The thing is this:
Boston has played together for several seasons, had a very good night, and are a well-oiled machine already at the start of the season. Miami had a big case of the nerves, played absolutely horrible, have not even come close to meshing as a team, and LeBron still almost got them over the hump in a fairly close game down the stretch that they should have been 20 points down.
Heat will win about 60 games barring major injuries. It'll take them a month imo before they begin to start meshing as a team.
Some have called the Heat a jump-shooting team, but I don't think that's entirely accurate. The jump shots should be clear open looks for the support cast, and there will be plenty of guys able to play in space and get open looks or cut to the basket for layups as teams are forced to double LeBron and Wade away from the basket. Plus, LeBron and Wade love to go to the rack even when they do it themselves. And I haven't even gotten to Bosh yet. They can't double him. Somebody's gotta be open most of the time. Bottom-line, there should be a lot of points scored close to the basket, and a whole lot of the jump shots should be open looks, which are much, much easier (higher fg%) to make than your traditionally contested jump shot.
They are really gonna miss Mike Miller unless someone steps up and starts shooting lights-out from the perimeter. The Heat may turn deadly about 2 weeks after he comes back when his shot starts dropping and he works his way into the offense.
The potential problem may be with some of the other players not moving well without the ball to create easy baskets when LeBron and Wade have the ball.
When LeBron and Wade get it going on the same night, it's gonna be sick.
Some of these games throughout the season against weak and beaten-down opponents will have everything but the bucket of confetti.
The difference between Miami and the title are:
1.Meshing on offense (they should do this fairly quickly, within a month or two, I would think).
2.Developing a team identity, and getting the role players integrated into the team concept. Doing #1 & #3 fluidly and with confidence.
3.Playing solid team defense. Chase-downs are sexy, but getting the other team to run down the 24 second clock without getting a decent shot off is what's gonna get them through the playoffs imo.
