Here come the Heat
It's not exactly clear who deserves credit for the idea, but LeBron James has been promoting a nickname for his star-studded Miami Heat squad in recent days — “The Heatles.”
The moniker is an obvious play on “The Beatles,” and the similarities between LeBron's basketball team and the most famous rock band in history are endless.
Like the Beatles, the Heatles are routinely greeted by thousands of screaming women when they land at the airport in a new city.
When the Beatles toured America, they were loudly booed and jeered each time they grabbed a drum stick or plucked a guitar string, much like the Heatles today.
And of course, American music fans rejoiced whenever the Beatles were beaten out for No. 1 on the charts by the Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits or some other underdog rock band.
Actually, come to think of it, none of that is true. The Heat has absolutely nothing in common with the Beatles. If anything, the Heat is the anti-Beatles.
The Beatles once appeared on a worldwide television special to perform the song, “All You Need Is Love.” James starred in one of the most infamous hours in sports television history to announce that he's “taking his talents to South Beach.”
For the first time since James joined forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami's power trio will visit the United Center on Saturday to take on the Bulls.
“It's going to be an exciting game,” Bulls guard Derrick Rose said, according to espn.com. “The challenge of playing them is different because they have three great isolation players, where they don't need a pick. Either one of them can easily take over a game and go off for 40 points.”
It's not clear whether James will play, although Heat coach Eric Spoelstra predicted he would. James sat out Thursday's lopsided loss at Denver because of a sprained left ankle suffered the previous night in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Before the two-game losing streak, Miami (30-11) had won 21 of 22 games
The Bulls have been playing most of the season at less than full strength. Center Joakim Noah will be out at least another month with a thumb injury.
Everyone knew the Heat would be a force, even when it stumbled out of the gate to a 9-8 record. There appears to be no precedent for three stars banding together in the prime of their careers, including two (James and Wade) who have averaged 30 points for a full season.
It's also a team American sports fans love to hate. No one would dispute that James was free to choose his destination. But this whole thing brings to mind a pair of bullies on the playground who get tired of losing games, so they rig the balance of talent in their favor.
On Sunday at Portland, James knocked down a 3-pointer in overtime, then raised both arms above his head to encourage more boos. Following that game, James claimed he's learned to enjoy being the NBA's standout villain.
“I've grown accustomed to it,” James told reporters. “I enjoy it. It's just when I go into an opposing building, there's nothing but venom being thrown at us. So you embrace that atmosphere that we always go into on the road. I definitely do.”
Bulls fans have never really embraced Wade, who grew up in southwest suburban Robbins. He does figure to be less popular after sending signals last July that he might be interested in joining the Bulls as a free agent.
“I don't know what to expect, but it really doesn't matter to me,” Wade said after the Denver game. “My family will be rooting for me.”
No team in NBA history can match up well against James and Wade. The most important test for the Bulls is whether they can challenge Miami's weak spots.
The Heat has stuck with Carlos Arroyo and Mario Chalmers at point guard this season. Both are competent players, but they're a long way from Rose's level.
Then there's Carlos Boozer against Bosh. Neither player is regarded as a strong defender, but at least the Bulls should have Noah on their side later this season. Bosh's partner in the post is usually Joel Anthony, whose only reliable offensive move is an open dunk, and 35-year-old Zydrunas Ilgauskas, a poor defender even is his younger days.
Basically, the Bulls need Boozer to dominate inside. As far as Boozer's history against Bosh, they've matched up just five times in the past five seasons, since Utah and Toronto met twice a year and both players missed games with injuries.
In those five games, Boozer averaged 24.2 points and 14.2 rebounds, while shooting 57.3 percent from the field. Bosh was at 22.4 points and 10.8 boards. Boozer's Utah squad won all five contests. In fact, Boozer hasn't lost to Bosh on an NBA floor since Dec. 22, 2004 when the Raptors beat the Jazz.
This game is sure to be a huge event in Chicago, but it's likely a preview of more important contests between these teams in the years to come.