Heat in 6, what was I thinking?! I should have realized the Heat’s failure to make their bench any better since last year would be their downfall against a deep team like the Spurs. Besides the lopsided bench points, Ginobli was his old self during the Finals and Wade was a shell of his former self. It was mainly the Big 1 (LBJ) against the Spurs. I think Miami would have enjoyed seeing any other team come out of the West besides the Spurs. Their passing and defense wore out the old Heat lineup and they just couldn’t maintain the same level of intensity. Miami looked like the old team during the Finals largely in part to their lack of a solid rotation.
Let’s not take anything away from the Spurs, their play was magical and surgical in their 5 game destruction of the back-to-back champs. Like always, all the talk after the Finals was focused on Lebron and the Heat. The Spurs deserve more praise for the way they play and their legacy among all-time great NBA teams. Now the world seems to be holding its breath waiting for Lebron to decide where he will be going next season as it will surely shake up the landscape in the NBA.
The West will be just as tough next season regardless of where Lebron goes, while a new champion may rise from the East. It is remarkable how much power he has on the entire free agency market and there will be a slew of deals once he finally decides where he is taking his talents next year. The one thing stated by Lebron is that he wants a max deal and he deserves every penny.
Since free agency has started my phone has been glued to my hand while I refresh Twitter and check all the sporting websites. It doesn’t help that the US was eliminated from the World Cup and I have zero interest in baseball. Football season needs to start already so we can rid ourselves of this new obsession.
Predictions for Free Agency:
Lebron returns to Cleveland. Why not? People will always measure Lebron’s success by how many championships he has, is it unfair? No, that’s ultimately how every player is truly remembered. You can use the argument that he never had a great supporting cast in his years in Cleveland, and he still carried that team into the Finals (Back when the East was a lot more competitive too). He fixed that by joining two superstars in 2010, and the result was four straight Finals appearances. Did he ever get over leaving his hometown though? I don’t think so. Lebron is an extremely unselfish player, and I’m sure that translates into him being extremely compassionate off the court as well. Lebron bringing a championship back to Cleveland would probably mean more to him than his two rings with the Heat. Whatever he does, he is in control of his destiny.
**UPDATE-Lebron decides to go home! Signing a 2 year deal for 42 mil, setting himself up for an even bigger deal in the future.
Melo smartens up and goes to the Bulls. Melo could play on another year on the Knicks squad with a new offense and a new coach making over 20 million or possibly play in the Finals with the Bulls. If Melo truly cared about winning he may look to go to Chicago. Chicago would have to make some moves by way of a sign and trade with New York most likely, and you know Phil is going to walk away with Taj most likely.
**UPDATE-Melo says In Phil I trust, along with all those dead presidents. Chicago ends up signing Pau Gasol instead.
Bosh joins the Rockets. Bosh is on the clock thanks to the Mavs aggressive move to sign an offer sheet to RFA Chandler Parsons. The Rockets can keep Parsons if they get Bosh to sign first, and he is still waiting to hear from Lebron. Lebron will probably make his decision tomorrow, July 11th, before he heads out to the World Cup final and then the domino effect will occur. Of course if Lebron returns to the Heat, I believe Bosh will rejoin him.
**UPDATE- Bosh signs a max deal to stay with the Heat, giving him 30M more to stay in South Beach and a chance to become the lead dog again.
Hopefully we’ll be able to get some new podcasts out and blogs as the football season is quickly approaching. Honestly Football is really what we care about the most here at the PT Sports Debate and we can’t wait for kickoff. Cheers all,
-Stiltz
PT Sports Debate 