LeBron James is now dealing what he has been before back in Cleveland: doing most of the work now. It showed clearly in their Game 3 loss on Thursday night, when the Heat got destroyed in a 94-75 loss.
The Heat have showed some weaknesses in the series with the loss of Bosh, who is a key player that went down with an abdominal injury. Now the Heat have trouble finding a valuable player in the post.
Dwyane Wade struggled in Game 3, going 2-of-13 for only five points, five rebounds, and five turnovers. The 30-year-old guard started showing his age, as he clearly does not have the explosiveness like he did once before. He also showed frustration in the game, going as far as to yell at his coach in Erik Spoelstra.
As for the three-time MVP in James, he can't seem to find a groove, either. James had a strong first-half performance against Indiana, having 16 points and six rebounds. However, his game plummeted the next half, finishing with only 22 points total in Game 3.
In their first season of existence, Miami was unable to get past the aging Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, getting beat by forward Dirk Nowitzki, who had more heart than all three of the Heat's stars combined.
Miami became more serious this season after that painful loss, getting more into the post game, which made them get off to a hot start.
However, things have slowly dwindled down. In the final month of their regular season games, the Heat showed signs of laziness along with their motives being questioned that led to their losses. So far against the Pacers, they're playing nothing like they were at the start of the season.
There have been too many jump shots forced by Wade and James, especially in Game 3. None have been attacking the rim like they have used, which led to much of their success. That is the key if they really want to get anything done against a deep Pacers squad.
If the Heat fail to get past the Pacers in this series, there will be a bunch of rumors of the team blowing it all up, despite it being their second season.
If not blowing up the team, there are rumors of letting Wade go by possibly trading him. They are also believed to maybe fire coach Spoelstra for a more veteran guy, like possibly bringing back Phil Jackson or Pat Riley into the coaching game.
Right now, the Heat are looking to focus on what to do in order to avoid a 3-1 hole after Game 4 on Sunday. They cancelled practice today in order to focus on the tough situations like this.
With all of this happening, it has led me to a question: Does a "Superteam" really even matter in the NBA? Can it really get you victories? Is it really the "easy way" to go for getting the rings?
By looking at Miami, I'm afraid not.
It has led to too much drama with the team.
James, who used to be the beloved hero in Cleveland, is now the most hated player in the game. If he does anything wrong, all the blame goes on him. Bosh can't seem to find a grip himself sometimes, either.
The biggest difference is D-Wade. He is getting old and isn't the guy he used to be when he led the underdog Heat over the Mavericks in 2006. He isn't much of the same person, either, turning into more of a "punk" now, tackling players when he isn't happy. He also turned into more of a flopper, along with asking for more calls so he can shoot free throws.
Judging by how things look, it has just been a disaster for this team. There has been no chemistry whatsoever. All these guys on their respective teams in 2009 would have more chemistry than they do now together.
With the Big 3 hogging up most of the salary cap, it's hard to go after other free agents. The Heat have a clear gaping hole because of that, which is in the post and in guys that can be a pretty good back-up towards the stars.
Yes, they have signed Mike Miller and Shane Battier, but there has been no success so far in this series with the Pacers. Let's face it, if they lose to them, they won't look like a successful team at all.
With that, a Superteam doesn't really matter here in the NBA, despite it being a new age.
We have seen the worst of Superteams, like the New York Knicks this season. They tried creating one with Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler, but it turned out to be a drama-filled disastrous season before they got a little chemistry towards the end of the season.
The Heat may necessarily not be that bad like in the Big Apple, but it shows a Superteam doesn't matter.
The Heat have the best player on the planet in LeBron, one of the best shooting guards to play the game in Wade, and one of the top power forwards in Bosh; yet, they can't seem to win the big game, or let alone a playoff-series in the second round.
And it shows that if one star gets injured, the team is basically screwed. A combo of James and Bosh would have been enough to get past Indiana. Wade and James? Not so much considering the down-low game.
If a star is out, the team can't succeed.
And that is one of the big problems in Superteams. Plus, egos can get in the way. The Heat are lucky enough to not have much of that, since all are committed towards winning the big game.
However, some question what to do with all the stars, which as led to questions of James' clutch. It looks as if LeBron doesn't know when to go "hero-ball-mode" or pass it to Wade or Bosh on the game-winner. It has been a problem all season.
In my opinion, the Superteam doesn't matter.
Look at the other teams out there: the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the Indiana Pacers.
The Spurs were able to build with Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker to create a very in-depth team. With that, it has led to four championships in over the past decade. Now they are planning to go towards their fifth, as they so far are a very dangerous team in the West.
The Thunder have shown it, too. Instead of going towards free agency, the Thunder built on the draft and so far have a very young and balanced team with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden. Along with that, they have key contributors in Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins, and Thabo Sefolosha.
The Pacers are different. They don't have a true star, but instead, about seven or eight guys who can be valuable starters or sixth-mans on any team in the NBA. With George Hill, Paul George, David West, Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, and Darren Collison; the Pacers have created a great team strictly through the draft and smart trades. There has also been a key move in free agency, which was West. With that, it led to Indiana having Larry Bird as Executive of the Year.
If the Heat can learn to do this and have chemistry like the following teams above, they can have success. So far, they're proving the fact that Superteams aren't necessarily needed.
The Heat did a lot to the NBA in order to make this happen. It led to a lockout to fix the cap issues and a new trend in the league. Many teams are wanting to do this, which has led to the decline of the small-markets. Teams like the Spurs and Thunder are looking to keep them alive.
However, now some of these players can learn their lesson if the Heat continue to struggle.
With that, the Heat have "not one, not two, not three, not four. not five, not six, not seven" championships, but just none.
And with the way thing are going on now, David Stern can make his head explode because it looks like we could be heading for a Pacers-Spurs Finals match-up.
Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. He also contributes at Hoops Authority and Eight Points Nine Seconds. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.
