The Death of Team Basketball
Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Heat and the Lakers, and this whole series is general has shown us all why Superstars matter in the NBA, and why we don’t see many no-superstar teams win it all anymore.
Obviously when you want to construct a team that can win a title, a superstar is at the top of your list. More likely multiple in the current landscape of the NBA, but as least one. Teams don’t go into a rebuild looking for some good team basketball, they want ‘the guy.’
That’s why the Lakers got Anthony Davis alongside Lebron James last offseason. Sure they gave up a lot, but look where it got them. To the finals and getting another ring. Meanwhile teams like the Miami Heat who are more team-oriented, struggle against the Lakers.
Superstars run the league. They move to different teams all the time, and they are always looking for a ring. But they are the most valuable assets in the NBA because of what they can do. Kawhi Leonard took a decent Raptors team to a ring because of his superb play. Nothing changed drastically on that team. With DeMar DeRozan, they were Lebron’s team. A year removed from DeRozan, and they got a ring.
And look at where the Raptors sit at now. Without a true #1 option, or a superstar, they were drastically worse as they got bounced in the 2nd round because they usually struggled late game.
The Miami Heat don’t have a superstar on offense, as Jimmy Butler isn’t a great jump-shooter. Tyler Herro still has to develop and Bam Adebayo’s range is also limited. You see the affects of not having a superstar late in the 4th of Game 4. The Lakers were smothering the Heat, and the Heat couldn’t generate any offense. They didn’t have somebody to do that.
On the other side of the ball, the Lakers have it covered. In Game 4, Lebron and AD were quiet for most of the game and didn’t really explode like they did in Games 1 or 2. But they were still threats at all times. The defense got sucked in when Lebron drove the ball in the lane. All eyes were on AD when he was in the post.
The marvels of being a true superstar in the NBA. They can just give you wins that you don’t really deserve. That’s why you don’t see any 2004 Pistons or 2011 Mavs anymore. You need superstar talents on your roster to win.
And that might be sad, but it’s just true. Team basketball, with a system and all of that stuff can work throughout the regular season and to an extent, in the playoffs. But you need that guy who can just takeover.
The Nuggets have the perfect balance. Their offense runs through Jokic, but there is lots of movement and passing. But you have Jokic and Murray at the end of games to finish it out.
That’s why you see the Heat struggling at the end of these games, because they don’t have that one true superstar to close it out for them.
So I doubt that we will ever see a no-superstar team or a non-stacked team with an NBA Finals. It just doesn’t seem realistic with how the league is nowadays. You need a superstar to win it all, otherwise your chances are slim.
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