Can anybody compete to overtake Miami as the top team in the NBA? Teams are coming into free agency looking to upgrade their teams with the goal of finally stopping the Heat and being the best team. The obvious key to Miami’s success is LeBron James. This season he averaged 26/7/8. So the next question is in order to beat the best team, what do you do about their best player? No matter what other teams do, LeBron will get his 25-28 points per game; however, I think the key to the team’s failures is when his assists are down. In the Heat’s 16 losses during the regular season, he was held to 5.9 assists compared to the 7.3 throughout the season. Another thing to go along with that is limiting the type of assists. Any alley-oops or 3 point field goals will help give the team momentum and increase the chances that the Heat will prevail to victory. Let’s take a look at a couple teams that have the potential to overtake Miami in the East.
The Chicago Bulls are known for their tenacious defense and famously ended the Heat’s winning streak. Jimmy Butler can be credited for a lot of that. He forced LeBron left a lot, which is a weakness that Michael Jordan pointed out because it usually results in a jump shot. With time, LeBron will drive more and more when going left and there will need to be more weak side help. This is where Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson will fourish with their defensive presence. When it comes to improving, the Bulls don’t really need much. Derrick Rose will be coming back from ACL surgery which will move Kirk Hinrich to the bench and giving the team more depth. Another option would be to amnesty Carlos Boozer and his $31 million remaining. Paul Milsap would be an intriguing option for the team.
The Indiana Pacers have done exactly what they needed to do and re-sign David West and sign an upgrade at backup point guard in C.J. Watson. Because of money, there isn’t much more they can do financially to improve their team. The biggest thing that the team needs to do is to have Paul George get in the weight room. He will be the defensive force that will be a key piece in defending LeBron. If Danny Granger can come back healthy, this team will be filled with giants that will clog the paint.
To me, the Brooklyn Nets have 1-2 years max to win a championship. The biggest thing that will hold back the team is the respect they will show to their new head coach, Jason Kidd. With literally 5 All-Stars on the team, there’s not going to be enough shots for everyone. Not to mention, youth isn’t on their side. The starting 5 will average 32 years old. The bench has been depleted as well. C.J. Watson agreed to a deal with the Pacers as mentioned above, along with the arrival of the Celtics trade pieces.
All in all, I believe that the Bulls and Pacers have the best chance of challenging the Heat. The key isn’t to stop LeBron all together, rather, limit his assists. Another glaring weakness to take advantage of would be the rebound differential. Miami is a horrible rebounding team due to their lack of height. The Spurs did a decent job of exploiting these points in the Finals, but they couldn’t hit their free throws to seal the deal. Perhaps a year of experience and rest (Derrick Rose) will help someone take Miami’s torch. Then again, maybe LeBron doesn’t want to give up that trophy just yet.