Beast in the East: The Power of Three

    It is no secret that the Miami Heat (39-14) are top team in the East and arguably in the league. The reigning NBA World Champions are led by the league's reigning MVP Lebron James who is averaging 27 points, 8.20 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game this season, making a bold case toward earning back to back MVP honors. We are only just past the All-Star break and already Lebron has become the youngest player to reach 20,000 career points at 28 years old, surpassed the 5,000 career assists mark, set an NBA record for becoming the only player in the history of the game to score at least 30 points and shoot at least 60% over the span of 6 consecutive games. So it almost becomes a small feat to mention he is having his most efficient shooting year from the field and beyond the arc of his career. I think LeBron is genuinely happy in every facet of his life and it is wonderfully transcending through into his game. I can hear other arguments but at the end of the day he is hands down the best player in the league and we don't even know for sure if this is his peak yet. But when this powerhouse team came together in the summer of 2011 they had one underlined strength: the triple threat.
     Dwyane Wade is now a two-time NBA champion, former NBA finals MVP, 9 time All-Star, as well as a role model on and off the court. This season he is averaging 21.1 points, 4.90 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game this season but what is most important is the way he has been playing specifically over the last month or so. Many people like to use the phrase "he's got that extra step back" to help describe what they are seeing from Wade's improved play. As he was once under much scrutiny for allegedly being in the process of "losing it" at the beginning of the season, it has now become evident that he was working his way back to full strength after undergoing knee surgery in the off season. Over the last 10 games, Wade has averaged 23.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Those numbers surpass his total average stat line from the 2011-2012 season alone. He's been back to pulling off his notorious late game heroics and last night he put up 33 points and 6 rebounds in a 114-90 Miami win against the 76ers. However no box score can accurately explain how Dwyane Wade single-handedly made the most powerful move to allow this team to reach the level they are at and that is his willingness to play second fiddle. Most players that have ever been at the stature Wade was used to being at before the Big 3 emerged would have rather gone to another team and be their franchise player than hand over the reigns to another player. Without that elimination of the power struggle though, we would almost certainly not be calling Miami the reigning champs.
    Frequently overlooked but never taken for granted is the Heat's small forward Chris Bosh who is averaging 17.3 points, 7.20 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. In the initial banding and first year of play of Miami's Big 3, Bosh received a ton of criticism for being too soft, too small, and often completely eliminated from the equation with critics renaming the team to the "Big 2". But now in his third season with Miami, Bosh has long since proven his mental and physical toughness, his value to the team, while still putting on a few extra pounds. Bosh is an extremely reliable offensive threat to this team with his field goal percentage being higher than last year and points per game so far this season less than one percent down from the entire regular season last year.
   Over the summer Miami also added pieces to their already highly dangerous roster. They acquired former Boston Celtic guard Ray Allen aka Jesus Shuttlesworth who is the NBA's all-time best 3 point shooter. In addition, the team acquired offensive weapon Rashard Lewis and just a few weeks ago signed power forward Chris "The Birdman" Anderson.
    Miami is currently on a 10 game win streak and is looking to be getting better as the season goes on, transitioning into playoff mentality and shape. Dwyane Wade reached 16,000 career points last night and all signs for this squad are once again pointing to another trip to the NBA finals. But it won't be all smooth sailing.
    The Indiana Pacers (35-21) are the number 2 team in the East, 5.5 games behind Miami and are said to likely be Miami's biggest threat to win the East. The Pacers, who have beaten their last 4 consecutive opponents by at least 18 points, are a physical team that can't beat the Heat with plain offensive skill so they resort to the "beat them down" mentality, tearing Miami up in the paint. The Pacers have a young and talented big man in Roy Hibbert that gave Miami plenty of problems in last year's second round playoff series. Paul George (17.6 PPG,7.9 RPG, 4.0 APG) and David West (17.2 PPG, 7.60 RPG, 3.0 APG) lead this Indiana team in the absence of their injured franchise player Danny Granger, who made his return last night vs. the Pistons for just 2 points. Miami has lost both times they have met the Pacers this season although they also fell down 2-3 in the series against them in the semifinals of the playoffs last year yet rallied back to convincingly defeat Indiana 4-2.
   The Miami of the regular season and the Miami of the playoffs are two different teams with two different mindsets but I have the feeling that Indiana still feels the sting of their overzealous early celebration they partook in with the thought that they'd dethroned the Heat only to lose that series and are seeking the ultimate redemption. April is right around the corner and that my friends is when amazing REALLY happens.
  Later this week I'll explore who the real top force in the West is and my prediction on who will I think will be in the Western Conference finals as well as who I believe will be the 2013 Western Conference Champions. Leave a comment, tweet me, or write me on Facebook to give me your predictions and reasons why and maybe I'll feature your opinion in my post!

Sources: NBA