The Readers Weigh In – Will Heat Trio Contend for NBA Title if LeBron Comes?

The Miami Heat have superstar shooting guard Dwyane Wade back in the fold and have added gifted power forward/center Chris Bosh in free agency.

The Heat are hoping to land LeBron Jams when he makes his nationally-televised announcement, but one expert NBA analyst – and two lifelong NBA betting lovers –all agree that even if James does go to the Heat, nothing will be etched in stone when it comes to the league’s newest ‘Big Three’.

NBA expert Aaron Torres weighed in by saying this about Miami’s chances to contend if they do indeed land James.

“It sounds like for all intents and purposes that’s where LeBron is going to end up,” Torres wrote in an e-mail. “But can the "Three Amigos," and a bunch of scrap parts really deliver a title?”

George Coley Jr., a lifelong Miami Heat fan from Philadelphia, agreed with Torres by saying, “If he goes to Miami, they’re definitely in the playoffs, but would probably fall short until they get a good bench together. If they get the bench together this offseason, they could contend for the Eastern Conference Finals.”

Keith Branch, a lifelong Philadelphia ‘baller’ that played the same position as James (small forward) and now resides in New Jersey, had the most interesting take on the possibility of James joining Wade and Bosh in Miami, vociferously stating his opinion.

“Magic Johnson didn’t want to play with Larry Bird, he wanted to meet up against him in the Finals and shake his hand win or lose,” Branch said. “Any great player wants to create his own legacy and Miami is still Dwyane Wade’s team. Besides, the Heat are not guaranteed anything in the Eastern Conference. I do think they all three players would sacrifice their individual games and do what it takes to win, but the Heat would need some bench players before they can even be mentioned as a possible title contender.”

I agree with Torres and my other two NBA experts on this possible scenario playing out. I think LeBron James knows that it will appear as if he is desperate to join Bosh and Wade in Miami, but that it also likely represents his best opportunity to win right away.

However, if the Heat don’t reach the NBA Finals at the very least, things could get very ugly – and I wonder how much each player is willing to sacrifice of his own individual game in order to build an annual title contender.

Personally, I think James is leaning toward either going to Miami or staying with Cleveland, but then again, that’s why we’ll all be in front of the television watching James make his announcement at 9 PM ET.