How Good Were The Miami Heat Big 3 Actually

The 2011 Miami Heat were the most hated team in NBA history. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh went viral with every lob dunk and changed free agency forever. But even after the Heat won two championships, some people still think LeBron's era with Miami was unsuccessful and that they could have done more. Could that really be true? The decision earned several million dollars for charity, but it was treated like the biggest scandal in NBA history. The entire state of Ohio turned into a giant bonfire of LeBron jerseys, and James transformed from a superhero into a villain. However, the decision wasn't the worst PR stunt LeBron James pulled that offseason. It happened 24 hours after the decision, when James, Wade, and Bosh landed in Miami and delivered one of the most cringe press conferences in sports history. After claiming to win seven titles before ever even playing a game, LeBron James and the Heat put a target on their back. And when the season started, LeBron realized that he might have jumped the gun. On paper, Miami was the strongest team in the league. They had three 20-point scoring All-Stars in their prime, which was unheard of at the time. But in reality, the Heat gave up a lot of depth to sign James, Wade, and Bosh, and apart from their Big Three, they had a pretty mediocre squad. On top of that, the skill sets of their superstars overlapped, especially for James and Wade, who were both ball-dominant and strong at driving to the basket without a reliable three-point shot. Even though they were great friends off the court, the Big Three didn't have great chemistry on the court. Miami's half-court offense was clunky and hesitant. It was a hot potato basketball, with your-turn-my-turn isolations between LeBron and D. Wade, while Bosh struggled even more. But an even bigger problem happens, and it's that the Big Three didn't trust their head coach. The Heat started the season with nine wins and eight losses, after which LeBron famously body-checked coach Eric Spolstra during a timeout. Spolstra was a young coach without any playing experience, and he hadn't yet earned LeBron's respect. Their relationship was so bad that James asked team president Pat Riley to fire Spolstra and come coach the team himself. But Riley refused, firmly believing in Spolstra, and it proved to be the right choice. Miami won the next two games, and then came probably the most emotional moment of LeBron's career thus far. It was December 2nd, and the Heat played an away game in Cleveland. Never before have we seen such hate for somebody that was so loved just six months ago. As soon as LeBron entered the court, the crowd booed, and there was trash talk every time James had the ball. But, despite all the negativity, the King couldn't be bothered. The Heat dominated the game, winning by 28 points, behind a masterful performance from James, who finished with 38 points and 8 assists. The victory rejuvenated Miami's season. It was the third win in a streak that eventually reached 12 games. Miami's athleticism on defense was something most teams couldn't deal with, which gave the Heat a ton of easy and memorable points in transition. The Heat finished the season with In the playoffs, Miami looked and played the part of the favorites. First, they dealt with the 76ers in five games. Then came LeBron's nemesis, and the biggest Achilles heel of his career up to that point, the Boston Celtics. Boston defeated LeBron in two of his last three playoff exits with the Cavs, and we figured they would be a tough mountain to climb for James and the Heat. But that simply wasn't the case, because this time, LeBron had Wade by his side. Wade averaged 30 points in the series to LeBron's 28, and Miami breezed by Boston in five games. However, in the conference finals against the first-seeded Chicago Bulls and the league MVP Derrick Rose, Miami got punched in the mouth. The Bulls had beaten them by 21 points in game one, and nothing had seemed to work for the Heat. In game two, Spolstra made the adjustment for LeBron to guard Derrick Rose for the majority of the time. Rose was the fastest and most athletic point guard in the league, but LeBron matched his speed and athleticism, and raised him by 6 inches and 60 pounds. For the rest of the series, Rose struggled mightily, shooting just 32 percent from the field and 20 percent for three. And after neutralizing the head of the snake, the Heat never looked back, and they easily won the next four games. LeBron had finally made it to the NBA Finals. Everything seemed to go according to his not one, not two, not three press conference at the beginning of the year. It seemed inevitable that Miami would be crowned champions, especially after taking a 2-1 lead in the series against the and holding a double-digit lead late in game four. But Dirk Nowitzki had other plans. LeBron German was hitting one tough shot after another, and managed to single-handedly win the game and tie the series. Still, the Heat were considered favorites, because they had LeBron, who was widely considered the best player in the world. But LeBron wasn't the best player in that series. He wasn't even in the top three. Dallas' zone bothered James. Tyson Chandler ruled in the paint, and LeBron's driving lanes were closed. He then completely lost confidence in his jumpshot, which resulted in the most passive basketball we've ever seen him play. In game four, James finished with zero points in the fourth quarter, with only one shot attempt. And in game five, he scored just two points in the fourth, where the Heat lost again. In game six, with his back against the wall, King James failed to deliver once again, and the Mavs deservedly Apart from his jumper going MIA, we also witnessed how uncomfortable LeBron was playing with his back to the basket, most notably when he unsuccessfully tried to post up a 5-foot-10 J.J. Barea. The King's legacy took a devastating blow, and the Mavericks pulled one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history. But from a 2022 perspective, Dallas' victory shouldn't have been all that surprising. On their way to the Finals, the Mavs swept the defending champions Kobe Bryant and his L.A. Lakers. In the Conference Finals, they defeated Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden in OKC. And even though their team lacked star power after Nowitzki, they still had a Hall of Fame point guard in Jason Kidd, who made all the right decisions and hit clutch shots. They had Tyson Chandler, who was the second-best defensive center in the NBA at the time, behind only Dwight Howard. And most importantly, the Mavs had a lot of three-point shooters, while Miami did not. So it's easy to see why the Heat lost that series. After the Finals, LeBron realized he needed to work on his game, and he called Hakeem Olajuwon to teach him some of his famous post moves. LeBron worked on his game day and night, but he wasn't the only one busting his ass to improve Miami's offense. Eric Spoelstra is one of the hardest-working coaches in NBA history, and he spent an entire summer trying to perfect Miami's half-court offense. Spo introduced a spread offense he saw in football to give James the freedom to operate one-on-one, with shooters to spread the floor. Bosh was moved to the center position, and Wade accepted the role of a second option. It's common in today's NBA to play small ball without a traditional center, and with five players who can shoot and dribble. But in 2012, this was revolutionary, even though Mike D'Antoni was the first coach to implement this system. The Heat finished the 2012 regular season as the second seed, with LeBron as the league MVP. Miami dismantled the New York Knicks in the first round, but the first game of the second round was believed to be a disaster. Chris Bosh got injured, and was expected to miss the next three weeks. After he went down, Indiana won the next two games, and it seemed like Miami could flunk out even sooner than they did last year. But LeBron and D-Wade were like two hungry lions, fighting for their lives against a pack of hyenas. In Game 4, the two stars combined for 70 points, and they absolutely trashed Indiana for the rest of the way, winning every game of the series. Bosh's injury proved to be a blessing in disguise, because without him in the lineup, the Heat fully embraced the small-ball lineups. When Bosh returned from injury, he was exclusively playing the center position, which opened a ton of space for LeBron and Wade. However, the conference finals against the feisty Celtics proved to be the most dramatic series of them all. Miami took a 2-0 lead, but Boston showed incredible resiliency, always edging out Miami in the clutch, winning the next three games. Before Game 6 in Boston, LeBron and Miami stared into the abyss of another playoff loss, and another bitter pill to swallow. But the King wasn't going to let that happen. LeBron played like a man possessed, scoring 30 points in the first half, on 12 of 14 shooting. In the second half, as soon as the Celtics made some kind of a run, LeBron was there to bail the Heat out. James' haters hoped to see another painful playoff exit, but they saw a complete obliteration of the Celtics, with four future Hall of Famers. The King finished with 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists on 73% shooting. If the game wasn't a blowout, and he played the entire fourth quarter, LeBron would have probably finished with 50 points and 20 rebounds. In Game 7, LeBron had a 30-point triple-double, and the Heat finished off the Celtics, making another NBA Finals. Against OKC, the series once again started off on the wrong foot, as Kevin Durant convincingly won Game 1 for the Thunder. But for the rest of the series, LeBron and the Heat proved that they were the best team of the season. Miami won the next four games, and James was finally a champion, and the Finals MVP. We saw some laughter and some tears on LeBron's face, but most of all, we saw a big sigh of relief, as he'd finally captured the only trophy he's been missing his whole career. In 2013, the Heat doubled down on shooting and small ball, adding Richard Lewis and Ray Allen. Miami was now the well-oiled machine, and we could see how their newfound chemistry impacted the game. In the third year of LeBron, Wade, and Bosh, we saw a complete understanding of players' roles, and spots where they operate on the floor. The Heat did everything at full speed, a gear teams only reach when greatness meets confidence and familiarity. Miami found the right mix of shooting and defense around the three stars, and their season was a blur of touch passes, lob dunks, and open threes. Miami topped the league in points per possession, and made one of the biggest year-to-year leaps in scoring efficiency, with a 56% increase in made threes from the year before. On February 1st, the Heat lost to the Pacers 102-89, but they didn't lose again until March 27th, a run of 27 straight victories that ranks as the second longest in NBA history. Miami finished that season with 66 wins, LeBron won his fourth MVP title, and this Heat squad has to be considered one of the best regular season teams of all time. The Heat then blitzed through the first two rounds of the playoffs, and had lost just three out of 48 games entering the conference finals against Indiana. But, the Pacers proved to be one tough nut to crack. It looked like the Heat would lose game one, until LeBron made a game-winning layup at the buzzer. But the Pacers bounced back, and after six games, the series was tied. However, in Game 7, the Pacers' shooting finally gave out, and Miami finally prevailed behind LeBron's 32 points. In the finals against the Spurs, the Heat ran into the team that had just as much talent as they did. Tim Duncan was still Tim Duncan. Parker was one of two best NBA point guards at the time, Manu was still genius as a sixth man, and they also had the emerging Kawhi Leonard, who was the best perimeter defender LeBron ever faced. It didn't look good for the Heat. Down 3-2 in the series, Miami was trailing by five, with 28 seconds remaining. But after a made three from LeBron, and missed free throw from Kawhi, the Heat had a chance to tie the game. And what happened next was one of the most exhilarating sequences in NBA history. Miami won the game in overtime, forced Game 7, which was another spectacularly close game. But, LeBron once again proved his clutch gene, hitting a tie-clinching shot over Kawhi Leonard and proving that the 2011 Finals was a fluke. It was harder than expected, but Miami won back-to-back titles, and LeBron's not-one, not-two, not-three prophecy didn't seem so far-fetched. In 2014, the Heat continued with the same small-ball strategy, but D-Wade had clearly lost half a step due to knee injuries. Wade just wasn't the same player from 2011. But LeBron was just too good, and the Heat were too familiar with each other to not be good. Even though they won 12 games less than the year before, Miami was clearly playing in the fourth gear, just waiting for the playoffs. Nobody in the East offered much threat to Miami, and Lance Stevenson even resorted to blowing into LeBron's ear to try and distract him, because nothing else really worked. Then the 2014 Finals arrived, and offered a rematch between Miami and San Antonio. The whole world wondered if the Heat could be the first team to three-peat since Shaq and Kobe in the early 2000s. Game 1 of the 2014 Finals was very strange. Because there was no air conditioning in the arena, the temperature was insanely high, which gave LeBron cramps. James was forced to sit out the fourth quarter, and Miami lost the game. But James bounced back in Game 2 with 35 points and pushed the Heat to victory, and everybody expected another seven-game series. However, that proved to be the furthest thing from the truth. The Spurs were a brilliant offensive team, and they had shocking success scoring against Miami's trapping defense. Coach Pop figured out how to use the Heat's aggression against them, and the Spurs baited the Heat into trapping, and then passed around those traps. Because the ball can travel faster than a man can run, the Heat's rotation would routinely crack and leave the Spurs wide open. LeBron played the most efficient series of his life in the Finals, but Wade Bosch and the rest of his teammates were completely shut down. The Spurs blew them out in the next three games, deservingly winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy. After four years, LeBron realized that his best friend Dwayne Wade is past his prime, and that most of Miami's players were veterans closer to retirement than winning another title. So in 2014, when his contract expired, LeBron chose to come home to Cleveland, effectively ending the Heatles era. In 2010, when LeBron showed up in Miami, we thought he was going to stay there forever, or at least way longer than those four seasons. But to be fair, James made the right choice to come to Miami, because Cleveland wasn't any good. And he also made the right choice to come back, because Miami stopped being great. In four years, Miami went to four NBA Finals, and won two of them. LeBron's decision gave birth to a new era of NBA free agency, where players control all the strengths, and decide among themselves where they're going to play. Despite his arrival to the Heat being cringe, and even though he didn't win as many championships as promised, it's hard to say that LeBron's Heat era was a failure. In 2011, the Big Three wasn't mature enough, and didn't have a great supporting cast to win the title. And in 2014, they got too old. Miami lost the Finals against an extremely underrated Dallas team, and then the Spurs who were one of the best teams ever, with four future Hall of Famers, and a bunch of great role players. Even though some people might dispute that the Heat was a dynasty, their run was certainly special. It changed basketball forever, and it produced some of the most legendary moments in NBA history.