When Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen teamed up in Boston, I remember how much of a novelty it was around the league. ESPN and the rest of the media covered their every move for a while as they billed them as the next dynasty. In 2008 they won the only championship the group won together, the 17th for the Celtic franchise.
Fast forward to 2010; LeBron James and Chris Bosh took their talents to South Beach to join up with Dwayne Wade and form their own “Big Three”. It was the media coverage of this group that really magnified how overwhelming the focus can be. The group brought a lot of expectations on themselves. A lot of people will remember James saying “Not 1, not 2, not 3 …” In reference to how many titles the team would win together. The group was together for a total of 4 years, made The Finals every year, and won titles in 2012 and 2013.
You can’t forget about the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs’ big three unit may be the most evolving and adaptive group yet. Tony Parker was drafted in 2001, starting two years later, to join Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to form a group that would win 4 titles (2003, 2005, 2007, 2014). The major difference between this big three and others is longevity. The three players that formed the core of the Spurs sacrificed contract money for the team to put a talented roster around them. Another difference was Parker. Parker was the point guard and leader that the other big three units lacked. The addition of Kawhi Leonard hasn’t hurt the team either.
Heading into the 2014-2015 season there is a new big three era starting in the NBA in Cleveland. The Cavaliers are entering what is assumed to be the golden years of the franchise. Their big three unit of LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving come into the season with vaulted expectations for a franchise that has yet to win a championship. The core unit in Cleveland is either in their primes or heading into their primes, and includes a point guard in Irving. This unit looks poised to be very dangerous, especially with the young talent surrounding the All-Star trio.
Do you need a big three to win a championship?
I don’t know that this is the case. Having three All-Stars on the same team is something that teams dream of. Having talent on your team is the goal of every general manager and coach in the league. But I don’t buy that it is completely necessary in this era of NBA basketball. Four years ago the Dallas Mavericks won the championship with a team consisting of Dirk Nowitzki, aging stars, and role players.
Chemistry is a buzzword that is often repetitive in the coverage of the NBA. When these teams build their core around established stars in the league, there are certainly egos involved. When the Heat’s big three formed there were questions the entire first season about whose team it was, who would take the game-winning shot, and how long it would take their playing styles to mesh.
That raises the question, what is more important, talent or chemistry? You can make the case that the Heat lost the 2011 title because they lacked chemistry, and that they won the next two titles because they had talent. There definitely needs to be combination of the two elements to form a successful team, but teams around the NBA continue to try and stockpile talent in hopes that they will form chemistry eventually. Kind of a chicken-before-the-egg scenario.
This is where the Blazers differ.
The Portland Trail Blazers traded their 2006 first round pick, Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa for the young man out of Texas who was drafted by the Chicago Bulls … LaMarcus Aldridge.
During Aldridge’s first few years as a Blazer he was definitely shaped into the player he is today. With Brandon Roy on the court and the soon-to-be-overhyped draft pick of Greg Oden, Aldridge was overshadowed in a lot of ways. The Blazers had their eyes on a championship with a big three of their own: Roy, Oden and Aldridge.
You shouldn’t need a history lesson to know what would happen next. The dynasty crumbled before it even began. Oden and Roy were both inflicted with crippling knee injuries as the Blazers went through a series of up-and-down years. The forthcoming retirement of Roy and the departure of Oden left the door open for Aldridge to step into the spotlight.
The 2011-2012 lockout shortened season was the first season that Aldridge was the bonafide star and leader of the team. He played in 55 games and averaged 22 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists and was named to the All-Star game for the first time of his career. However the team was a miserable 28-38.
The summer of 2012, however, brought Aldridge a little help to Rip City, by way of the NBA Draft.
With the 6th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Damian Lillard, point guard from Weber State. Little was known about this kid until soon before the draft. Lillard would then go on to light the league on fire leading to being unanimously voted as Rookie of the Year.
Now that Lillard has been in the league for two full seasons, he and Aldridge are clicking on all cylinders. The chemistry between the two has been building and they were both named All-Stars this past season. Not only that, they led the team to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in 14 years. The two definitely make a dynamic duo, unlike anything Portland has seen in a long time.
Now the question is, is there someone on this roster that can bolster their game enough to make this a legitimate big three?
The Blazers have never been major players in free agency and have had to rely on the draft and trade market to acquire and piece together their current roster. That is not to say, there isn’t talent on this roster. I am just pointing out, you never heard Portland as a potential destination of LeBron James this past summer.
The one candidate in my mind that could fit the bill as being the 3rd in a Portland big three is none other than the Frenchman himself, Nicolas Batum.
Defense and versatility are what Batum is known for. The knock on Batum is his inconsistency. This season Batum will turn 26. With the added maturity I feel like Batum can really start to hit his stride as a basketball player and as a competitor. The international basketball that he plays during the offseason is only going to continue to make him a better basketball player.
Aldridge, Lillard and Batum hit the court on October 29th with the rest of the Blazers; this is the year they excel as a unit. The big three in Portland will be a force to reckon with. I am not one who thinks that you need three superstars to win a championship, but it sure is nice. The chemistry and talent on this roster are what really give them their edge.
The Blazers are building a potential dynasty in a very similar way that the Spurs’ dynasty was built. Drafting, developing and retaining talent in a small market. With General Manager Neil Olshey at the helm, this franchise is heading in the right direction.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
