The Heat are built like MJ’s Bulls. The Bulls are built like LeBron’s Cavs.

Derrick Rose is a superstar.  I don’t care if his team lost to the Heat in five games.  He had an awesome year and deserved the MVP award (although it should have been a closer race with Howard and LeBron getting more votes.  Wade, Dirk, and Durant should have also gotten more votes).  He is an incredible offensive force, but he has no second option.  Rose basically IS the offense.  The team’s defense and rebounding is great but the rest of the guys on the team are basically role players.  The Bull’s bench is solid if overrated.  In crunch time Rose’s supporting cast didn’t hit enough jumpers or get enough garbage baskets inside.

LeBron’s old Cavs teams played great in the regular season with a great defense and a commitment to rebounding.  They were a deep team, but LeBron had no legit 2nd option to play with.  His supporting cast consisted of glorified role players who didn’t make enough jumpers for the Cavs to win a championship.  … their bench never really came through as expected either once the playoffs rolled around.  LeBron WAS the offense, and no other player could get his own shot.  Yes, they hustled and scrapped defended in the playoffs, just as they had done in the regular season, but in the playoffs EVERY TEAM hustles, scraps, and defends.

This year’s Heat team was said to be a 3 man team with a bunch of scabs around them.  Well, yeah, it was a 3 man team but among those 3 guys were two superstar wing players (2 of the best 5 guys in the league who can both defend when they are interested), and an all-star power forward.  The Heat’s center doesn’t do much but he does defend, block shots and rebound.  He can hit some wide open dunks too also helps.  But he doesn’t really hurt the team either.  He doesn’t take bad shots or screw up the team’s chemistry.  In that way, Joel Anthony is kind of like the two centers who started in the 1993 Finals between the Bulls and Suns.  Bill Cartwright didn’t have great stats for the Bulls, and he was even older and slower than he was in 1991 and 1992, but he played smart, got some rebounds, clogged up the middle, and played defense.  The Suns starting center, Mark West, was under-sized, but he could block shots, get some rebounds, and also clogged the middle.  His main offense was dunks and putbacks, but he didn’t take bad shots and he didn’t screw up the team’s chemistry or stop the ball on offense.  In a lot of ways, Joel Anthony is a very close comparison to Mark West, and he gets the job done, blocks shots, and does the dirty work.  If he scores a few buckets a game it is a bonus, but he never takes bad shots. 

The 1991-1993 Bulls had 2 superstar wing players (MJ and Pippen at the 2 and 3, who were both top 5 players who could really get out and defend and also handle the ball), a good power forward who could score some and rebound some (Horace Grant was also an all-star in 1994), and some good role players.  John Paxon and BJ Armstrong weren’t great point guards but they got the job done and could hit jump shots.  Their centers weren’t great but there were lots of them and they did what they were supposed to do (Cartwright, Purdue, Scott Williams). 

The 1996-1998 teams still had MJ and Pippen and replaced Grant with Rodman who was a great power forward and a premier rebounder, and clearly the 3rd guy in their Big Three.  Up front they had a few servicable centers who mainly took up space, got a few rebounds, worked within the offense, and hit the ocassional jumper (Luc Longley, Bill Wennington, Salley/Parish/Bison Dele).  They had a veteran guard who ran the point (Ron Harper) who used to be a big-time scorer but modified his game to fit in with the team.  Off the bench they had a versatile sixth man who could score, shoot, and handle the ball (Toni Kukoc) and another guy who could hit the 3 and play the point (Steve Kerr).  They weren’t the best bench in the league but they had guys who could hit big-time shots and their bench generally held their own.  

The Heat are clearly built the same way as MJ’s Bulls with a great 1-2 superstar punch at the wings, a very good power forward as the 3rd guy to go along with a good all-around bench player (Mike Miller vs. Toni Kukoc), lots of big men, and a couple of servicable point guards who can handle the ball and hit open jumpers.  The Heat could use a slight upgrade at point guard (along the lines of Paxon, Armstrong, and Ron Harper) and probably a reserve center who can hit open jumpers, get a couple of rebounds, and space the floor (along the lines of Bill Wennington) but that’s about it.  Otherwise they are setup for a great run over the next few years.