Miami Heat are not all about sacrifices - Part 2
Link for part – 1: http://www.senore.com/Miami-Heat-are-not-all-about-sacrifices-Part-1-a72388
With LeBron, Wade and Bosh playing their natural game, taking on opponents and playing aggressively in their own capacity as well as a team, Miami started to become the unstoppable force that was predicted in the pre season. They
still play for each other, they still do their bit, but the difference is that they are also a bit selfish now.
After a poor 9 – 8 run early on, the Miami Heat are now a fantastic 61 – 19. The reason is, and one doesn’t say this very often, the selfish play of their stars. The Heat’s star trio have now found their respective roles in the
team and within their own role, they have as much freedom as they want.
LeBron James is now the established playmaker of the team. He is the one who gets the ball most often and he pretty much decides what to do with it. LeBron’s basketball sense combined with the ability to spot an open teammate,
something he has always had, makes him a natural choice for the role.
Dwyane Wade, who was the main man for the Heat last season, has had to step aside and let LeBron control the game. After struggling early on, he is totally okay with it now and seems to enjoy his free role where he can wander around
the court and not have to deal with the responsibility of being the ball carrier. When he does get the ball, he does whatever he wants with it and usually he goes on and attack. Wade was on hand to describe the new system of controlled selfishness that has
seen Miami elevate themselves into the NBA Finals,
"I realized that I had to be aggressive when I got the ball," Wade said, "probably look for my offense more than I normally have, in a sense where I used to normally look to set guys up a little more, now I'm getting the ball a
lot as a second and third option, it's kind of up to me to be a little more aggressive."
The last of the Big Three, Chris Bosh would agree. He came here after years of leading the charge for the Toronto Raptors. Bosh wasn’t used to passing out when he could drive to the rim, or when he could work a good shot. But like
his new teammates, he also moulded himself to be more of a provider than a creator.
When you have LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on your team, it’s understandable that you would look to pass the ball to them. The approach didn’t work for the team and it didn’t work for Bosh. So he reverted back to the Bosh of old,
and played the game like he did in Toronto. He obviously doesn’t get the ball as much, but the Miami forward is aggressive when the opportunity arises. Bosh believes now that it is tougher for opponents to deal with three players going at them all the time,
rather than three stars just passing the ball around themselves,
"I think it's a good balance for the team when we're all aggressive," Bosh said. "When we bring that mentality to the games, it puts pressure on all aspects of the defense and nobody ever gets a break.”
For once, selfishness is a good thing.
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