Editor’s note: This column is written as part of a point-counterpoint. The other column, arguing the Heat will not win the NBA Championship, can be found here.

LeBron James became one of America’s most hated professional athletes after publicly announcing he was “taking his talents to South Beach” in the summer of 2010. 

The Big Three of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had a first season that didn’t go as planned. The Heat were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks four games to two in the 2011 NBA Finals. James only averaged 17.8 points per game during that series, but his fourth quarter woes were the cause of considerable negative attention.

Fast forward to today, and the Heat have earned a trip to the NBA Finals in every year of the Big Three era, and have come away with a championship in the last two years. Four-time MVP LeBron James played with a chip on his shoulder during the 2012 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He averaged 28.6 points per game in that series to go along with 7.4 assists and 10.2 rebounds. Let those numbers sink in for a moment. 

Last year James’ scoring decreased in the playoffs to 25.3 ppg, but he had better role players around him, such as Ray Allen and Chris “Birdman” Andersen. Although it’s weird to call future Hall-of-Famer Ray Allen a role player, his jaw-dropping three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left in Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs single-handedly changed the Finals. Birdman’s role isn’t to score; he defines a perfect hustle player and someone to crash the boards, given that this Miami Heat team lacks height.

The other two members of the Big Three haven’t been left out of the Heat’s success. Bosh has become more implemented in the offense, after not getting as many touches back when they lost to the Mavs in 2011. I can’t possibly forget about the backbone of this team, 2006 Finals MVP Dwyane Wade. He has been playing like the Wade everyone fell in love with before he suffered a string of injuries. With a mastermind like Pat Riley running the front office, having the best player in the league in LeBron James and with Wade playing at a high level, there’s no doubt in my mind that this team will repeat as NBA champions.

Transition points are huge for this team to make up for its lack of size. So is the success of shooters like Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier, who spread the floor, making it easier to obtain those easy rebounds and run the fast break. This year’s team also consists of another big body presence in Greg Oden. Although he’s not the Ohio State phenom that he once was, his role on this team can be huge moving forward. 

The rest of the Eastern Conference is a joke this year. There was plenty of hype surrounding home court advantage for the Indiana Pacers, but it ended up being meaningless in Game 1 on Saturday against the Atlanta Hawks, as Indiana lost 101-93. While Joakim Noah is having an MVP-like season, the Bulls can’t make serious noise without Derrick Rose, and overall Chicago doesn’t have enough offensive firepower. The Brooklyn Nets are the only potential threat in the East, but there’s no telling when their veteran players’ fuel gauge is going to hit E. 

Miami came out flat during the first quarter in Game One on Sunday against the Charlotte Bobcats, but heated up in the second half. The Big Three combined for 63 of the team’s 99 points, but what was an even bigger story was James Jones contributing whenever he was on the floor. His job is quite simple, considering he’s open all of the time because most of the attention being focused on James and Wade. He capitalized on that Sunday, scoring 12 points.

The key for Miami’s three-peat will be consistency from the role players. Mike Miller was that guy last year, and without him, this year needs to be a collective effort. One game it can be an offensive rebound from a Udonis Haslem, or a wide-open three from a Norris Cole. Nowadays, 30 years of age is the new “old” for the NBA, and many people say that Wade needs to retire. When you make the biggest sacrifice by setting your ego aside for the greater good of the team, you become a true leader. This era of basketball is not as physical as the ’90s, and you can’t win by yourself anymore. Kobe Bryant had Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan had Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. The list goes on. While James is clearly the best player on the team, he can’t win another ring without the re-emergence of Wade.

Torrence is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @TheRealT_S_4.