I'm taking a look at most of the dialog in this thread with the same amount of salt that Riley is driving with. The truth is: We are loving that he no longer has possession of the top 3 (and arguably best) basketball player on the planet. And with the downgrade in talent (from a 10.0 to a 7.5 that represents LBJ and Deng) will come a less prominent regular season record. But that does not mean the Heat will not be considered any less a champion until they've demonstrated (first) their worth in the regular season (top 2 East or top 4?) and then how they will compete in the playoffs.
To this end, there are not a lot of history's competitors this team of jerks can be compared to, since many have not tried to compete without a previous player of that magnitude.
The Milwaukee Bucks had retooled as a team in 1976 with only a handful leftover. 4 of the leftovers were in the top 10 rotation after Jabbar left. The Lakers in 1990 had done little to their roster, mainly adding bits and pieces (Divac and Drew). Their regular season record went up but the small stuff that counted (field goal percent and rebounding) went down. Their playoffs did not last past the semi-finals the first year without the old Jabbar. The 1997 Magic, probably the most devastated, replaced a 10.0 center with a 5.0 or 7.0 at best in Seikaly. Then injuries plagued them, a short-lived team that lost over 20 games more without their superstar center. The Jordan-less teams speak for themselves. In 1994, Pippen attempted to carry them further, but the lack of a second star difference maker showed in the record and stats. They hardly replaced the production. The late 90s version completely tanked for 6+ years. The Cavs were in the same boat without LeBron.
The 89-90 Lakers, the injury-riddled 96-97 Magic, and 93-94 Bulls are probably the closest without actually being able to fill in the missing blanks successfully (I don't consider Rony a star by any means).
I also consider the 12-13 Celtics an attempt to fill in the shooting, scoring, and defense that they missed with Ray Allen. And since they are now the closest to what the Heat are attempting to do (except without the same play-making and versatility), I'll break them down instead.
2011-2012 (Lockout Season):
The Players (and roles)
Season | 2011-12 Celtics
(66 games) | 2012-13 Celtics | 2013-14 Heat | 2014-15 Heat |
Coach | Doc Rivers | Doc Rivers | Erik Spoelstra | Erik Spoelstra |
Combo Big Man | Ryan Hollins (1)
Greg Stiemsma (3)
Chris Wilcox (4)
Jermaine O'Neal (24)
Brandon Bass (39)
Kevin Garnett (60) | Jared Sullinger (5)
Jason Collins (7)
Chris Wilcox (7)
Brandon Bass (69)
Kevin Garnett (68) | Greg Oden (6)
Udonis Haslem (18)
Chris Bosh (79) | Udonis Haslem
Chris Bosh |
Combo PF/SF/G | N/A (1) | Jeff Green (17) | LeBron James (77) | N/A |
Stretch F | N/A | N/A | Michael Beasley (2)
Rashard Lewis (6)
Shane Battier (56) | Josh McRoberts |
Swingman | Mickael Pietrus (6)
Sasha Pavlovic (7)
Paul Pierce (61)
Ray Allen (42) | Jordan Crawford (2)
Courtney Lee (39)
Paul Pierce (77) | Roger Mason (2)
James Jones (6)
Ray Allen (9)
Dwyane Wade (53)
LeBron James (77)
| Danny Granger
Luol Deng
Dwyane Wade |
Combo Guard | Keyon Dooling (2)
Avery Bradley (28)
Rajon Rondo (53) | Leandro Barbosa (2)
Jason Terry (24)
Rajon Rondo (38)
Avery Bradley (50) | Norris Cole (6)
Toney Douglas (17)
Mario Chalmers (73)
| Norris Cole
Mario Chalmers |
Enforcer C/F | Greg Stiemsma (3)
Jermaine O'Neal (24)
Kevin Garnett (60) | Jared Sullinger (5)
Jason Collins (7)
Chris Wilcox (7)
Kevin Garnett (68)
| Chris Anderson
Shane Battier (56)
Chris Bosh (79) | Chris Anderson
Chris Bosh
|
Lockdown F/G | Mickael Pietrus (6)
Avery Bradley (28)
Ray Allen (42)
Rajon Rondo (53)
Paul Pierce (61)
| Jeff Green (17)
Rajon Rondo (38)
Courtney Lee (39)
Avery Bradley (50)
Paul Pierce (77)
| Shane Battier (56)
Mario Chalmers (73)
Dwyane Wade (53)
LeBron James (77)
| Luol Deng
Danny Granger
Dwyane Wade |
Shooter | Michael Pietrus (6)
Ray Allen (42)
Paul Pierce (61)
| Jordan Crawford (2)
Jason Terry (24)
Paul Pierce (77) | Ray Allen (9)
Mario Chalmers (73)
LeBron James (77)
| Josh McRoberts
Mario Chalmers |
Triple-Perimeter
(Threat) | Paul Pierce (61) | Paul Pierce (77) | LeBron James (77)
Dwyane Wade (53) | Dwyane Wade |
Triple-Post
(Threat) | Kevin Garnett (60) | Kevin Garnett (68) | Chris Bosh (79) | Chris Bosh |
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The Celtics lost a lot of their perimeter power and instead focused on quantity over quality. Losing Rondo for half the season didn't help matters. This left them cut dry and battered before they could attempt to compete the following year that Pierce and Garnett left. But in the 2012-13 year, it was clear they weren't the same. In a boring yet compete showing, they still made a team that was supposed to win look very bad.
The Knicks are still halfway decent. The Pacers, despite losing George in a tragic play worth a 1,000 words (which I'll probably post later), IMO can compete for the playoffs if they believe it's worth it. The Bulls are probably in the upper echelon in the league, let alone the East. The Wizards as currently constructed are playoff worthy. The East is somewhat weak, but have a good few half dozen vet teams that will push hard. So we don't know if the Heat are good enough to be a Conference Semi-Finalist yet. Imagine the 94 Bulls having the time to replace Jordan with a lesser Clyde Drexler or the 97 Magic replacing O'Neal with someone who was better than Rony...
Let's let it play out not only hoping for failure as not only Cavs fans but anti-Heat fans as well, but as a historical testament to see how replacing a superstar with a semi-all star will result in.