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| Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade are still a threat in the East. Photo credit: NBA |
If we learned anything from the NBA Finals we learned that having LeBron James on your squad does not guarantee anything. The Miami Heat, without him, will get the chance to prove that now. For Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh the have the chance to get back to playing the type of basketball that made them stars.
by +Rodney FisherWhen the announcement was made that King James would be returning to Cleveland, Las Vegas placed the odds of the Heat winning the championship at 100-1. Odds that even a bad gambler like myself could not pass up. Now that the Heat have signed Chris Bosh long-term, kept D Wade, and added Luol Deng it doesn't seem like a losing bet after all.
Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, especially the Eastern Conference. Nobody thought a young Wade paired with an aging roster in Miami would be enough to win a title in 2006, but it happened. A lot has been made about the health of Wade over the last four years with James as a teammate. True, his legs have seen better days but he has chosen to defer scoring to James. Wade will now get the chance to prove us all wrong, a challenge I think he ready to accept.
Before the Big 3 joined forces, Wade was in the same discussion as James when you talk about elite players in the NBA, minus the MVPs but plus a championship.
Chris Bosh was a rising star tucked in NBA obscurity above the border in Canada. His game is still a problem for most teams to matchup against. He has added a deadly post-up corner three-pointer that makes him a bigger threat now than before. I have always , like most basketball minds, thought the offense could run more through Bosh. Now he can return to an automatic 20-10 player without James in the lineup.
I am not saying that now the Heat are a better team, but there are still a legitimate threat to win the East. I like their chances better than the Cavs next year. You can't expect a team with limited postseason experience to be a hands-on favorite. Expect Bosh and Wade to take on the challenge to play big.
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