Search This Blog

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Teams Outplay Individuals

Game one of the 2010-2011 NBA Regular Season had the atmosphere of a playoff game – the world witnessed, for the first time, the big three from Boston collide with the new big three from Miami.  Before the season began, many NBA analysts considered the Miami Heat the team to beat in the East. On paper, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, three NBA all-stars in their prime, seem to be the perfect combination to win a championship. However in reality, they are three individuals who have not yet learned to play together. Though it is clearly too early to consider the Celtics the Eastern Conference favorite, tonight’s game revealed a stark contrast between the two teams. The Celtics are a cohesive unit, an example of a team that is greater than the sum of its parts, while the Heat are exactly as they appear on paper -- a group of players who play one-on-one basketball. If the Heat don’t play as a team, they will have a tough season full of “overrated” chants from the crowd.