Life is good if you’re a member of the Miami Heat, but it has the potential to take a detrimental turn if they fail to put away the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Miami has jumped out to a 2-1 lead over Oklahoma City, just as they did against the Dallas Mavericks last season. Unlike last season, however, the Heat need to ensure they don’t squander another opportunity to win a championship. If they do, it will go from care free to complete and utter chaos in South Beach.
And it won’t just be Erik Spoelstra’s job be on the line after another finals loss, as the Big Three will stand to break up as well.
Plenty of people have called for Chris Bosh to be traded, but if the Heat collapse again, he may not necessarily be the one on the chopping block. Dwyane Wade has done plenty for this franchise, but has visibly struggled on numerous occasions throughout the postseason and become one of the greater injury risks in all the league.
And then there’s LeBron James, the NBA’s most gifted player. The Heat would never consider trading him, right?
Wrong. After another failed championship push, what if James is so fed up with the criticism and the “overrated” dynamic that he requests a trade himself? It’s easy for him, Bosh and Wade to remain friendly when the going is easy, but as we’ve seen over the past two years, they’re no strangers to butting heads.
And should the Heat collapse yet again, can this superstar trio really continue to co-exist? Each of them has sacrificed plenty in their quest for a championship, but those sacrifices become much harder to accept when blueprinted endeavors are rendered fruitless.
That’s what Miami is currently up against. It’s not just about winning a title to silence the critics or validate their premeditated formation. It’s about the Big Three’s livelihood.
Right now, the Heat are in the driver’s seat, but if they stumble and come up empty-handed, there’s a slew of changes on the horizon.
Changes that may dictate the Big Three be dismantled.
Dan Favale is an avid basketball analyst and firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His work can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
