NBA Cleveland CavaliersMiami Heat

5 Similarities Between Cleveland and Miami’s Big Threes

5 Similarities Between Cleveland and Miami’s Big 3s

Dwyane Wade v LeBron James
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In the midst of a few 25-plus point defeats and a high profiled Christmas Day loss to a depleted Miami Heat team comes reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers are a divided team. So we took the time to put together five similarities between LeBron James’ early Big Three tenures in Miami and Cleveland. Enjoy.

5. Coaching Discord

LeBron James Miami Heat Cleveland Cavaliers
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

5. Coaching Discord

LeBron James Miami Heat Cleveland Cavaliers
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Cavs: Early reports have the players tuning out first year coach David Blatt and LeBron being detached in huddles, while also not endorsing his headman in public amidst job security questions.

Heat: Remember the James bump? Everyone thought that was the demise of Erik Spoelstra, but Pat Riley’s front office protection kept everything in place.

4. Pressure

LeBron James Miami Heat Cleveland Cavaliers
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

4. Pressure

LeBron James Miami Heat Cleveland Cavaliers
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Heat: The buildup to the Decision, the preseason welcoming party and the championship predictions heaped so much high expectations onto the team that people had them penciled in to compete with the Bulls’ historic 72-win record.

Cavs: James' move from Miami to Cleveland brought thoughts of an automatic championship with the youth upgrade from Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.

3. Chemistry Issues

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James Miami Heat
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

3. Chemistry Issues

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James Miami Heat
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Before things were all smiles in Miami, players were complaining about not being comfortable with each other and finding it difficult to adjust. Once James left, Bosh warned Love that teaming with the Chosen One would be hard and he and Irving are both figuring it out as they are asked to do things that they aren't used to.

2. Rocky Records

LeBron James Miami Heat Cavs
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2. Rocky Records

Cavs LeBron James Miami Heat
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To everyone’s disappointment -- or pleasure -- Miami’s 9-8 start in the first year of the Big Three was a pretty quick ending to all of the overwhelming hype. Equally disappointing is the rocky 18-12 start of LeBron James’ grand return to the city that drafted him. Fifth place in the Eastern Conference is just unacceptable.

1. Patience

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James Miami Heat
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1. Patience

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James Miami Heat
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In both cases, the organizations preached and pleaded for nothing but patience from the viewing audience. In the end, Miami ended up in the NBA Finals. Let’s see how it works out in Cleveland.

Richard Nurse is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @blackirishpr or add him to your network on Google.

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