Superteam Meets Preparation

From January 14, 2012

Do you consider yourself part of a superteam when it comes to health and human performance?

Why The Miami Heat Are Not A Shoe-In and Other Thoughts:

Hopefully, the NBA realizes that its league is too athletic to have one superteam take the reigns for 5 or 6 consecutive championships (excluding the skills of the old Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics - these teams were an anomaly, having plenty of game-changing and league transforming players such as, Jordan, Magic, Larry, and Kareem.)

Hopefully, the rest of the league knows that it can tolerate the athleticism of Dwayne Wade and LeBron James at the same time. Whenever anyone else on the Heat emerges as a game-changer, it will be important to see if the athletic consistency is still present. Other teams should have an answer (no pun intended - Allen Iverson)

Every team in the NBA can prepare for a superteam like the Miami Heat. However, every team will not beat a superteam like the Heat. Now, there may be a few surprises when a lackluster team either beats a superteam or, at least, scares the winning record out of one. In this sense, most of the teams in the NBA should be able to keep up with a superteam like the Heat. I mean, everyone has played at a high caliber prior to entering the NBA, right?...That's another conversation. If one sub .500 team can come within a few points of beating any superteam, then why must the public be surprised if any superteam has a losing streak?
Maybe, the superteam(s) in question, the Miami Heat, in this case, is not really a superteam.

Superteam: n.
1. A team that has more than two all-stars.
2. A team that has three players who would destroy a 3-on-3 tournament.
3. A team that has established itself as a perennial title favorite.
4. A team that can win about 81% or more of its games every year.
5. We, the public, get the point about them?

Going a little outside the NBA, other teams in other leagues such as, the NFL, NHL, MLB, and even the English Premier League have tried to create superteams. However, it does not really work as well in these other sports because they have so many other elements that the NBA cannot fathom:

Let me try to be brief, but:
- Number of athletes on a team;
- Number of minutes on the field, ice, or court;
- Number of units on a team (offensive vs. defensive units);
- Number of plays;
- Number of possible intangible stats such as the following:
- The propensity to strikeout in baseball;
- The difficulty in scoring a goal in ice hockey and in soccer;
- The fight and grit it takes to pound even a 1-yard touchdown in football...all of these categories count against the development of a longstanding superteam.

Basketball is the only sport among the five major sports (ice hockey, football, basketball, baseball, and yes, soccer/futbol), in which, once the ball or manipulated object is released from an athlete and has reached its pinnacle in the air, no one can touch it. If anyone is thinking, 'hey what about soccer?' Ah, but in soccer, the athlete kicks the ball as hard as he/she can; plus the shot on goal can attempted to be blocked at any point that the ball is (reachable). Free-kicks and penalty shots do not count because a goalie blocks the net. As for basketball, no one blocks the net on the free throw line (even though some athletes shoot like a goalie is present) or has their hand in the basket when a 3-point shot is attempted.

What is all of this dwindling down to?

A superteam, like the Miami Heat, need to realize that they are not a superteam until they have won a few league titles. Right now, they are good on paper. A superteam needs to realize that athleticism and...AND optimal preparation is advantageous to success - Do not rely on your three best players. Play as a unit of your rotation of players. Every other team in the league has the skills to play in the NBA, but it is up to that team if they would like to play at a high level on any particular day - A superteam should not have to struggle with these skills. Lastly, shoe-ins are for feet. Any team that is a shoe-in for a championship berth with most of the season left does not fit until domination is displayed during the championship series.

I am not a Heat fan, but I do believe in teams living up to their nicknames.

Take care of yourself,
Derek

P.S. It is now May 5th, 2012. The Miami Heat could still win it all. Just saying. We shall see.