Replace LeBron with Carmelo During the Heat Run

[tpols]

We have already seen this past week how good a chalmers/wade/x/bosh/birdman team can play.. most likely a 50ish win pace.

Now you add prime melo to basically this heat team with wade and bosh a little younger even? And the best competition is young Indiana and old boston?

At least 2 titles. 2011 is a lock. 2013 and 2014 theyd make the Finals.. and split it.

People forget.. the spurs were barely winning in 2013 with lebron shitting the bed going from a 55% RS scorer to a 40% Finals scorer scared to shoot for over half the series. They wouldnt be able to do that to melo and wade played very well that series.

[lilteapot]

They might win the 2011 finals but they wouldn't dominate the playoffs as much as they did

[f0und]

when wade had to step back so he wouldnt get in lebron's way, it seemed like he lost a bit of himself in the process. even after wade took a back seat, the on court chemistry never completely meshed.

if paired with melo, wade wouldnt have had to change his game much and wouldnt have mentally lost himself. his game naturally meshes with melo's. it was evidenced when they played in the olympics together. i remember the announcers talking about how their games complimented each others.

now im not saying that with melo, the heat win more titles. just that offensively, they would have better chemistry. whether that aspect alone translates to more titles, i couldnt tell ya.

[HurricaneKid]

People were saying they were done. Look at them now when LeBron left,they're playing like youngsters.

Wade avg 25.5, 22.1, 21.2, and 19.0 ppg on .581, .559, .571, .588 TS%.

This year he is avg 15.0 on .487. He is avg a career high in TOs. He is shooting 40.0% on 2 PTers. His lowest % in the last 4 years was .513.

Are you SERIOUSLY suggesting that Wade is better without LeBron now?

[ArbitraryWater]

2011 is nowhere near a lock....

Melo wouldn't bring half the defense LeBron did.

This is what LeBron did on Parker in 2013:

Game 6: 6-26 =23%
Game 7: 3-12 =25%

Melo is a career 41% playoff scorer and he's supposed to lead the 2012-2014 Heat to 3 straight finals and a title?

Obviously he would be the clear sidekick in 2011...

What about the playmaking? rebounding? The reason the ENTIRE Heat's swarming defense was even possible was due to LeBron's defensive versatility......

How is Melo replacing LeBron's production??? How is Melo closing out Boston Game 4, Boston Game 5, Chicago Game 2, Chicago Game 5??

Wade was doing 19 ppg on 41% in the 2011 ECF, that looks VERY Melo like...

Melo shot 38% in 2011.... 42% the next year... 41% the year after that.... Sure, he is matching peak LeBron's production over teams they barely went by....

2012 Pacers in 6, 2012 Celtics in 7, 2013 Pacers in 7, 2013 Spurs in 7... They're not beating any of those teams. Not one.

[WindmiLL]

They don't make the finals at all after 2011. In 2011, if they do get past the Bulls, they more than likely win the title.

This forum is full of overreactions. I don't think people understand how hard it is to win a title. Look at all the great players throughout history that never won despite having great teams. Then look at the ones with great teams over the course of one or two seasons that don't win.

Lebron doesn't get enough credit for his finals wins as crazy as it sounds. Maybe it is just because my view of basketball is that of the opinions of people on here, who are outright crazy, or just trolling 95% of the time.
People don't get how small that team was, and how difficult it is playing basketball constantly being the smaller team and constantly getting bullied and outrebounded. Lebron covered a lot of our problem areas and worked like crazy while Wade was really lazy at times.

Melo has a really low chance of getting to the finals after 2011, and an even lower one of winning after that. His best shot is 2011, and he would be a complimentary piece on the Heat team to Dwyane Wade, not the star like Lebron was.

After Lebron left looks like you are the ONLY sane true Heat fan left on here. And somehow appreciate what Lebron did for Miami while he was playing there even though he shit the bed in 11''.

Other fans like PJR and DaSeba will probably argue that, forget Melo, Heat would achieve more with Rudy Gay there instead of Lebron. They quickly forget how many games Wade could sat out for various reasons, because Lebron was capable of literally carrying that team on his own at times. When Bosh was out with injury in the playoffs and Wade struggling, good luck with Melo carrying the Heat.

Also you are all so sure that in 11'' they surely win a chip with Melo. You remember that in Chicago series Wade was struggling a lot? And Lebron played great in that series both on offense and defense. Good luck with Melo trying to fill the holes on defense which Lebron could so efficiently because of his versatility.

[f0und]

Wade avg 25.5, 22.1, 21.2, and 19.0 ppg on .581, .559, .571, .588 TS%.

This year he is avg 15.0 on .487. He is avg a career high in TOs. He is shooting 40.0% on 2 PTers. His lowest % in the last 4 years was .513.

Are you SERIOUSLY suggesting that Wade is better without LeBron now?

looking at just the avg after these 3 games is a bit silly.

first game he scored 21 on 50%.
second game he scored 9 on 22%.
third game he scored 19 on 63%.

if you look at this way, you can tell he's off to a pretty good start. he just had one bad game. it happens to everyone. but if you look at just the average, youd think he's playing pretty mediocre.

[Taller than CP3]

Prime Melo on the Heat instead of Lebron would have quadruple peated.

[tpols]

2011 is nowhere near a lock....

Melo wouldn't bring half the defense LeBron did.

This is what LeBron did on Parker in 2013:

Game 6: 6-26 =23%
Game 7: 3-12 =25%

Melo is a career 41% playoff scorer and he's supposed to lead the 2012-2014 Heat to 3 straight finals and a title?

Obviously he would be the clear sidekick in 2011...

What about the playmaking? rebounding? The reason the ENTIRE Heat's swarming defense was even possible was due to LeBron's defensive versatility......

How is Melo replacing LeBron's production??? How is Melo closing out Boston Game 4, Boston Game 5, Chicago Game 2, Chicago Game 5??

Wade was doing 19 ppg on 41% in the 2011 ECF, that looks VERY Melo like...

Melo shot 38% in 2011.... 42% the next year... 41% the year after that.... Sure, he is matching peak LeBron's production over teams they barely went by....

2012 Pacers in 6, 2012 Celtics in 7, 2013 Pacers in 7, 2013 Spurs in 7... They're not beating any of those teams. Not one.

tony opened up the 2013 series great.. had a calf/hamstring injury halfway through the series.. and still scored all the comeback and go ahead buckets directly on Lebron to put the spurs up 5 with 30 seconds left to a title. And he was exhausted after doing that. When Ray Allen hit that miracle three the momentum and energy of the spurs was killed. Looks like youre just reading box scores.

The Heats swarming defense is also not due to just Lebron. Erik spo is a defensive coach first and foremost. When Lebron came to Miami, the heat were already a top 5 defensive team.

Bosh is arguably the best PnR defender in the league.. long, extremely mobile, and gives a ton of effort trapping and hedging. He was actually the reason the heats perimeter defense was so good.. they already had a great defensive backcourt in chalmers wade to begin with.

Melo shooting low 40s on dysfuntional knick teams doesnt speak much to me.. for all the excuses lebron got for flaming out of the playoffs with mo williams as his next best scorer, I dont seem to be hearing anything about how JR smith has completely shat the bed, even worse than mo, in the playoffs.

[STATUTORY]

people are not taking into consideration how much better wade and bosh would have been in Bron's absence

2011 is a lock

[rlsmooth775]

Why does Lebron have a higher career average more 30 point 40 point 50 point games and have better field goal percentage

[STATUTORY]

cause you are conflating statistical output with ability

[ArbitraryWater]

Thats because Melo shat the bed aswell

Bosh gets absolutely abused in the post... Horrible against the Pacers and Spurs all years.

Made Hibbert and old Duncan look like prime Wilt.

What does Allen hitting a game tying 3 even have to do with this?

Melo shot 42% on the Nuggets in the playoffs... Good luck winning with that.

[hiphopfan777]

Melo had iverson a first ballot hall of famer and still choked in the first round. Stacked

[HurricaneKid]

No chance Miami beats Chi in 2011.
Chicago was not only the #1 seed in the East but had Asik, Korver, Taj coming off the bench. Mia had three players that weren't making min as UD and MM were injured and essentially non-contributors in the playoffs. LeBron led the team in Min, PPG, Reb, Asst, Stl, and Bl. And did an insanely good job on DRose in the 4th quarters. Sorry but NO.

Small chance they beat Indy in 2012, CERTAINLY don't get past Bos.
Remember, Bosh was out. Down 2-1 on the road LeBron goes for 40/18/9/2/2 on 52%. Wade and LeBron were incredibly good in the Indy series and LeBron singlehandedly won G6 @Boston, which is about as dominating a performance as you will ever see.

Lose to Indy in 13
7 game series. LeBron completely crushed Indy. Again led the team in Pts, Rebs, Asst, Stl, Bl. Wade avg 15pts on 43%. Bosh 11 on .377 and got devoured by Hibbert.

Lost to SAS in 14.
God the East was bad last year. But no chance Mia wins a game against SAS last year.

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