So much for 82-0

Well, unless that blueprint relies on something other than Wade and Bosh to go a combined 6 of 25 from the floor [edit] correction - they were actually 7 of 27, but I think my larger point still stands [/edit], I don't know how much help it will be. LeBron shot right around 50%, but Wade and Bosh were terrible. (I will concede that Wade basically took the preseason off, so there may be some rust he needs to knock off.)

 

Celtics blueprint showed how weak Heat is beside their three superstars. Udonis Haslem and maybe Eddie House the only players that can compete against better teams - I can't wait when Joel Anthony has to go against Dwight Howard. If one (or two) of the Big 3 struggles, Heat will definitely be in trouble. In this game their team offense was lousy as well.. Rondo had more assists than Heat . They'll be a lot better team after 20+ games though.

Houston looked pretty sharp against Lakers.

 

Let's not put too much emphasis in game one of an 82-game season. Teams grow over the course of the season, but some more than others. When you bring in players from other teams, they need time to gel. The Lakers and Celtics are bringing back very similar rosters from last year, and their core players have played together for years. They are better prepared for the start of the season. Also bear in mind that the Celtics have one of the best defenses in the league. Let's see how they are playing in January before jumping to conclusions.

 

The Heat don't have any talented interior defenders (I love Haslem, yet he is a couple inches too short, and well maybe James could be if he was positioned there), they don't have any post-up threats and they don't seem to have much chemistry yet (James 6 TO's, Wade 5, etc).

That being said, once they gel a bit, the offensive ability will tear teams up.

At the same time, both Wade and James are slashers and I don't think they will compliment each other as much as they believe.

 

For a moment there I thought 82-0 was the final score of some very lopsided ball game. I'm really really just out of touch with NBA, I mean I only know James and Wade from the 'big 3'.

 

Philly was a much more suitable opponent for the Heat as the Sixers don't have many quality post players. Although they won, Heat's offense didn't gel overnight. LeBron is averaging 8.5 turnovers after 2 games.

 

Here's another thing to consider about the Heat-Celtics game. If you didn't know what the final score was, and just looked at the box score, you would have thought the Heat had got run off the floor. They ended up losing by 8 (I think), but that was a one possession game with 2 minutes left. All I'm saying is that a combination of poor play by Bosh and Wade, combined with Boston's always good defense, likely resulted in one of the poorer performances you are going to see from the Heat this year.

I just don't buy that the Heat will struggle every game where one of the Big 3 struggle. As for their interior, I thought Haslem came off the bench. I thought their starting center (and their only true center for that matter) is Ilgauskis (sp?). While he's never been a great player, he's never been terrible either. He's an average defender, and has a decent jump shot for a big guy.

 

James or Wade can cary this team against most of the NBA by themselves. Bosh on the other hand is not that type of star. To me, he isn't that great as it is. But as a third, he will shine more as the load will really be carried by LeBron and D-Wade. Teams won't be doubling Bosh if it can free up the other 2 for easy points. Their health late in the season will be the deciding factor though. Wade is injury prone. But, if their healthy come playoff time, watchout Celts and Magic.

 

I think that they're lack of interior defense won't be as big of a concern as I thought. If you watched their game against the Magic, the ball did not get inside. That's a team with Dwight Howard, and he was a relative non-factor offensively. The aggression and help of the perimeter defense was very impressive. It really reminds me a lot of my high school team, we started five guards and you can compensate for that with aggressive help defense. James in particular has great close-out speed, and even if he over-commits the help will be there.

That said I'm not rooting for them

 

Wade had a great game, LBJ had a triple double, Bosh played well and bench contributed too, but still Miami managed to lose. Bad defense, especially at the last minute of regulation. They just couldn't handle Millsap

 

I'm so happy right now, Utah has always been my team and this was amazing to watch.

More so because I never liked how soft Boozer could be always wanted Millsap to get more playing time.

Plus Kirilenko played well

 

Utah is one of the few teams in the NBA that are competitive even though they lack a true superstar. I don't think anyone on that team would qualify as a top-25 player.

 

I would put Deron Williams in the group below those you mentioned. (Also, presumably either Wade or LeBron is playing point.)

I haven't watched more than 5 minutes of a Utah game this year, so maybe I'm under-rating him. At first blush, I wouldn't rank him as a top-25 player.

 

Like I said, I'm lucky if I've seen more than 5 minutes of Utah this year, so I'm not really in position to make a complete judgement on him - or really any of Utah's players. It's one of the problems of living on the east coast - you're sleeping or getting ready to do so when a lot of the west coast teams are playing. The only west coast team I see with any frequency is the Lakers, because they get primetime slots and a lot of weekend coverage.