Miami Heat: 5 Worst Moments in The Big 3 Era

A Slow Start

Miami ruled the summer, the undisputed champion of the 2010 offseason.

But they had yet to play, much less win, an actual game.

Expectations were sky-high, ranging from pronouncements that the Heat would surpass the 72-win mark established by the ‘95-‘96 Chicago Bulls or false promises of multiple championships by a player no longer on the roster.

Miami’s first challenge was on Opening Night, facing a playoff-tested Boston Celtics team that returned the core of a lineup that had won a title only two years earlier. The Heat were a watered-down version of the team they would become, executing an occasional brilliant play only to follow it with a miscommunication or defensive lapse. The Celtics won, of course.

It didn’t end there, with Miami dragging itself to a “disastrous” 9-8 start that had fans worried and media salivating at the Heat’s exposed weaknesses.

The media frenzy peaked after a November matchup against the Dallas Mavericks when Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout after a run by the Mavs. As LeBron James walked to the sideline, he bumped Spoelstra as seen here:

While both James and Spoelstra claim it was an accident, the heightened media exposure magnified the event as a clear indication that the team was in disarray and that the Big 3 experiment was a failure.

Could Spoelstra coach the team or was team president Pat Riley the better choice? Would James be able to co-exist with Dwyane Wade? Was a trade necessary, even this early in the season?