Van Gundy: Miami destined for great things next season
The balance of power has completely shifted to South Beach this offseason. After a busy free agent period, basketball fans witnessed the transformation of the Miami Heat from an ordinary playoff team to a juggernaut title contender. Pat Riley, as usual, won the battle of wits and it’s up to the three amigos – Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James – to live up to the hype.
Speaking of hype, Jeff Van Gundy became the first legit person, being a former NBA coach and current basketball analyst, to predict the Heat would dominate this coming season. Other basketball analyst such as Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Kevin McHale put doubts on the Heat’s capability to win championship in the supertrio’s first season together. Sure, health, team chemistry, and bench production could be factors in a long run, but Van Gundy believed the Heat is just a h**l of a basketball team.
Van Gundy, who shared bad blood with the Heat back in his time with the New York Knicks, did not think twice before saying the Heat are destined for great things this coming season.
“They will break the single-season in record [of 72],”. “And I think they have a legit shot at the Lakers’ 33-game [winning] streak [in 1971-72], as well. And only the Lakers have even a remote shot at beating them in a playoff series. They will never lose two games in a row this year," Van Gundy told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Van Gundy said that the Heat does not only have edge in superstars, it also built a decent supporting cast with the acquisition of Mike Miller, Zynduras Ilgauskas, and the re-signing of Udonis Haslem.
“They have put together a much better roster than anybody could ever have expected,” Van Gundy added. “There is now no good way to defend them. They are unguardable. They are indefensible. They are just too good and have added so much shooting and are so versatile that they will score at will."
Moreover, steady journeyman like Eddie House, James Jones, and Carlos Arroyo can also provide a much-needed punch from the bench. House, who split the 2009-2010 season with the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks, remains one of the league’s best long range bombers with a .390 career three-point percentage. Riley tapped another sniper in Jones, who shot a career .398 from the three-point arc. Arroyo also returns to backup playmaker for Mario Chalmers after averaging 6.1 points and 3.1 assists in 75 games. His 4.27-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked second behind all-star guard Chris Paul last season.
Van Gundy said the Heat’s offensive firepower is too much for other teams to handle. The coach added that ball movement won’t be a much of a problem because James and Wade are unselfish players. Eric Spoelstra’s profound basketball knowledge and good motivating tactics would also provide them an edge on the defensive end.
"Erik[Spoelstra]is a heck of a coach, so they're going to be motivated to play well defensively, which is about coaching, and offensively they're going to be an absolute nightmare to deal with," Van Gundy said on ESPN 1000 Monday.
Nevertheless, Van Gundy feels that last season’s finalist – the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics – remain deadly threats for the Heat.
"I think Boston – with the [Shaquille] O'Neal signing – has a legitimate chance as well," he said. "But I think those are the only two teams that have a chance in a playoff series to beat them." Van Gundy told ESPN about the chances of the revamped Celtics to contend for the title next season.
For now, all eyes are glued on the Heat as they attempt to create an epic feat. And with Van Gundy raising the bar of expectation, the “heat” is really on for next season.
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