If you don't know by now that Chris Bosh and LeBron James have joined Dwyane Wade in Miami then you seriously need to get out more. Everyone is talking about how unstoppable the Heat will be but I have some big concerns about how that will work.
First off let me say that they're going to be unbelievable to START the season.
Everyone is going to jump on the Heat wave (yeah I said it) in the preseason and in the first month or two of the regular season. In that stretch of time we're going to see some of the best team basketball we've seen since the 80's Celtics and Lakers. However slowly but surely we might start to see a change, the triumvirate of James, Bosh, and Wade could slowly come unglued. Once they all see exactly how much they're going to need to sacrifice is when the real test is going to begin.
Is LeBron happy dropping his career scoring stats to a point that they'll never recover? How about for Wade?
Is Wade happy dealing with LeBron possibly stealing his favoritism in Miami?
Is Bosh ok with completely losing his popularity in the shadow of Wade and LeBron?
Who is the leader of this team? To me it seems that Wade would be the logical choice since he has proven himself on the game's biggest stage. Is LeBron going to be cool with not being "the man"?
How is the publicity of these three players going to effect the rest of the team?
Are Wade and LeBron ok with having no hope in the MVP race as long as their on the same roster?
What happens if they lose 3 or 4 in a row?
And here's the classic question, with the game on the line, who gets the ball? If I'm the coach the ball goes to Wade every time. It's no secret that James' ego is big enough to cover the circumference of the world, is he going to be content as a role player and not as the star who takes the big shots?
To me this all comes down to LeBron James and his ability to put his ego aside. According to the people at USA basketball that's going to be a tough one.
When the Redeem Team went to Beijing in 2008 the players were told to, "check their egos at the door." They were told to learn the names of not just the entire coaching staff, but the trainers, the ball boys, the bus drivers, and anyone else involved in the program. According to several sources no one had as much trouble with this as LeBron. One of the sources went on to say that dropping LeBron altogether was a serious possibility because he was such a chemistry issue.
If LeBron can't play as a role player for 8 games then how is he supposed to do it for 82?
These are all questions that will be answered at some point but everyone needs to think about these before proclaiming the Heat the NBA's next dynasty.
I will say this, if LeBron plays within himself and within the offensive system, the Miami Heat will be unstoppable. It all lies on LeBron's ego.
