June 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (left) , power forward Chris Bosh (center) and small forward LeBron James (right) speak to the crowd at the 2012 NBA championship rally at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
With NBA Finals scheduled for tip-off on Thursday, King James Gospel writers got together for a roundtable. One topic that was discussed was the following.
If the Miami Heat lose in the NBA Finals, do you see them breaking the Big 3 up next, or perhaps even this, summer?
Here is what our writers thought.
David Walker: It really depends on how they would lose. Unlike Indiana, the Spurs are not going to beat Miami with size so the small ball blueprint is not in as much danger as it was last series. I could see the Heat losing even with solid play from the bench and good contributions from Wade and Bosh, and in that case I think Pat Riley sticks with this team. But if Wade and/or Bosh fail miserably to help James and they lose because of it, then Riley’s notorious reputation for cutting ties with loose ends comes into play and everyone outside of LeBron becomes tradable.
Connor Cook: If the Heat lose the Finals, I don’t necessarily think the team will be broken up, though I do think there would be a greater emphasis on finding more perimeter defenders to fill out their bench, as opposed to shooters like Mike Miller and Ray Allen, as the only way I imagine the Spurs can exploit the Heat is with their ability to make extra passes and find open shooters. Despite having played some excellent team defense in the first two years of the Big Three era, the Heat slipped on that end of the court this year while playing truly impressive offense. Maybe if San Antonio makes them pay on defense in this series, the Heat may want to look for a new bench.
Robert Krivitsky: Chris Bosh has worked so hard to extend his range and fit in better with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Unfortunately for Bosh, Miami needs a true center, who can protect the rim and be more of a force on the boards. Win or lose, I expect Pat Riley and the rest of the Heat’s front office to do their due diligence and see what can be had for Bosh. If presented the opportunity to acquire a more traditional big man, of similar value to Bosh, Miami might just make the deal.
Gavin MacPherson: I don’t think so. If it’s a hard-fought series in which both teams play reasonably well the Heat are an adjustment or two or maybe even just a lucky bounce or two away from a championship next year. If they lose because Wade, Bosh, Allen and Battier don’t show up then I think they have some harder decisions to make but ultimately I think they stand pat. Making major moves means moving Bosh with his value the lowest it has ever been and I can’t see any way they would willingly take the public relations hit that would come with moving Wade or Haslem. I think that if they lose they stick with what they have and hope that things go better in 2014 as LeBron tries to decide whether he wants to terminate his deal with them or not.
Ross Gottschalk: If the Heat lose, I think it’s doubtful that it will affect Miami’s decision in 2014 whether or not to keep the Big 3 together. A lot will depend on next year and how Dwyane Wade holds up. However a loss this year, would put a lot of pressure on the Heat next year. Winning a title 1 out of the 4 years would be considered a failure by almost anyone in the organization. As for this summer, it’s very unlikely that any of the main pieces of this team will be moved. This is now three consecutive Finals appearances, so the team is working. Win or lose, the Heat’s biggest concern this offseason is to find someone who can guard the post.
Leslie Kam: No way. As inconsistent as Dwyane Wade has been in this post-season, it does seem plausible that he would be the first to leave out of the Big 3, but Miami’s loyalty (which is a rare thing nowadays) extends further, and who knows, maybe after a few of those illegal German Kobe knee treatments, he might look like himself again, he is only 31 years old. As for the other 2, moving them doesn’t make any sense. LeBron is not going back to Cleveland, so we can put that down. I mean, do you really think he would go back to play for the owner that wrote an open hate letter to him in comic sans font? Or party with Micky Arison in South Beach? What’s done is done.
Adam Lowenstein: The result of the 2013 NBA Finals will not affect the Miami Heat’s future. The core of this Heat squad will be the same for 2013-14, but not for the following season. With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all having player options in the 2014 offseason, there is a small chance that they will all be remaining in South Beach. With James recently having to return to his “Cleveland days,” I do not see him back in Miami for 2014-15.
Lindsey Flemon:
If the Miami Heat were to lose the NBA Finals, the team’s front office will have to look at changes in their starting line-up. LeBron James and his supporting cast, mainly players Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade have not shown the same will to win as last year’s championship season. With the exception of game 7 of the Miami Heat – Indiana Pacers series, the supporting cast of LeBron James have been missing in action. In order for the Heat to win the Finals, these two supporting players will have to up their game exceedingly to the next level.
With a NBA Finals lost, I would expect Chris Bosh to be in the trade rumor mills amongst all the talking heads and in the Miami Heat front office radar as trade bait this summer. Chris Bosh has not played to the overrated level of last year and finally in game 7 of the Miami Heat – Indiana Pacers series, showed some signs of coming out of his slump. However, his inconsistent play in the playoffs is a big disappointment. Ray Allen may have a year, maybe two left in him as a role player, but I don’t think the Heat will resign him. He has been able to drop a few threes pointers in the playoffs, not to mention that he is an excellent shooter that can score. But as the saying goes, “you live by the three, you die by the three”. In the last playoff series Ray Allen was not a factor although he can get hot, but he will have to get opportunities, and missed shots could cost the Miami Heat the game. He could probably still play a significant role for some NBA team. In addition to Chris Bosh, Shane Battier, another very good “in the trenches” ball player who can as well get on a streak and light up three pointers, along with James Jones, would make a really good trade package for a team looking to rebuild and the Miami Heat would look for a really good and consistent man in the middle out of the trade.
Stay tuned to KJG as we continue to bring you NBA Finals coverage.