The buzz around the NBA right now is based around Cleveland, where the issues between a coach, his superstar and the rest of an under-performing team have made for some sensational headlines. There’s a familiarity to it, something similar to the constant noise blaring around the Miami Heat in 2010.
Still, what’s currently happening to the Cavaliers feels different that what the Heat went through four years ago, doesn’t it? Part of what defined that first season of Miami’s “Big 3” era was the constant hatred that began with LeBron James‘ announcement on ESPN and didn’t end until June 2012, when the Heat won the NBA championship.
The reasons for that anger were many and varied, among them that James’ decision was poorly executed, the trio of stars and their “undeserving” fans celebrated too early and — let’s face it — they scared the hell out of 29 other teams, too.
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But in 2014 Cleveland … there was no hatred or resentment about how the team was assembled. James was just coming home, Kyrie Irving was already there and trading Kevin Love gave the Timberwolves something they never had, which is hope for the future.
This was a feel-good story, or at least it was supposed to be, and a sharp contrast from the mercenary circumstances that brought the Heat together in 2010.
Even coach David Blatt, a relative unknown, was an international prodigy, drawing comparisons to Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and leading several Cavs players — including James — to designate Blatt’s offensive sets as “borderline genius.”
That was less than four months ago, when training camp opened with smiles and rainbows and free ice cream for everyone.
Since then? An opening night loss, a sub-.500 record, and a multi-game losing streak marred the team’s first month.
While they appeared to right the ship, frustration among the players has boiled over and recent stories indicate that Blatt can’t reach his players and James isn’t above “making the appropriate business decision” that could include leaving the Cavaliers once more.
I’ll continue by stating that I think, just like it was in 2010, this is all pointless conjecture and simply an attempt to create speculative mountains out of molehills. Could there be tension between Blatt and his players?
Undoubtedly, but there was an apparent divide between James and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra in 2010 that was allegedly irreparable yet, somehow, led to an incredibly successful four-year span.
Might James leave when his contract is up for option at the end of next season? Sure. He did it you once, Cleveland, he’ll do it you again. But the Cavaliers could win a lot of games in between now and then and, as James has explained, had Miami won a third-straight title in 2014, he’d still be wearing a Heat jersey this season.
The point of this isn’t to just highlight the noise from the media, which will always surround a team of high-profile superstars with championship aspirations. It’s that a lot of the what’s being generated seems to come from the team itself, a huge difference from what happened in Miami four years ago.
At this point in the 2010 season, the Heat had weathered the early storms and climbed to a 25-9 record. They started off 9-8, diffused “BumpGate,” found a way to gel together and won 21 out of their next 22 games.
They played defense at a level the Cavs simply can’t and there hadn’t been any indication that the players lost faith in themselves, their coach or the franchise.
Frustration? Sure. If you had a team of reporters follow your every move, I’m sure there’d be a few moments that you’d like to keep out of the press.
But there was an established championship culture already in place in Miami that helped guide the team through their roughest points.
Pat Riley (a 7-time champion as a player and coach before winning it again in 2012 and 2013) knew how to get the team to look past the distractions and stay committed to what matters most; winning.
It’s the cornerstone of everything the Heat has done since Riley took over in 1995 and the complete opposite of what Cleveland has in place. While they may one day achieve championship success (but not this season), they’ll have gone about it in a different way than Miami.
It makes the irony of how 2010 and 2014 are perceived that much richer. While the Heat were negatively viewed as a collection of guns-for-hire, what ultimately led to their success is a level of stability that is unparalleled outside of Miami and San Antonio.
Meanwhile, the Cavs’ dysfunctional saga continues to unfold and how it ends is anyone’s guess; even feel-good stories aren’t always what they appear.