The 10 Biggest Storylines Of The NBA Season: Miami’s 3-Peat Quest

With the NBA season starting tonight, you’ve probably noticed we’ve been pumping out enough preview content to bury even Hasheem Thabeet. Over the past week, we’ve been taking a look at the 10 biggest storylines of the 2013-14 season. Today, let’s talk about the Heat winning three in a row…

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Hardly three years ago, the Miami Heat was being told to break up the band.

They were coming off a championship run in 2011 that ended in a shockingly disturbing manner and were now a game away from being sent home, facing a 3-2 deficit as they went into TD Bank Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics and the site of a pivotal matchup that would make-or-break several careers and a franchise.

The “Big Three” experiment was a failure at the time. The trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh that had joined forces for the sole purpose of winning titles, was a year removed from missing out on their first chance and were now on the brink of elimination again.

That ensuing Game 6 changed a lot of lives. It might have changed the entire NBA. Because if LeBron doesn’t put together the 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists he had in a blowout victory, the Heat would not be the subject of discussion leading into the 2013-14 season.

Forty-eight minutes changed everything. Forty-eight minutes changed LeBron from choker to champion. Forty-eight minutes changed the Heat from fraudulent to being on the precipice of creating a dynasty.

Two years after those 48 minutes passed, the Miami Heat are looking to win a third consecutive title. Since defeating the Celtics in Game 6, as well as the Game 7 that followed, they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the ensuing NBA Finals, and are most recently coming off a trying, arduous seven-game series victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Nothing was given to this team. They earned each of their past two titles, just as LeBron earned the past two league and Final MVPs. If poorly thought-out Frankenstein All-Star rosters (the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers) proved anything, it’s that winning with stars is as difficult as winning with a traditional, well-balanced roster.

However, this third consecutive run is going to be like no other. The rest of the NBA is playing catch-up. As a result, you’ll get teams responding with small lineups to match Miami or the exact opposite with a big lineup in hopes it’ll beat Miami on the glass.

Chicago and Indiana both employed the latter. The Bulls attempted to bully the Heat with Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson, while the Pacers utilized Roy Hibbert, David West and Tyler Hansbrough. Although neither team was able to secure a series victory, they both proved Miami has flaws.

Both teams improved over the offseason, too. The Bulls get back Derrick Rose, and the Pacers signed Luis Scola, Chris Copeland and C.J. Watson to bolster a bench that ranked among the league’s worst last season.

One can’t forget about the Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry and Paul Pierce and the Heat have a mutual disdain for each other. The rivalry will last.

If any contender makes a move in the offseason, they have to realistically think, “How does this help us beat the Heat?” Miami has dominated the Eastern Conference Playoffs since 2011, representing the East in the NBA Finals each year, and it should come as no surprise that Brooklyn added three players notorious for pushing the Heat.

There’s plenty of talk with how Chicago, Indiana and Brooklyn improved, but strapped for cash, Miami will have Greg Oden, Michael Beasley and Roger Mason, Jr. replace Mike Miller, Jarvis Varnado and Juwan Howard. They’ll give them their deepest bench and rotation in franchise history.

Here’s the most jarring fact about the Heat: The “Big Three” wasn’t healthy in either of their title runs. Chris Bosh was extremely limited in the Heat’s final series victory over the Thunder and Dwyane Wade was under a similar spell in Miami’s recent triumph over the Spurs.

You can count LeBron James in the 2011 Finals as a mental ailment, since the cause of what occurred is still under suspicion. Still, it’s strange how each member of the “Big Three” has had their own personal shortcomings in each of Miami’s three Finals visits.

Keep reading to hear Wade’s outlook on the season…

Miami made a significant run at the past three titles, but have yet to boast a fully healthy “Big Three” and a bench that can provide support. They will need both if they want to get out of the East this year with Chicago, Indiana and Brooklyn as fierce as ever.

But who’s to say LeBron hasn’t improved? It seems improbable based on how efficient he was last year, but we also went into the 2012-13 season under the same impression when judging his performance the year before. He’s admitted to getting better. I’ll take his word for it.

Don’t assume Miami will be complacent. They have won titles, but they have yet become a dynasty by reaching the three-peat mark.

If you heard what Dwyane Wade told ESPN two days prior to the Heat’s season-opener with the Bulls, you’ll know no one is taking the season lightly: “Don’t get bored with trying to be great. We have to understand that we’re champions and we’re going to get every other team’s best shot.”

Winning a championship or two wasn’t the goal when they first came together. LeBron’s infamous “Not one, not two…” speech was a tad overzealous, but there was a part of him that honestly believed it. When he looked over at Wade and Bosh through the smoke and the strobe effects, he saw the potential. He saw three bonafide All-Stars entirely motivated by winning, three All-Stars from similar, unfortunate backgrounds.

It’s been the recurring theme for free agents joining the Heat. Shane Battier had never gotten out of the second round; Ray Allen was a year removed from being the focal point of trade rumors; Chris Andersen went nearly a full half-season without a job because he was deemed to be toxic. The Heat franchise has created a tight-knit family environment that prides itself on keeping its gripes and concerns within their team, as a family is supposed to do. Fifteen players that were signed to win championships, not make money.

Look around the entire Heat roster and you’ll find nearly every player signed a smaller deal so they could win. Money and stats were sacrificed for bigger aspirations. That’s why it’ll be a shock to see any member of the “Big Three” depart this summer. There are few franchises with as respectable a reputation as Miami’s, nor are there many front offices that consistently deliver vital free agents.

Miami has convinced Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Chris Andersen, Greg Oden and Roger Mason, Jr. to sign for less. It took two years for the Heat to transform a bench that once featured Eddie House, Juwan Howard and James Jones as key contributors to one that now features several of the league’s top shooters and shotblockers.

Trust is key, especially when it comes to the relationship between the front office and its players. No franchise has created more of a trusting environment than the Heat. The front office delivers on its promises, and the players and coaching staff handle the rest. As a result, you get the elite product destined to make yet another championship run.

This is what Miami envisioned. They wanted to be more than just a one-hit wonder or even a back-to-back champion. There were larger aspirations than that, evidenced by LeBron’s overzealous declaration.

Miami looks to become the sixth team to win three consecutive titles and the first since the Los Angeles Lakers did so in 2002. If Miami adds another title, they’ll join the ranks of such teams as those Shaq-led Laker teams, the Jordan-era Bulls, the Bill Russell-led Celtics and George Mikan‘s Lakers. That’s some lofty company, and even if Miami simply makes the Finals, they’ll be the first team since the Lakers in 1982-85 to make four consecutive NBA Finals. The only other team to do that was the Celtics of the 1960s.

Miami probably won’t make it to a decade’s worth of NBA Finals like Boston. But they can still make history and create a legacy this year.

Will they do it?

Follow John on Twitter at @JohnFtheheatgod.

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