The 2011 Miami Heat had the talent; it was chemistry that let down LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in their first year together, when many felt they should have won the NBA championship.
This is sometimes the case when superteams are thrown together.
The best teams are often built over many years, with the addition of select players to get them over the edge, just as a list of recent NBA champions shows: 2019’s Toronto Raptors added Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol to a group that had been together for several seasons with a number of Conference Finals appearances.
The Golden State Warriors that won in 2015, 2017 and 2018 did so with and without Kevin Durant, but the core had been built through drafts since 2010 when Stephen Curry joined the team and he was soon followed by Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and others.
And when LeBron James and Kevin Love joined the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, there was a good core in place that had been built thanks to the high draft picks acquired after James gutted the team when he first left for Miami in 2010.
There are, of course, some exceptions. The LA Lakers won it all in 2020 despite some of their most reliable contributors joining the team that season, including Anthony Davis, Danny Green, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris.
James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and JaVale McGee joined the team the previous year, so were still quite new, while Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker were the only youngsters who survived the mass trade to bring in Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Injuries across the league, players opting out and the unusual eight-game seeding games in the playoff bubble created uncertainty. It seemed like experience, familiarity and chemistry were going to win out in such a situation, but talent rose to the top under pressure.
The 2020-21 regular season was more normal, despite a shortened schedule that started later in the calendar. Injuries played their part, especially for the Finals teams of the previous campaign, and Covid-19 protocols slowed momentum for some at critical junctures. But those who made it to the Conference Finals have followed the recipe for success that teams used before LA won in Orlando.
Nothing but Nets
The way the Brooklyn Nets crumbled was heartbreaking, especially because of the fight they showed in the face of injuries to their biggest stars. But when a team trades away the type of depth that was built up over several years, and instead relies on a system for superstars who need the ball, it makes it more difficult to fill their production when the top players are out.
James Harden missed several games after pulling his hamstring in the first 43 seconds of Game 1 in the second round. Then Kyrie Irving went down after landing on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot in the lane.
Harden did his best to return but understandably couldn’t play at the level required while Durant performed like a superstar should. There simply wasn’t enough around him when others needed to step up.
The Nets never really built up any momentum with their big three in regular rotation all season. Arguably, this might have meant that they were better suited to surviving with a next-man-up mentality, but the playoffs are a different animal.
While talent might have been enough to win after all teams downed tools for several months in the unusual 2019-20 season - notwithstanding the fact that the Lakers were also great in the regular season - teams have been more prepared this year and have been able to scheme for their opponents from game to game.
Previous iterations of the Nets had players who were drafted and grew in the system. They did well enough to overachieve and reach the playoffs while creating a culture that attracted Irving and Durant, but they needed those elite players to take them to a championship tier.
But with Brooklyn missing their top talent when it counted, the team had fewer options to make adjustments and respond to defenses when things got more difficult.
While many considered them to be favourites, the lack of depth really hurt and having only two players on the roster who were drafted by the team - second-year big Nicolas Claxton and rookie Reggie Perry, neither of whom played substantial minutes in the playoffs - meant there was little institutional knowledge and not enough left when the more talented players weren’t available.
And then there were four...
The Brooklyn Nets were among the extreme end of most squads this year, only having two players who they drafted on the roster.
The difference between them and most of the teams remaining in the Conference Finals is startling. The teams still contending have been built through the NBA Draft, making good selections with top picks. They are, however, having success this year thanks to the addition of some key veterans at needed positions.
The Phoenix Suns are under a new coach in Monty Williams and have added veterans Chris Paul and Jae Crowder as much-needed improvements at the point guard and wing spots, but their playoff rotation boasts five players who were drafted by the team, including four in the top seven: Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson.
On paper, it might seem like the Milwaukee Bucks haven’t invested as much as the Suns in their own talent. Just four players who have registered minutes in the playoffs were drafted by the team - Antetokounmpo, Donte DiVincenzo and rookies Jordan Nwora and Elijah Bryant - but they have the most number of players who have been with the team for longer than two seasons.
Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton and Thanasis Antetokounmpo were not drafted by the Bucks, but the franchise identified them as players who could be part of Milwaukee’s future several years ago and invested. Sure, they’ve added Jrue Holiday and PJ Tucker to the main rotation this year, but again, the team identified positions of need and filled them with reliable veterans.
The Atlanta Hawks added plenty of reliable veterans to the court this year, including Clint Capela, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Solomon Hill - all of whom have been key contributors at different times during the playoffs - but they also have the most drafted talent.
The team is obviously built around a superstar in Trae Young, as well as John Collins and Kevin Huerter, but Cam Reddish and rooke Onyeka Okongwu have also been key, with De’Andre Hunter offering great defense before he suffered an injury. Bruno Fernando and rookies Nathan Knight and Skylar Mays have also registered minutes in the playoffs.
The team that has the biggest superteam energy is the LA Clippers. Having built a culture of overachieving a few years ago, the heart and soul of those rosters - Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Shai Gilgeous Alexander, Tobias Harris, Danilo Gallinari, Landry Shamet and others - were largely shipped out to make space for the big contracts of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. They still have good depth, but they also caught the injury bug.
Leonard, Ivica Zubac and Serge Ibaka have all sustained injuries during the postseason and while the team has done well at times - George in particular has had moments of brilliance, including a 41-point performance on Monday night to stave off elimination - they have had to rely on players they drafted, such as Terance Mann, to keep them in the playoffs.
This is the second season together for the superstar Clippers, so it’s not exactly the same as the 2010-11 Miami Heat. But they are still top-heavy in talent, and after two seasons interrupted by Covid-19 issues, it’s been tough to build chemistry.
Recent injuries are just the pieces of straw that broke the expensive camel’s back in LA, whereas Phoenix, Atlanta and Milwaukee are benefiting from finding their own camels, adding a couple of horses and even a few reliable donkeys to do the work but keep their payroll low.
This type of slow-build through the draft doesn’t just prepare small markets for perpetual rebuilding, if done correctly, by adding timely veterans to a strong core with a good culture, it can push them towards contention for a championship sooner rather than later.