few years left even after a full achilles rupture. Kobe evolved his game to be a more deadly jump shooter the way Jordan did. I just cannot see LeBron putting in the same dedication Jordan and Kobe had in changing their games when he already lacks the level of desire that those two shared.

So this is why it's not entirely to early to start putting LeBron in a box. He has shown nothing to us to demonstrate that his second career will be like Birds or Jordans or Kobe's. He was given free reign to bomb jumpers on the Spurs in Game 3 and got scared. Why? Because they were too open, according to DWade? That's terrible. LeBron will go down as the most physically imposing and versatile wing player of all time. He'll go down as one of the greatest on the ball defenders of all time. But even winning this ring what he has shown us to date still can't compare with the greatest of the great players.

And that leads me to my last point. Watching these NBA Finals has signaled something to me that the talking heads haven't quite picked up on yet. We are watching throwback performances from DWade and Manu Ginobili without asking the question: Who is replacing these guys? Dirk, Duncan, Nash, Kobe, Manu, DWade, Garnett, Pierce, Allen, these are all HUGE names from the last decade of NBA basketball that will be out of the league or completely marginalized in 3-4 years. LeBron is exiting his peak. So is Chris Paul. Who are our greatest players of tomorrow? Kevin Durant? Russell Westbrook? Derrick Rose? Paul George? Marc Gasol? Kevin Love? Blake Griffin? Damian Lillard, who won rookie of the year? Anthony Davis?

I feel like the NBA was spoiled this last decade and we are going to enter an era where one team rules them all a la the 1990s Chicago Bulls. Look at that list of potential best in the leaguers. Outside of Durant or Rose there really isn't star power there and there really isn't game changing ability there unless you add in Westbrook.  The league is not in good hands going forward.  The best player in the league is exiting his prime and probably isn't anything better than top 6-7 player of all time in my opinion. Where is Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant going to rank? They are extremely young and judging them now is worse than judging LeBron but after them the jury is out on what the league has left. The influx of talent has been no better in recent years. In 2011, we got Kyrie Irving and that's it. Sure there were fine starters like Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard as well but that's it. We can't even judge Kyrie because he hasn't been able to play a full season in college or pro yet. In 2012, we got Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard. I don't think I watched even 12 minutes of them playing. Bradley Beal, Harrison Barnes, and Andre Drummond all stepped up as the season went on but none of them is even a burgeoning star in this league and they were the second tier of rookies we had. 2013 proves to be no better where a team is legitimately contemplating taking a guy with an ACL tear and no sophisticated offensive game with the #1 pick.

The burden is really on Durant and Rose to step up and take over this league the next couple of years. They are marketable, they are talented, and they are young. But Durant was laid bare this postseason as needing another All-NBA teamer in order to succeed and Rose has been blasted nationwide for his "rehab" and disappearance from the 2012-2013 season while the rest of his teammates fought valiantly to make it to the second round of the playoffs. I think in some small way David Stern knew this and timed his exit with that of the players who made this league what it is today.  When he hands it off to Adam Silver he will say look what I turned this league into, knowing full well the dearth of talent entering the NBA and leaving Silver to hold the bag when ratings decline the next half decade.

As a post script before we start Game 6, it is totally NBA like to make headlines with a referee when they have been so good staying out of the spotlight this series. What genius thought it was a good idea to stick Joey Crawford as referee for Game 6 of the NBA Finals with one of the teams being the Spurs? Crawford infamously tossed Tim Duncan for laughing on the bench against the Mavericks a few years ago and there is no question Crawford has it out for him. Why set yourself up like this, NBA? My heart says the Spurs win this in 6 notwithstanding the Miami crowd and Joey Crawford, but as the Heat have done all year they'll do enough to force a Game 7 after a brutal loss in Game 5 and, well, no team leading 3-2 in the NBA Finals has lost Game 6 on the road and then won Game 7 on the road. My head says the Heat win in 7.

Where Do We Stand on the Heat?

So, I'm sitting here watching Game 4 of the NBA Finals and realized, "Hey, I haven't blogged in forever."  So I have a confession to make. When I blogged it used to be on company time. If I had a couple of down hours I could whip one of these out between taking depositions and answering discovery.  Between a 7 month kid and a new job where I have very little down time and am in court all the time it's been tough. But, don't get me wrong I've wanted to be here a lot. I've had a lot to say too. So I'll continue to try to make it out here, but it just hasn't been easy.

Speaking of Game 4 of the NBA Finals, how about these finals? I think I love nothing better thus far than the crazy pendulum swing of opinions by the ESPN 24 hour talking head news cycle.  You would've thought they learned their lesson in the Indiana-Miami series where no one won a back to back game. Here's a piece of advice, ESPN Analyst Guy, momentum means jackshit between games. Unless a team is grossly outmatched (see: Miami v. Milwaukee) what happened in the preceding games does not carry over to the next game. Injuries aside, of course. The Spurs hitting 16 3 pointers will not carry over the the next game just like San Antonio turning the ball over 17 times and Tim Duncan looking every bit his 37 years of age didn't carry over.  I heard all yesterday and today the trouble Miami is in.  Asking ESPN "experts" on the Daily Dime what trouble Miami was in: "somewhat" or "major" not a single one of the 5 scoffed at the question and everyone one of them said Miami was in some kind of trouble.  That just a complete lack of comprehension about A) 7 game series, and B) The Miami Heat the last 3 years.  It should be no surprise to anyone paying attention that Miami is winning heading into the fourth quarter and that they have been generally playing better tonight.

You know when a team is actually "somewhat" in trouble in a 7 game series? When they are facing multiple elimination games.  That's when you can say a team is in trouble. The defending champs are not in any form of trouble when they are facing a 2-1 deficit in a 7 game series and haven't lost back to back games in months.  Especially when we are talking about the Heat. This team is one of the more enigmatic teams in league history.

Oh look, Miami won.

Their win tonight aside, Miami can't exactly be considered one of the more dominant teams in league history and if this series has proved anything its that LeBron isn't anything close to Michael Jordan. He may be the best player right now, but i still have a hard time believing I'll ever judge him greater than Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russell, or maybe even Tim Duncan, among others. More on LeBron, later. Remember when Miami ripped off that 27 game winning streak and we were talking about where this team would rank all time.  I wouldn't know where to put it without running through a brilliant survey of a top ten all time list provided by Bill Simmons (who else?). This comes straight from his Book of Basketball.  If you havent read it, and love the game of basketball, you have to get it. Easiest 700 page read ever. Before we get there, some key stats from this Miami Heat team giving them the benefit of the doubt by giving them the title and wins in Game 5 and Game 6 (which I don't believe will happen)

66-16 regular season, 16-6 playoffs, 37-4 at home, +7.9 regular season scoring difference, 7.4 playoffs (through game 4 of the Finals), 1st in regular season FG% by 1.5%, tied for first in points per possession, and generally rank in the top 10 in just about every team stat kept by ESPN for the regular season. Now onto the elite 10 according to Simmons, top to bottom:

1. '86 Celtics (shocker Simmons grades his hometown Celtics the best team ever). Some cherry-picked stats from that team: 67-15 regular season, 15-3 playoff record. A ridiculous 40-1 at home. Winning streaks of 14 and 13. +9.4 scoring difference regular season, +10.6 in the playoffs. Won title in 6. Swept Jordan's Bulls when he went for 49 in Game 1 and 63 in Game 2, nearly swept the Hawks with Dominque Wilins the MVP runner-up at the helm, swept a 57-win Milwaukee Bucks team in the finals.

This team had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, the legendary Bill Walton, and Danny Ainge among others. From just a talent level this team is more complete than this year's Heat. And look, I will be the first to tell you cross generational comparisons are tough.  The league was much more physical and interior oriented in the 80s and 90s, whereas in the 10s you need a stud point guard and as many three point shooters as you can cram onto the court without your defense suffering. But we've seen old-school teams succeed in this era like the Bulls and the Pacers and the Grizzlies so the comparisons still aren't too tough. I don't think he need to go any further, Miami just isn't the best team of all time. Not after that 7 game series against Indiana.

2. '96 Bulls (come on Simmons, you were reaching when you belittled the 72 wins). 72-10 (best all time) regular season record, 39-2 at home, 12.3 regular season scoring difference, 1st in PPG regular season, 2 in PPG allowed regular season, only 2 double digit losses (fewest ever), 15-3 playoffs, 10-0 at home, 10.6 scoring difference in playoffs.

I understand the diluted league argument with Vancouver and Toronto joining the league that year, but come on, the fact that Jordan and Pippen were well past their prime and that's when they won 72? You know what a 33 year old Dwyane Wade and a 30 year old LeBron would do in this league? 60. At best. It still takes talent, chemistry, and a little luck to win 72 when your best players are all in their 30s. But mostly it takes talent and grit. The NBA suffers now what the NBA suffered in 1996: a diluted league. 8 teams finished under 30 wins this year. We could contract Orlando, Sacramento (sorry, hometowners), Charlotte, and Toronto and it still probably wouldn't be enough to make the league as competitive as MLB or the NFL. despite playing in a diluted league, with the best player in the universe in his prime, in a conference where the 8th seed was 6 games below .500, and boasting a 27 game winning streak, Miami missed it by 6 games. Diluted league or not 72 wins plus  the fact they were defending their 5th title in 7 years is very impressive.  This Miami team with its collective lack of focus couldn't hold a candle to what these past their prime Bulls did in 1996.

3. '87 Lakers. 65-17, 37-4 at home, +9.3 regular season, 15-3 playoffs, +11.4 playoffs.

This team had Magic, Kareem, and James Worthy, three of the best Lakers ever, which is saying a lot considering they also have had Kobe,Shaq, Elgin, and The Logo. I think the important fact dropped by Simmons from this team is this: They mastered the art of juggling transition and half-court offense..." That's something Miami wishes they could say.  They got better this year in the half court with their expanding roster of 3 point shooters, but when they play anybody good their half-court offense is mediocre at best. It's been that way since the beginning in 2011. Compare versus the Spurs and Pacers who thrive in half-court offense. Sure transition comes easy against bad teams, but against good careful teams, transition is harder to come by making set offenses and traditional basketball more important. Miami just doesn't have it. Also something interesting you see from these previous three teams: 15-3 playoffs.  Miami will never do something like that. Either a lack of focus or lack of talent causes them to struggle. I think its a little of both, but it has to be an indictment that when things get tough come playoff time they go into a shell. They are good enough to win because they have the best player in the world on the floor, but as a team they just aren't as dominant in the playoffs because their overall talent level doesn't compare to these deeper and more legendary teams.

4. '89 Pistons. 63-19, 37-4 at home. +5.8 scoring difference regular season, 15-2 playoffs, +9.5 scoring difference playoffs.

This was the break through team for Isiah and a very deep team with Dumars, Rodman, Laimbeer, and Vinnie Johnson.  This was actually one of the first basketball teams I remember because they lost the '88 Finals to the Lakers in 7 the year the Mavericks took that same Lakers team to 7 in the Western Conference Finals, which was also my first live basketball experience. Again another versatile transition/half-court offense team with one of the hardest-nosed defenses in league history. You just wanted to shank Laimbeer every time you looked at him. You know how LeBron gets frustrated by physical play? He wouldn't have survived a series against the Bad Boy Pistons. Neither would Wade. They claim exhaustion in Game 1 of the NBA Finals this year? By Game 4 of any series with this Pistons team they'd cry Uncle. Moving on.

5. '01 Lakers. 56-26, +3.4 scoring difference regular season, 15-1 playoffs, +12.8 scoring difference playoffs, only loss in OT in NBA Finals, Game 1

This really could have been higher on this list if they didn't go through the motions in the regular season. But when the chips were down in the playoffs, holy shit this team was unstoppable. You've never seen an inside out combo like 2001 Kobe and Shaq. Some fun combined playoff stats when they actually brought it:

59.8 PPG, 22.7 RPG, 9.3 APG. That's damn near a 30-11-5 player. Twice. Good God. If they weren't at each other's throats and Kobe wasn't a little shithead back then a in his prime Shaq and in his prime Kobe could have dominated for YEARS. We wouldn't even be talking about a Spurs semi-dynasty with them going for their 5th title in 14 years. We'd be talking about how Kobe has 8 rings. Woulda coulda shoulda. But if you think this Heat team was doing anything to stop Shaq, you're full of it.

6. '97 Bulls. 69-13. 39-2 at home, +10.8 scoring difference regular season, 15-4 playoffs, +5.5 playoffs.

I'm going to spend very little time here. Basically Jordan and Pippen were a year older from that '96 team. They still won the 3rd most games ever in the regular season and they added a still good Rodman to a bunch of quality role players. Jordan has the killer instinct alone that the entire Heat team lacks. Even at 34 I'd take him over 28 year old LeBron James to lead my team to a title.

I'm going to skip past 7-9. It's the '71 Bucks, '83 76ers, and '72 Lakers. Just a very very different era and one I know far less about. I will say it involved an in prime Kareem, a better than Dwyane Wade Oscar Robertson, Moses Malone, Doctor J, The Logo, Wilt Chamberlain, and Gail Goodrich. All incredible players and that '72 Lakers team did win 33 in a row. I'm not ready to put this Heat team there.

10. '91 Bulls. 61-21, 35-6, +9.0 regular season, 15-2 playoffs, +11.7 playoffs, best Fg% and 2nd FG% defense in the playoffs.

Michael's breakthrough year. Swept the back to back champs and killed the Bad Boy Pistons, beat the Showtime Lakers in 5 in the NBA Finals and ended that story too. Only losses were Game 1 of the NBA Finals and Game 3 against Sir Charles and the Sixers. Otherwise we had the arrival of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson. This was a huge turning point in NBA history. We would watch the greatest 8 year stretch of any team since the Celtics of the 60s. I'm not convinced Miami would beat this team.

Something else you notice looking through that list: only the '96 Bulls saw their scoring difference drop in the playoffs and it was still double digits. The Heat's +7 differential is quality but you just do not see them turn it on in the playoffs the way these great teams did. Even if the Heat win the next two games, I just struggle a way to put this team in the Top 10 Hall of Fame. The streak was great and certainly will be remembered throughout history, but the legendary status of this team was lost in these last two playoff series and in the collective nonchalant way this team conducts itself. I would likely take all 10 of those teams above this particular Heat team.

This isn't to say this was not a great season and a very good team.  Because they are. Anytime they are counted out, or the vultures are circling they come alive. Just as they did tonight.  They show the heart of a champion, but so have so many other teams in the NBA. It's not enough to show the heart of a champion to be considered among the all-time greats, but you have to rip out the heart of your opponent too. Miami just doesn't have that killer instinct in them. It's beyond them.  They have to play bad to self-motivate to play well.  Greatest teams of all time don't do that.

Part 2 with a way too early look at LeBron's legacy coming soon!