The Miami Heat are for real

It's funny how some let their emotions override their brains. During the summer of 2010, when NBA superstars LeBron James and Chris Bosh signed with the Miami Heat, they immediately became the most hated team in all of sports. Many started making ridiculous statements regarding the Heat. Some said the three superstars wouldn't be able to get along, while others predicted they wouldn't even make the playoffs.

It's no secret the main reason most dislike the Heat is because of their off-season acquisition of LeBron James. Some claim it's the way LeBron handled the whole announcement, while others feel he should have tried to win a championship by himself with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The latter is the dumber of the two reasons, since there has never been a single superstar in the history of the NBA to win championships by himself. Jordan and the Chicago Bulls had multiple hall-of-famers, just like Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics did. The same can be said about every single great franchise in the history of the NBA.

As for the decision, yeah it was pretty tacky but the money raised did go to a good place. Regardless, one's feelings on the way LeBron handled his departure from Cleveland shouldn't lead to the type of comments some have made about the Heat.

Ironically, the Heat are performing better than all the other top franchises at this point in the NBA playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs completely choked in the first round of the playoffs, losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in six games. Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers have lost the first two games of their second round series against the Dallas Mavericks. Even the Chicago Bulls are currently tied 1-1 with the Atlanta Hawks in a tightly contested playoff series.

The Heat can't get complacent though, getting two more wins against a desperate Celtics team is not going to be an easy task. At least the whole world now knows the Heat are legitimate title contenders, capable of defeating any team in the NBA in a seven game series.

David is a Miami Heat fan that has followed the team for 15 years.

Sources:

Player and game information from ESPN.com