Miami’s Tri-nasty is mere mortal without structure.  It’s just one game, but the Heat looked pretty lost versus Boston

SCOTT JACOBS

It dawned on me today watching the Rockets-Lakers, after taking in a forgettable Heat opening effort, that what Miami is missing right now, is something you cannot measure on paper.  You can’t measure it in talent either.  While the chemistry was off all night for the new look Heat, there was something that should have been obvious from the second they agreed to form this Tri-nasty.

Miami needs roles.  The Heat needs to figure this out.  I think alot of people just expected Miami’s talent big three to blow anybody out of the water, but it’s going to take more than stats to win.  The Lakers and Rockets have their go to guys, they have their steeley veterans, their scrappy fighters, and their clutch shooters.  Everyone knows their role.  The ball movement is crisp.  They play cohesively as a unit.

When Miami took the court, I kind of just expected them to light the world on fire. But instead, they put together a horrific 9 points on the board in the first 12 minutes.  It was to say the least, a lackluster performance to start this new era.  Miami needs to be more then three.  They need their other guys to come through. All of this takes time.

Maybe I bought into the hype too fast.  Maybe the whole glitz and glamour of this great psychology experiment is greater right now than the sum of its parts.  Expecting Miami to compete with the defending Eastern Conference champs now feels foolish.  Miami’s like that celebrity child star, who grows up on TV.  You see the good, the bad, and the many growing pains.  That’s what Miami has to expect this year.

Everyone’s gunning for them.  Win or lose, every game they play will be a story.  They have talent, but not cohesion.  They have pizzazz but not substance… yet.

What they really need is an offensive system.  They need to be more then jump shooters living on the baseline.  They need to have better ball movement, crisper passes, better awareness of where each other is on the court.

That comes with time.  That comes with experience.  That comes with players who know their roles.

On paper Miami looks like a champion.  On the court they looked like a very flawed product.  An unfinished product.  The dynamics have yet to be developed.  Over the long haul players will learn their roles, the ball movement will improve, the other guys on this team will contribute.

Because if they don’t, the world’s coolest team on paper will never amount to anything.  Three players an NBA team doesn’t make. This isn’t NBA Jam 98.  This is 5 on 5.

It’s just one game.  No need to panic. But there’s a reason the Lakers are back to back champions and the Celtics have won the East two of the last three years.  Everyone knows their roles.  Miami’s learning on the fly.  That was very evident tonight.

Baby steps.  All offseason they acted like they had this all down.  The reality is Miami has a long, long way to go.

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