The NBA: Can the Heat Three-Peat?

Will South Florida celebrate a 3rd straight victory rally next year?

The Miami Heat just finished a successful defense of their Larry O'Brien trophy. They have now won back-to-back NBA titles which elevates them to a special group. So, can they do better? YES! A rarer, more elite company awaits them if they can win their 3rd straight trophy in the 2013-14 season. Only Bill Russell's Celtics, Michael Jordan's Bulls and the Kobe-Shaq Lakers are in this exclusive group.

For Miami to achieve their three-peat goal, a few factors need to work in their favor for next season.

1. Motivation
LeBron James said that winning their second straight title was much harder than the first one. Winning a third straight will be harder than the first two combined. The rest of the league will make sure that they give maximum effort and deliver their best games when they play the Heat. A bigger target will be reserved for the two-time champions. Miami needs to be focused and motivated for the regular season to assure themselves of home-court advantage which served them well in their two Game 7 wins in the past playoffs. They also need to be continually hungry to become better players. It's very possible that Miami relaxes and coasts through the regular season because of their previous success. That cockiness and possibly lack of effort could certainly derail their chances of winning a 3rd straight title.

2. Health
Miami has been fortunate in the last 2 years that the Heat 3 and their major role players have all avoided serious or nagging injuries that could have prevented them from playing. In their first year together (2011), Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller were both out a significant amount of time due to injuries but Miami still made it to the Finals. Dwyane Wade was bothered by knee problems again last season but he was still healthy enough to play most of their regular season games. He played poorly during the first 3 rounds but Wade played better in the Finals. D-Wade only missed 1 game in the playoffs while no other rotational players missed any games due to injuries. Miami also has capable role players to ease the minutes from Wade (Allen, Battier, Jones). The most important thing is to keep LeBron James healthy and to a lesser degree, Chris Bosh who is still their most important player when playing small ball.
 
3. Luck
Winning a championship takes a lot of hard work, preparation and dedication. It also needs a bit of luck. The Heat won in Game 6 and Game 7 of the Finals with some help coming from the Spurs who missed shots and fumbled possessions while Lady Luck was also on Miami's side. A made FT here or a better substitution by Coach Pop (Example: Duncan in to get a rebound from a missed three) could have given the Spurs their 5th title. The Heat also benefitted from unlucky breaks coming from other contenders. If the Pacers had Danny Granger, maybe they beat the Heat. The Bulls did not have Derrick Rose while the Thunder got eliminated early due to Westbrook's injury. If the Lakers were healthy, maybe they might have challenged the Heat.

4. Role Players
Miami needed to have most of their core players back for 2013-14 to have a chance at a 3-Peat. The Heat 3 are all under contract for at least one more year so the focus is on the supporting players. They achieved that by retaining Ray Allen, Chris Andersen and Mario Chalmers while Rashard Lewis and James Jones who don't play as much will also be coming back. Still, they lost Mike Miller via amnesty who was a key contributor during the Finals of 2012 and 2013. Miller helped Miami win back-to-back titles but he played sparingly in his 3 seasons with them. He was often injured or limited which allowed the Heat to decide that he was expendable. Truth be told, Miami could afford to let Miller go because they have Allen, Lewis, Cole and Jones to fill the gap. If Miller was more productive, maybe Miami bites the bullet and keeps him. The signing of Greg Oden was a low risk and high reward scenario that could work wonders for the Heat. Miami wont need a lot from him until the playoffs come along.

5. Personal Growth
Each and everyone on the Heat need to become better players for the upcoming season. LeBron, Wade and Bosh all shot career-highs in shooting efficiency and productivity but Miami barely escaped with the title. They had a 27-game win streak but the playoffs was not an easy route. They could have lost in the Eastern Finals and they were never ahead in the Finals until the Game 7 victory. Miami cannot rely on the status quo because every team around them got better. LeBron needs to keep working on his post game, Wade needs to finally improve his perimeter game with his athleticism diminishing while Bosh needs to work on his interior defense and rebounding. The Heat coaching staff must also expand and tweak their game plans and strategies. Other teams already have a blueprint on how to beat the Heat and it is up to Coach Spo to make adjustments and bring something new to the table.

6. The Field
Most of the other teams got better during the summer. The list of contenders has grown (Nets, Rockets, Bulls) while the elite from last season improved and matured (Clippers, Spurs, Pacers, Grizzlies, Warriors, Thunder). Even a handful of non-playoff teams made major strides in making the postseason next year (Pelicans, Blazers, Wizards, Cavaliers). On paper, Miami appears to have a harder and tougher road to a 3rd straight title. Injured stars are projected to come back stronger and hungrier while the Miami core is a year older. The Heat needs favorable match-ups in the playoffs to help them reach the top again while the rest of the elite in the Western Conference must beat each other up.

Prediction: It is very early and definitely not a guarantee, but Miami seems poised to get a 3rd straight title.

The 2013 NBA Finals: Re-HEAT

Shane Battier played his best game of the season in Game 7.
He had 18 points on 6-8 from downtown.
(Image from: ESPN.com)

#Game7 #back2back #champs
It was not as good as Game 6 but the last game of the season came very close to matching the previous game. Miami had the lead in the 4th quarter but they could not pull away from San Antonio. The Spurs always had an answer for every big play by the Heat. The biggest lead was 7 points and it could have gone either way. A lucky bounce here, a clutch jumper there and an unlikely missed shot decided the champion of 2013. All the players played to exhaustion and The Miami Heat earned every bit of their trophy after an epic and competitive series versus the San Antonio Spurs. The two heavyweights punched back and forth with neither team going down for the count. The game was very close for 47+ minutes and the Spurs were right there until Duncan missed a "bunny", then LBJ nailed a jumper which he was doing all-night long. The Heat escaped with a win and now they are on top of the basketball world with their 2nd straight title. Miami was the best team in the regular season and they had the best player in the NBA. Nothing was easy in the Finals. This was one of the best Finals Ive seen and Im already looking forward to next season. Im crossing my fingers that Miami and San Antonio have NOT seen the last of each other.

#jumpers #mvp #flash #shane
LeBron James made jumper after jumper to finish with 37 points, a finals high for him. He snagged his 2nd Finals MVP trophy after he made 5 threes and 9 jumpers in total. The Spurs kept giving LBJ space to shoot instead of him attacking the paint. That was a good strategy for the Spurs since James struggled shooting in the first 6 games of the finals. But for the past season, LBJ was among the best and most efficient shooters in the NBA. His jumper felt good in the most important game of the season and even Dwyane Wade had enough in him to deliver an adequate supporting role. Wade was active defensively (10 boards, 2 blocks) and his jumpers were falling during isolation plays. Kudos to Shane Battier who played his best game as a Heat with 18 points on 6 threes. Battier was on a shooting slump prior to Game 6 and was not playing much. In the last 2 games, he shot 9-12 from downtown. Miami needed all the points they could harness from Battier and Chalmers (14 points). Only 5 players scored for Miami since Mike Miller, Ray Allen and Chris Bosh combined for ZERO points but all of that will be forgotten thanks to the brilliance of LeBron James.

#class #respect #gospursgo 
The Spurs deserve a lot of praise and credit for their performance this season. Many (including myself) did not expect them to reach the Finals as we opted to select the OKC Thunder or LA Lakers to represent the West. The Spurs exemplified team ball and unselfishness as they marched their way to the Finals with only 2 losses. The Spurs almost became champs in Game 6. They faltered in that game but they recovered and battled hard in Game 7. Ultimately, they could not stop LeBron James, so they fell short to the best player in the game. After the buzzer, the Spurs congratulated and hugged the champs. San Antone oozed class and respect from their players to their coaching staff. This series displayed the shooting talents of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard's superb play on both sides of the floor. Kawhi had 5 double-doubles while primarily defending James. Tim Duncan delivered vintage performances in the last 2 games but Tony Parker was clearly limited by injury while Manu Ginobili was erratic. Manu had a better performance in this game than Game 6 but he committed 3 turnovers in the 4th including a crucial one in the last seconds with the Spurs down by 4. If this was the last hurrah of the Spurs Big 3, they went out with dignity and class. I truly applaud that.

#nextseason #3-peat? #basketballneverstops
Winning their second straight title was tougher and harder than the first one. For the Heat to compete and win their 3rd straight, a lot more will be required of them. Other teams in the East will be better, hungrier and stronger. The Bulls will have a refreshed Derrick Rose while the Pacers will get Danny Granger back (or he could be traded for someone who can contribute instantly). The Knicks and Nets will be competitive while the Sixers could have Andrew Bynum ready, if he stays with them. Miami will have most of their players back and they need to retain Chris Anderson. Meanwhile, Ray Allen has a player option for next year and hopefully he will exercise that to remain with Miami. The Heat might use their amnesty clause on Mike Miller, James Jones or Joel Anthony to search for another big man who can battle the likes of Roy Hibbert. As for the Spurs, Ginobili will be a free agent or he might retire. If Manu does leave, the Spurs have adequate players (Green & Leonard) who can fill the void. Tim Duncan has already expressed his desire to play out his contract and that means Coach Pop will be back as well. Overall, this was a great and exciting NBA season and the finals proved to be an epic way of ending the 2012-2013 season. Basketball never stops and our focus will be on the NBA Draft and the upcoming free agent season starting on July.  

#Player of the Night
LeBron James (Heat) - 37 points (finals high), 12 rebounds, 4 assists and  5 threes

#Highlight of the Night
Top Plays of the Finals

#Tweets of the Nights

Steve Kerr ‏@SteveKerrTNT

LeBron's defensive range is incomparable. David West one series, Tony Parker the next. The man is a machine.

Phil Jackson ‏@PhilJackson11

Good game-good game. Congrats to the Heat they won it on a great effort by LJ in both games 6 and 7. Spurs gave a great team effort.

Dwight Howard ‏@DwightHoward

Congrats to the 2x champion Heat and Spurs for a great NBA Finals. Great series, worthy champions.

enzo flojo ‏@hoopnut

My students were saddened by how the #NBAFinals ended. At least I know they can still tell who the good guys are. #HeatWon #OfCourseItSucks

The NBA: Examining the Heat Streak

(Image from: NBA.com)

We know that the Miami Heat lost recently to the Chicago Bulls after winning 27 straight games in a span of 52 days. That defeat prevented the Heat from eclipsing the 33-game record of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Still, the Heat ended with the 2nd best winning streak in all of professional sports. The Heat was tied with the NY Knicks before the streak started and now they have the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference (and best record in the NBA) all wrapped up with an 11-game lead over the 2nd spot.

How did the Heat win 27 straight this season? Here are some reasons...

1. LeBron James
The best player in the world started to separate himself from Kevin Durant as this year's runaway MVP by the start of the Heat Streak. LBJ received 3 Eastern Player of the Week awards and the February Player of the Month award (March will be his too) during the streak. James also had 2 triple-doubles and a handful of double-doubles (13) while averaging about 27 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists on 57% shooting during the streak.

2. Dwyane Wade
D-Wade was in fine form during the Heat Streak as he established himself as a top 5 player once again who can impact both sides of the court. Wade appears to have recovered nicely from his off-season surgery as he averaged about 22 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 steals on 53% shooting during the streak. Wade even got one Player of the Week award, his first since 2011. His efficiency allowed Wade to climb as high as #4 in PER and his improved defense landed him 6th in steals per game.

3. Supporting Cast
Chris Bosh is the only Heat player whose stats and contribution went down during the streak. Others like Ray Allen had a couple of 20-pt games and key treys during crunch-time  Shane Battier made his fair share of  clutch threes while taking charges and playing good defense. Mario Chalmers also had a couple of 20-pt games and averaged only 1.5 turnovers during the streak. Chris "Birdman" Andersen was their best bigman off the bench and the Heat has gone 29-2 with him in the lineup.

4. Health
The Heat was relatively healthy and injury-free during the duration of the Heat Streak. Miami has been fortunate enough to avoid major injuries throughout the whole season. During the streak, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh only missed 2 games. Meanwhile, Shane Battier and Ray Allen missed 1 game each. The most important stat: LeBron James missed ZERO games during the streak.

5. Luck
All winning streaks that go this long have luck involved with it. Miami was lucky enough to face teams without key players. Some examples are: they played the Celtics without Rondo and Garnett, they beat the Cavaliers without Kyrie and Waiters and they defeated the Magic without Afflalo and Vucevic. The Heat also got lucky playing inferior teams more than once during the streak like the Sixers (3x), Cavs (2x), Bobcats (2x) and Magic (2x).

6. Chemistry
This is the 3rd year together for their core players. Chemistry and confidence with each other have been established. This Heat team loves playing together and the numbers and minutes dont matter. The 2 best players are both unselfish and are willing to pass. James and Wade will defer to role players who have a better open shot. The Heat had only 1 game during the streak where they had less than 20 assists. Have you seen their Harlem Shake? Will you agree that doing a video like that shows great team chemistry?

7. Clutch
The Heat has been dominant during the 4th quarters of their streak. They turn up the effort and intensity during crunch time which have propelled them to multiple comeback wins when behind in the 4th. Other times, a close game becomes a rout like when they blitzed the Hawks by 20 points in the 4th or when they uncorked a 28-4 run vs the Raptors after being tied. The Heat has outscored their opponents by a staggering 150 points (more or less) in the last period alone.

8. Defense
Their defense was mediocre to average before the streak started, around top 15. Now, they sit at #7 in team defense and the Heat only allowed 6 of their 27 opponents to score over 100 points. They're now #3 in steals which typically translates into highlight plays for them like THIS. They also got around 5 blocks a game for a team without a true center or a shot-blocking big man. Lastly, they forced 2 more turnovers than they commit.

9. Effort
The Heat is a talented team and the defending champions so we know what they are capable of when engaged and motivated. At the same time, the Heat relaxes/coasts when their oppponent is a weaker team. That's just human nature and the Heat is known for that. The streak gave them something to play for every night so the effort was there most of the time. You could see it during their comebacks after being down by double digits (Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Pistons). Their defense was tenacious and they attacked the paint at will.

10. Coaching
The players will get most of the credit for the Heat Streak but Coach Spo and his coaching staff deserve a lot of praises too. Spo made sure that the Heat came in focused and prepared every game. The Heat was pretty good coming out of timeouts when executing a set play. Coach Spo also kept them humble and loose with the intent of "playing better" each game instead of targeting the streak. One more thing, the Heat often cancelled practice or shootarounds after wins. That could have allowed the players to rest more and avoid injuries plus it could have been extra motivation to go for wins to have more practices cancelled.

Overall, the Heat Streak was a historic event that I was very happy to see and follow. I did not think that they could actually beat the 33 wins by the Lakers (expected the Heat to lose in San Antonio) but 27 straight and 2nd best in the history books aint that bad at all. Here are some HIGHLIGHTS during their run.

Ultimately, their winning streak will only become a footnote if they dont win in June. The Heat knows that and their main goal is to become champions again and if they achieve that, then the Heat Streak will look even more impressive.