Best version of the Heatles ('11, '12, '13)?

[SCdac]

Which Heat team do you think was the strongest, with best chemistry, and best combo of offense/defense? ... (Note: not just the Big 3, but the whole team)

11 Heat (58-24 / .707) … stumbled out of the RS gate, fell apart against Dallas... Bibby, Big Z, Magloire, Dampier all retired soon after

Anthony
Bosh
Lebron
Wade
Chalmers

Bench: Mike Bibby, Ilgauskas, Haslem (injured most of season), Jones, Miller, Howard, Magloire

12 Heat (46-20 / .697) … Lebron won MVP, first Finals MVP, Heat added glue guy in Battier... beat Durant's Thunder in the Finals

Anthony
Bosh
Lebron
Wade
Chalmers

Bench: Shane Battier, Haslem, Jones, Miller, Cole

13 Heat (66-16 / .805) … won 27 straight RS games, won championship... added Birdman and sharpshooting Allen.

Bosh
Haslem
Lebron
Wade
Chalmers

Bench: Ray Allen, Battier, Birdman, Haslem, Cole, Anthony, Lewis

[LikeABosh]

2012' for the playoffs, 2012'-13' for regular season

[SCdac]

personally I think

1. 2013
2. 2012
3. 2011

that first team had the youngest "Big 3", but the most flawed team also (put together on the fly)

[no pun intended]

The one when they actually had a fourth member.

[Eric Cartman]

Give me the one with Joel Anthony and Mike Bibby on the starting lineup.

[inclinerator]

2011 was the best until the finals game 2 with a few minutes left

their swarming defense were on another level and hasnt been as good ever since

[Young X]

'13 Heat. Historically dominant when healthy. Even when they were down by double digits, in the back of my mind I knew they'd still win. Their comeback game against Cleveland is the perfect example. The previous teams performed better in the playoffs because of health, but they weren't as good as '13 collectively at full strength.

[magnax1]

2011 was the best until the finals game 2 with a few minutes left

their swarming defense were on another level and hasnt been as good ever since

Yeah, I sort of agree with this. They all had their periods of mediocrity and dominance, but when the 2011 Heat were at their best they were better than any other. Especially defensively. You have to remember they started out like 15-15 or something and ended up winning nearly 60 games anyway.

[tpols]

11' Heat.

Fully healthy prime Wade.. fully healthy prime Bron.. 19/9 Chris Bosh who dropped 23/8 in the ECF against Bulls frontline..

The only year they were the true big 3.




Now theyre Lebron + shooters and let wade and bosh take turns once in a blue moon.

[HoopsFanNumero1]

I'd either go with the '11 playoffs Heat before the Finals or the '13 Heat midway during the 27-game win streak.

[SCdac]

another question to consider, is 2013 Lebron better than '11 Lebron (Ie.more seasoned and battle tested)? ... and did it take him losing badly to be the player he is now?

also, the addition of Birdman has been sort of instrumental

[magnax1]

another question to consider, is 2013 Lebron better than '11 Lebron (Ie.more seasoned and battle tested)? ... and did it take him losing badly to be the player he is now?

also, the addition of Birdman has been sort of instrumental

He's better, but its not as big of a difference as some people will make it out to be. People act like he had an off season in 2011 or something. He was less ball dominant on offense because he had an equal on that end, and it affected his stats. However if you look closer the stat drop was mostly caused by an off couple weeks during the beginning of the season as he got used to playing without isoing/pick and rolling every single play like he did in cleveland. If you look at his stats in the last 50 games of the season he averaged 28-8-7 on 61 TS% which is really not all that different from the 27-8-7 on 64% he averaged this year. Also, thats the first year he really was truly elite on defense, and Im not sure hes been quite as good in 2012 or 13.
Hes more versatile offensively now though. Better jumper by a bit, and can play within a system a lot better.

[Gwin631]

Easily 2013,
LeBron Chalmers are much better now, much better pieces around LeBron, (Ray, Shane, Cole) Wade was more efficient, Bosh is more versatile, and even with the problems they had this postseason, if it was the previous two teams, they would lose the series.
Though 2014's team can be even better, replacing Anthony with often and Haslem with Beasley. 70-12!

[zoom17]

another question to consider, is 2013 Lebron better than '11 Lebron (Ie.more seasoned and battle tested)? ... and did it take him losing badly to be the player he is now?

also, the addition of Birdman has been sort of instrumental

Birdman-Birdman

[tpols]

The difference between birdman and Joel, and ray allen and James Jones isnt nearly as big as the difference between 19/5/5 50TS Wade and 25+/5+/5+ 57TS Wade, and 12/7 Bosh and 19/9 Bosh.