The Los Angeles Lakers had quite an incredible summer as they acquired stars Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. The Lakers made themselves one of the most talented teams in the NBA, but with that came a lot of pressure to win multiple championships.
The Miami Heat had a very similar off-season in 2010 with the signings of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The “Big Three” in Miami was heavily scrutinized for coming together; not many people wanted to see Miami’s “Big Three” raise the Larry O’Brien trophy.
At first the Heat struggled to get on the same page and there were many questions as to whether or not the players could harmoniously coexist. Miami started its first season with the “Big Three” with a 9-8 record, a slow start Dwyane Wade remembers well. Wade spoke to NBA.com about superstar teams hyping up their season only to realize that winning a championship is a long and tough process.
“There’s excitement, of course,” he said. “And there’s a lot of anticipation about what can be possible. But really, a lot of things tend to get ahead of themselves. I guess, when you think about it, those things are only natural. Now looking back, you see how unrealistic a lot of things are in the early days. But I guess it doesn’t stop everybody from doing it all over again and making the same mistake with expectations.”
The Miami Heat made their way to the 2011 NBA Finals, but did not raise the banner until the following year. Although the title did not come as quickly as hoped, the Heat did eventually became NBA champions.
Even though the Lakers did not have a “pre-championship” pep-rally after acquiring Howard and Nash, there has been a lot of hype surrounding the team. At this point, there are still improvements that can be made and hopefully Mike D’Antoni will help things move a little faster.
