Too Much of a Good Thing

When LeBron James decided to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh by "taking his talents to South Beach," he changed the landscape of the NBA for better or for worse. Never before had two of the top three players in the NBA chosen to collaborate as free agents. Magic Johnson had an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. Larry Bird had Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, and Dennis Johnson. Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippin and Dennis Rodman. They never tried to join forces with each other, or Karl Malone or Charles Barkley for that matter. The times they are a-changin'.

Then came the discussion of what to call this fantasy basketball team that was holding practices in Southern Florida. Some call them the Superfriends. The heat themselves have started calling themselves The Heatles. That is pretty bold to name yourself after the most influential, most important rock group of all time. Those guys came out with platinum record after platinum record. Their rhythm guitarist once said that they were more popular than Jesus, and most of the world was okay with that. They set the bar for what popular music could be. They changed their sound several times, but always managed to pull it off to keep up with the changing times. They broke up after a prolific run and each member went on to successful solo careers, proving that they were each talented enough to do it on their own.

What have these Heat done?

Dwayne Wade led the Heat to a championship five years ago, but has not done much since. Chris Bosh should not even be considered a superstar, but merely a guy who has always put up good numbers on a bad team. LeBron James took Cleveland to the Finals a few years ago, but got swept. With a better team around him the last few years, he has failed to get out of the Eastern Conference and quit on his team and his city to play with his star powered friends in Florida.

If anything these Miami Heat will be The Traveling Wilburys, the supergroup comprised of ex-Beatle George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty. Some of the most successful artists in the history of rock collaborated for a couple of albums, but the combination of all their talents, egos, ideas, and personalities could never outshine their individual accomplishments. Too much of a good thing really can exist. Their second album, after Orbison's death, paled in comparison to the first and their ship had sailed. The Miami Heat might be able to win a championship or two, but they will never be the best team ever.