Miami Heat Roster Appears Set and Ready To Roll

The Miami Heat agreed to sign veteran guard Eddie House to a two-year contract earlier today.

With the move, Miami’s roster for the upcoming regular season seems to be all but set.

For a couple weeks, the talk leading up to LeBron James’ “Decision” centered around who the Heat would be able to get in order to fill out a roster boasting three max contract players.

Many felt Miami would be stuck with a bunch of D-League players. In retrospect, that turned out to be far from the case.

Miami has been fortunate to reap the benefit of having veteran players sign minimum contracts in order to play alongside three All-Stars. The latest addition is House, a three-point specialist known for being able to infuse instant offense.

Pat Riley appears to have elected to bypass flashier names such as Allen Iverson, Jason Williams, and Shaquille O’Neal in favor of veterans who are comfortable with being role players.

As it stands, Miami has a roster poised to be as potent as any in the league. The current Heat roster features players capable of assisting the talents of Dwyane Wade and James by spreading defenses. This would enable the two superstars to pick apart opponents much more easily.

Miami’s signings of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Miller, James Jones, and now House give the Heat four role players capable of knocking down open looks, which they will get plenty of thanks to the attention that will be devoted to Wade, James, and Chris Bosh.

The Heat also appear to be a balanced team, thanks to players such as Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, and Joel Anthony, who will be used as defensive specialists.

The one glaring weakness the team may have is the lack of a big defensive-minded center. That task might fall on the shoulders of rookie Dexter Pittman, who at 6’11”, 300 lbs is a mountain of a man.

If he is able to impress during training camp, “Big Dex” will likely be seeing extended minutes when going up against other NBA behemoths.

This is not to say Riley is done with the roster additions. Miami will likely pursue a veteran shooting guard in the upcoming days, Tracy McGrady definitely being a possibility.

Even then, I have a strong hunch that Riley has another “ace in the hole” which he has yet to reveal.

The stage has been set for what will be the most hyped and watched team in the NBA this upcoming season and for the foreseeable future. Barring an injury to any of the “Three Kings,” Miami will be well positioned to make a run at an NBA title.

They are already Las Vegas favorites to win it all. This despite never having collectively played a game together. One thing I have learned throughout my years following and covering sports is that Vegas odds makers know their stuff.

So to all those pundits and cynics who continue to dismiss the Heat’s chances, you may want to prepare to eat some humble pie.

Miami will undoubtedly be able to field the most talented starting five of any team in the NBA. Don’t give me the Lakers are the champions line. Because while they might be the champs at this moment, all they are doing is holding it for those who are coming to claim it.

Come on, Kobe, put a little more muscle into shining it up good for LeBron and Dwyane!

Anyone who dares argue on behalf of the Lakers needs to be reminded that last season both Wade and James had a great deal of success versus Los Angeles. Now take into consideration that they were playing with teams nowhere as good as the 2010-11 Heat are set to be.

Miami is going to unleash a fury and ability to dominate opponents the likes of which have never been witnessed. You are talking about two of the league’s top three players. Three of the top 15.

Then just for kicks, they added one of the premier long range shooters in Mike Miller. To make it even more ridiculous, they added one of the best shooting centers and backup guards. It’s just not fair, I tell you.

Coaches around the league have yet to emerge from their offices since the three elected to team up. They are all hiding in a closet, curled up in a fetal position while rocking back and forth, saying it was only a dream, it was only a dream.

While some teams may have a better bench than Miami, one needs to remember that come playoff time, elite starters tend to average close to 40 minutes a game. That means for most of the game, you have to try in vain to contain James, Wade, and Bosh every possession on offense.

Even when one sits, you have a combination of two of them still out there. That means when the Lakers rest Kobe and Miami rests Wade, you’d have LA still trying to match Miami with James and Bosh on the floor.

As the song goes, “People get ready, there’s a train a coming, you don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.”

The Miami Heat train is loaded and getting ready to embark on a beautiful journey. Once it takes off and picks up steam, there will be no way to stop it.

Next stop: Championsville.