3 Reasons Why The Miami Heat’s Big 3 Would Still Dominate Today
By Noah Decker
Miami Heat: The Big’s Defense Was Still Next Level And Even In This Era
While the Miami Heat made headlines and highlight reels with their offense, their defense was also terrific.
Defense
The defense was led by their superstars, but some of their role players played a crucial part in making their defense a problem for their opponents.
In 2013, LeBron was the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year. He arguably should have won it.
His defense was absolutely incredible that year, in particular.
LeBron was playing at the peak of his career in terms of his athletic abilities. He had the speed, size, and strength to effectively guard all five positions while averaging 27 points and seven assists on the other end of the floor.
He put pressure on teams in all types of ways. He could lock them up on the perimeter, challenge their shots with his size, or send their shots back with his incredible leaping ability.
Dwyane Wade is considered to be one of the greatest shot-blocking guards of all time. Over the four years with James and Bosh at his side, Wade averaged nearly one block each game.
Not bad for a 6’4” shooting guard.
He also played excellent perimeter defense along with James and role players like Shane Battier. Chris Bosh took on the role as the rim protector in the starting five.
Miami played Bosh at the center position, so they were a smaller team in comparison to some of the others at the time. Bosh and Chris Anderson swatted away several shots at the rim.
It was also common for Bosh to have a key defensive play late in games that would ultimately lead to victory, like the Game 6 block, as previously mentioned.
Since the Heat played a small ball lineup, one of the first to deploy it as they did in all honesty, this would allow them to have the speed to battle through high screens or switch if necessary.
This would also allow them to continue to lock up teams from the perimeter, even in an era where the three-pointer is so prominent in a team’s offensive scheme.
Next. Jimmy Butler Needs One More Thing To ‘Be Like Mike’. dark
The Big 3 Miami Heat was one of the teams that defined the 2010s decade. Their star power and dominance on both ends of the floor made them one of the most dominant teams ever assembled in the NBA.
Because of this talent, they would dominate in any era.