The storm settled when the Miami Heat won the NBA championship. Not in their locker room, where they had their own storm brewing, but the battle of basketball forces that would landscape the future of the NBA.
It was evident from then on how a general manager wanted to build their team, especially teams in the big markets. They knew what had to be done and they understood how instantaneous the franchise they controlled could change. From then on it was not the patient route of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was not the route that brought together home-grown talent that matured together and grew with their fan base. No, it was the road that the Miami Heat had taken. It was a dark road, where they became the instant villains of the leagues. A team that was right below a fan's rival team in terms of the top hated team for a fan. Mostly everyone outside of the Heat fan base despised the team. They could not stand the thought of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joining forces when players like Michael Jordon created their legacies seemingly by themselves.
It was evident from then on how a general manager wanted to build their team, especially teams in the big markets. They knew what had to be done and they understood how instantaneous the franchise they controlled could change. From then on it was not the patient route of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was not the route that brought together home-grown talent that matured together and grew with their fan base. No, it was the road that the Miami Heat had taken. It was a dark road, where they became the instant villains of the leagues. A team that was right below a fan's rival team in terms of the top hated team for a fan. Mostly everyone outside of the Heat fan base despised the team. They could not stand the thought of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh joining forces when players like Michael Jordon created their legacies seemingly by themselves.
The Heat fans responded, saying that Jordan had help, Magic Johnson had help, and several other greats did not truly do it alone. But still, the team was hated, but by far the most feared in the league. The fans could hate all they want, talk about how much they wished LeBron would never win a ring in his life, but when their respective team played the Heat, a sense of doom overcame them. Because as invincible as a LeBron, Wade and Bosh trio sound, they had flaws. The team had flaws. There were teams that could compete with them, one of them being the Oklahoma City Thunder, although Game 5 begged to differ. But nonetheless they were not invincible, mainly because they were not put together. If there was one thing that was to be said about the Heat, it is this; if LeBron was replaced by any other SF not named Durant, the team would not likely get as far as it did.
There are four main components of building a contending team. In no particular order...
Now that the four components have been mentioned and described in a quick, yet hopefully thorough manner, let's relate these aspects to the most current super teams as well as one that is trying to become one. First off will be the Miami Heat, followed by the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers.
Defense was a key component of the Heat's victory, but not only were their defensively minded, they could switch into offensive overdrive when needed. They had that perfect set up of players where offense could be generated with ease, and the opposing team could be slowed at will. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh formed that three-headed defensive beast, with Wade and James patrolling the outskirts and within and Bosh defending the paint. They had matched up against an offensive powerhouse in the Oklahoma City Thunder, but their defense halted Westbrook and Durant from reaching a title by slowing them down when it mattered. If proof is needed, re-watch the Finals, especially Game 5.
The New York Knicks paid major assets to complete their Big 3 of Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler. Those three themselves take up $53 million in cap space for next year, and that number increases per year. The number of players lost in the Anthony trade allowed the Denver Nuggets to stay a playoff team. They've lost cap space and depth, but still, they have developed their very own super team.
However, their collection of players is not ideal. They have a tremendous scorer in Carmelo, a great PF in Amar'e, and defensive minded center in Tyson Chandler. Carmelo and Amar'e, however, have shown to be a problem when playing together. While Carmelo is one of the league's top scorers, he also has a reputation for being the man of isos. In a sense, he is a ball hog, but he is a star ball hog nonetheless. Needing those touches takes away from Amar'e. Playing with a full season of Melo, his average dropped from 25.3 points the previous year to 17.5 this past season. His FG attempts dropped by nearly 5 shots, with his efficiency dropping slightly. Before Anthony was traded over, Amar'e was the soul of the offense, generating streaks of games with 30 or more points. Those days disappeared when Carmelo entered the picture. It's a weird duo. Even weirder is the position that these three players play: Small Forward, Power Forward, and Center. There is no back court star presence at all. That means there is nobody to bring the ball up, control the floor, and utilize the other star players abilities to the best. The PG is typically the leader of the team, but Amar'e has taken that role and Chandler has helped as well. But still, there is absolutely no back court when discussing these players. A trio of stars can not succeed when they are all clumped near the post with no facilitator. Sure Carmelo can be the go-to guy, which he has, and hit the outside shot. Sure Amar'e can shoot threes. But if there is not facilitator, those attributes are not being maximized. It is a serious flaw in the creation of the Knicks Big 3, and it is a known one. They can only hope a mentored Jeremy Lin can help fix the problem, just as Rondo did years ago with the Boston Celtics.
The go-to guy role has already been established with Carmelo, as mentioned above. There really is nobody else to take it, except possibly Amar'e. The role would naturally fall on the best wing player, who the team would hope to be an elite scorer when talking about super teams. Carmelo fits that mold, and that aspect of the super team has been fulfilled by the Knicks.
Defense had been a problem for the Knicks two seasons ago, as they were seen as an purely offensive team, and it showed to be fatal as they lost every single playoff game the year before. That was when they had just Carmelo and Amar'e, niether of whom were thought of as elite defenders. Then they brought in Tyson Chandler, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award for this season. He individually changed the defensive mentality of the Knicks, ridding them of the jokes about their lack of defense. His interior presence was sorely needed on the Knicks, and it changed the team significantly. Chandler being the vocal leader that he is spread defensive awareness to others on the court and he was rewarded with being the defensive player of the year. Despite this, they are still not great overall defensively. They have made improvement, but they still have ground to cover.
Yes, the new, renovated Brooklyn Nets have found there way into this conversation. From team that was 12-70 not too long ago, the Nets have found themselves on the rise, making their way up the ranks of the competitors in the East. They have established a team with 3 former All-Stars and one arguably Top 3 center. Despite stopping the chase for Dwight Howard, the team still can form its own Big 3 of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez. Yes, Lopez. Despite coming off an injury-riddled season, he has under-appreciated potential to become a top center in this league behind Dwight.
Again, these three players will clog up the cap space leaving little room for any type of respectable depth in their roster, mainly due to Johnson's contract. Johnson is owed $88 million over the next four years. To put that into perspective, Deron Williams just signed a contract for $100 million, but over a five year span. That is about $2 million less on average per year, and Deron is clearly the better player. Lopez had also signed a max contract for four-years. But they have players on rookie contracts that could make a decent bench, with MarShon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, and Reggie Evans off the bench.
The addition of Joe Johnson gave the Nets a much needed closer, who previously was Anthony Morrow, but it shifted per game. There was no clear go-to player, as Deron Williams could not do it either. With Joe Johnson, the Nets get a player that can they can rely on down the stretch. He's a scorer, simply put. He, just like Carmelo, has a reputation of being an iso player, but that could change now that he is playing with a league's Top 5 point guard. Either way, he has already snatched the hero role and that is much needed when contending for a ring, as demonstrated by the Miami Heat.
The potential trio of the Brooklyn Nets completes the ideal situation that is needed for a "perfect" super team. The team fills up the most critical and effective combo of stars, a point guard and center. It is the best possible combination for two different players on one squad. Lopez can command the post on offense. Deron, being the pass first point guard that he is, can effectively give Lopez the ball in the best locations, who has already shown offensive superiority while playing with mediocre point guards and sustaining double teams.. They are a perfect combination so to speak, since you can't just defend one because they play two complete different yet complimentary styles. Now add to that combination a scorer like Joe Johnson and up comes a beast that can not be tamed. Not only can Lopez pass to Deron when he is being double-teamed in the post, but also Joe Johnson, who has proven to be great playing one-on-one situations. The three players cover the court on all aspects. Deron brings up the ball, and can set up either Lopez in the post or Joe Johnson from the arc. That trio can slash, shoot, slam and just plain old get buckets.
They are great offensively but their defense is questionable, an important aspect to consider when creating a super team. Deron has been suspect at times on defense, and so has Brook Lopez. Lopez may seem like a goofy, lanky center but he has averaged around 1.5 blocks a game with his rebounding being below average for one year due to calcium deposit and mononucleosis. Lopez has shown that he defends best on 1-on-1 match-ups, but the pick and roll defense tends to be a problem. Joe Johnson on the other hand has played exceptionally well out on defense out on the wing. He and Deron would need some help of course from role players that they sign in terms of defense on the wing, such as Gerald Wallace, but overall the team is not too bad defensively.Wallace, who albeit not being the big three, is a former All-Star and his main role is to play defense and get boards. He will mainly be asked to slow down the likes of LeBron and Carmelo on defense and his past shows that he capable for doing it for another two years at least before. With another solid defensive power forward the team can be an above average defensive ball club. As of now, they are lacking in that area.
It should be noted that coaching was not put in as a key aspect of building a super team. Despite its non-existence on the list, coaching is an invaluable part of every team. The right coach puts together the holes and kinks in the fluidity of play. They design the plays, and run the team with whats in their power from the sidelines. Of course they are valuable, how could anybody say they are not? But when talking about super teams, everything changes a little bit.
The creation of a super team does not annihilate the the production of the coach, as they still play that role of making the plays, leading the practices, and building the proper system. But in the eyes of the fans, they do not seem important. The perfect example right now is Erik Spoelstra. He technically lead the Miami Heat to the Finals twice, winning the most recent one. But was it because the players were a product of Spoelstra, or because there were three superstars on one team? It's hard to pinpoint how much of an impact the coach really did have. Could any coach possibly fail when he has three superstars on one team? Even a below average coach can not mess that up, or can they? For this reasoning alone, coaching was left out of the equation. It is very hard to establish how big of a role that coach really did play into the success of the team. Undoubtedly it was significant amount, but it is very unclear.
For a quick summary, the four main components of building a contending team is depth, a go-to player, a balance of player types and skills, and defense. For a super team, depth is usually left out as there is not enough cap space, but a go-to player and defense are crucial as shown in the Heat's recent success. The balance of player types and skills are important, but can be slightly altered when you have the top player in the league (also see Heat). But usually, there needs to be a balance of players that can co-exist together and click (see Boston Celtics a few years ago). Mastering all four of those components can be difficult, but the super team that can pull it off will be the one raising the Larry O'Brien championship come June.
There are four main components of building a contending team. In no particular order...
Miami Heat
Depth, which can be said for all super teams, is nonexistent. So there goes that. Next up is the go-to player. This has been the heart of the LeBron bashing this season and last year's playoffs. LeBron was supposed to have cleared that role, hitting the clutch shots like he did back in Cleveland. For some reason, he gave up his looks, missed his shots and tried to get another player to take the shot for him. It was a mystery to all of NBA fans, but he came back this year with a vengeance, and he conquered that role, even if he did not have to take the last shot of the game. He hit clutch shots down the stretch, and there were periods of time in the 4th quarter where it seemed as if LeBron was playing by himself, showing unworldly dominance that fans have not seen since the days of Michael Jordan. The Heat last year did not have a guy to close out games, this year they did. Last year they did not win it all, this year they did.
The Heat had an odd assortment of players. They had two arguably Top 5 players, one of them being the best player in the league. They both could score at high rates, each capable of scoring 26+ points a game. However, together, that did not seem very likely, especially when you add in another star in Chris Bosh who can also drop 20+ a game. Both Wade and LeBron could bring the ball up, attack and drive to the rim, or pull up for jumpers. They had similar tools. Before joining forces, they both played the same roles on their respective teams, and when put together, it makes in confusing on what their roles are because their roles would be the same. In the components listed above, each player had their own defined roles which played to each other's strengths. Here, this was not the case. This year, they did redefine their roles slightly, with neither LeBron nor Wade taking numerous threes as they had done in the past. They left that to the role players, and limited themselves to mid-range jumpers and attacks at the basket, taking shots where they were the most efficient.
The Heat had an odd assortment of players. They had two arguably Top 5 players, one of them being the best player in the league. They both could score at high rates, each capable of scoring 26+ points a game. However, together, that did not seem very likely, especially when you add in another star in Chris Bosh who can also drop 20+ a game. Both Wade and LeBron could bring the ball up, attack and drive to the rim, or pull up for jumpers. They had similar tools. Before joining forces, they both played the same roles on their respective teams, and when put together, it makes in confusing on what their roles are because their roles would be the same. In the components listed above, each player had their own defined roles which played to each other's strengths. Here, this was not the case. This year, they did redefine their roles slightly, with neither LeBron nor Wade taking numerous threes as they had done in the past. They left that to the role players, and limited themselves to mid-range jumpers and attacks at the basket, taking shots where they were the most efficient.
Way above, it was mentioned that the Heat only won because they had LeBron. I still hold true to that statement. If it had been another player who played with a role similar to Wade, the Heat would not have won. Simple as that. LeBron plays the game with a style and flow fans have not seen before. In his body sits a PG, SG, SF, PF and possibly C, all combined into one player. He could play any position, and when the time came he did. When the PF Chris Bosh had sat out, LeBron took over for him. Not in the sense that he picked up the scoring, but he literally filled in for Bosh. He matched up against taller opponents defined as PF and C and held his ground. Only to guard the fastest PG or SG minutes later. The adaptability comes from him being a freak of nature, with athleticism so rare to mankind. On paper, the trio of the Miami Heat was a SG, a SF, and a PF, much different from the ideal trio mentioned above. Added to that is that the SG and SF do not have their defined roles. Bosh did, and he excelled quietly in that area. All eyes were on LeBron, and he was the reason that the mismatched trio succeeded.
Defense was a key component of the Heat's victory, but not only were their defensively minded, they could switch into offensive overdrive when needed. They had that perfect set up of players where offense could be generated with ease, and the opposing team could be slowed at will. LeBron, Wade, and Bosh formed that three-headed defensive beast, with Wade and James patrolling the outskirts and within and Bosh defending the paint. They had matched up against an offensive powerhouse in the Oklahoma City Thunder, but their defense halted Westbrook and Durant from reaching a title by slowing them down when it mattered. If proof is needed, re-watch the Finals, especially Game 5.
New York Knicks
The go-to guy role has already been established with Carmelo, as mentioned above. There really is nobody else to take it, except possibly Amar'e. The role would naturally fall on the best wing player, who the team would hope to be an elite scorer when talking about super teams. Carmelo fits that mold, and that aspect of the super team has been fulfilled by the Knicks.
Brooklyn Nets
It should be noted that coaching was not put in as a key aspect of building a super team. Despite its non-existence on the list, coaching is an invaluable part of every team. The right coach puts together the holes and kinks in the fluidity of play. They design the plays, and run the team with whats in their power from the sidelines. Of course they are valuable, how could anybody say they are not? But when talking about super teams, everything changes a little bit.
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