The Miami Heat now have a Big 3 of their own. When you consider the addition of Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat’s roster for this upcoming season and the next three, all-together, they have three All-Star caliber players on their roster and in their starting lineup.
That’s, at least, three, as there are some other guys with the opportunity to bubble up and as soon as this season, but that’s neither here nor there at the moment. With Big 3 units being the topic of discussion here today though, Bleacher Report recently released a list on the topic.
In this list, they ranked who they believe are the best Big 3 units in the league. Of course, with any rankings, they were in the order that they deemed to be the best to the least.
Here is what they had to say on the phenomenon and how they went about ranking theres.
"Give a superstar a sidekick, and opposing defenses will struggle to find a counterpunch. But add a third star to the mix, and it can render the opposition powerless. Of course, not all clubs can go three stars deep, and those that do have had varying degrees of success. It makes sense, then, to hold basketball’s battle royale here and crown the 10 best Big Threes the Association has going. We’ll weigh everything from collective talent, on-court chemistry and ceilings, to ages, injury risks and floors to set and rank the field."
With that though, where do the Miami Heat stack up?
Miami Heat: Do Milwaukee Bucks Have Better Big 3 Than One In South Beach?
When looking at the list, you go past quite a few teams before you get to the Miami Heat. Coming at number six on the list, behind Golden State, Brooklyn, the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee, the Miami Heat aren’t necessarily being disrespected here.
Here is what BR had to say on their assessment of Miami and how they landed at six.
"While most Miami newcomers need an introduction to the franchise’s famed #Culture, Lowry has long cultivated it from afar. All of its key tenets—defensive tenacity, incredible work ethic, selflessness, insatiable appetite for winning—are already part of the six-time All-Star’s arsenal."
While also pointing to the fact that everyone, especially Jimmy Butler, knows that Lowry is already “a Miami Heat guy”, they went on to describe some potential pitfalls for the squad.
"If this isn’t the best defensive Big Three in basketball, it ranks up there with any of them. But there are a few question marks keeping it out of the top five. Lowry’s age, 35, is one of the biggest, as he finally started to show some slippage last season. It’s also fair to wonder about the scoring upside. Butler led the trio with 21.5 points per game in 2020-21, which put him outside the NBA’s top 30."
Again though, while important, the assessment is not as important as the ranking here. As noted, the Miami Heat came in at six and behind three other Eastern Conference teams.
Is that worth a thought? It sure is.
Well, actually a statement. The Brooklyn Nets can make a case that can’t be refuted right now.
They have three of the top 20 players in the game. Beat them on the court and the statement is made.
As far as Philadelphia stands, they don’t deserve to be on this list either. Even outside of the volatility of “will Ben Simmons even remain there”, does his “non-dunk-attempting”, “won’t-look-at-a-jumpshot”, stalling the offense out demeanor ping them a bit here?
It sure does. Until they can, at least begin to, figure that out, how can they rightfully be on the list?
Survey says… they shouldn’t be. That then leaves those guys… the team that is becoming the Heat’s greatest nemesis… Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks.
Miami Heat: They Have The Second Best Big 3 In The East… Even Over Bucks
When it comes to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Greek Freak, they are the current title holders, so there is that. You have to give them that respect.
Speaking of respect, earlier it was noted that though the Miami Heat being ranked at six isn’t “disrespect”… it is an underrating. To begin to illustrate why they should, not only, be a top-two ranked Big 3 in the East but especially better than Milwaukee (and of course Philly), travel back to the NBA Bubble situation.
Listen, the only difference between the team that the Miami Heat dominated in the bubble and the team that dominated them this past season is Jrue Holiday. It’s almost fair to say that if the Miami Heat added a Jrue Holiday-comparable piece to equate for the difference that he is to Milwaukee, as a difference-maker against teams like Miami, then they would pull back ahead or equal… at the very least, right?
Well, they did. Kyle Lowry is a Jrue-equivalent piece… and thus pulls then back even, at the very worst.
Though there may not be total agreement there, the logic makes sense, right? Even outside of that though, take it like you were at the playground.
Giannis is the best player, hands down. Betwixt the two teams, he’s the number one guy.
That’s a given. However, the next two… or three, are all Miami’s.
For all Khris Middleton did in this past playoff run and if GM’s had a choice, you have to believe they take Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo over him. Call it crazy, but that’s a fact.
On Middleton and Lowry, there could actually be a conversation to be had. While Jrue Holiday and Kyle Lowry are of the same tier, to a logical mind such as this one, it’s fair to say that what Kyle has done in the league and his better offensive game, slots him higher above Jrue.
Jrue’s physical gifts make him, a bit more, of a pesky defender but as far as performance, he and Lowry are both defensive bulldogs. They are about even and even if you say that you take him over Lowry, it’s so close that you slot them beside one another, not ahead or behind one another.
With that though, two of the first three players chosen are Miami Heat’s and three of the first five chosen are, likely, the same. If that is the case, then how can they have a better Big 3?
You can make that case that their best player is “so much better” that it accounts for the difference and that is a logical case, but he is only one guy. This is a ranking of trios and when it comes to the best ones in the Eastern Conference, only Brooklyn can out and out say they have a better one than Miami.
This was why.