Heat vs Lakers

I'll make it no secret that I thoroughly dislike Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, probably because I love Lebron James and the Miami Heat. Along with most other people, I picked them to win the Finals this year, and so far I think they've lived up to that expectation. The last couple games have been a bit of a setback for them, however, losing to Utah (a mediocre team) and now to the Lakers.

 To me, the Lakers can never be considered mediocre because of the talents of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, but for various reasons they have been the past two seasons a shadow of the previous Lakers. That being said the Lakers won this game decisively, which brings me to an interesting question: Although Dwyane Wade and Lebron James are the two most heralded members of Miami's Big Three, is Chris Bosh more important than most people think? Miami certainly struggled against Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol without their dominant big man, who has been out for three games after the death of his grandmother. Losing Bosh forced Miami to play Lebron at the post, which is definitely not his forte. It also forces Lebron to guard posts, also not his forte. Being Lebron, of course, his unnatural post-up is better than  85% of actual big men's post-ups, but the Heat would much rather have him creating from outside the three point line, where he can drive, pull defenders, and distribute the ball. Bosh also averages 18 points a game, which the Heat would have welcomed as the Heat lost by 10.
Despite two consecutive losses, I still think the Heat are the best team in the NBA. Their record so far is 28-9, one of the best ever through 37 games. The Bulls, the Thunder, and the Spurs all have the Heat circled as the team to beat.