Is the Cavs\u2019 new Big 3 really any different than the Heat\u2019s old one?<\/p>\n Fran Blinebury, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Yes,\u00a0I feel all tingly, like soda bubbles going up my nose<\/strong>. Let\u2019s face it. LeBron James could join\u00a0Pink Floyd<\/strong>\u00a0and play on the Dark Side of the Moon and everything he does\/doesn\u2019t do will draw gross overreaction in the age of Twitter. Of course, a large part of what the 2010-11 Heat perceived as unfair demands on them was self-inflicted. \u201cNot one, not two, not three\u2026\u201d Dwayne Wade had won a championship and been MVP of The Finals. Chris Bosh was already a five-time All-Star. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving have never played a single playoff game. LeBron, it seems, has learned his lesson and is preaching patience. So should we. But we won\u2019t.<\/p>\n Jeff Caplan, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0This is different. There was so much anger toward LeBron over the way he left Cleveland, plus added outrage over these three superstars having planned their South Beach union \u2014\u00a0Magic Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0never would have signed on with\u00a0Larry Bird<\/strong>, by gosh!<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 that these guys became villains. People wanted to see them lose and watched hoping beyond hope that they would.This time, there\u2019s no hate<\/strong>. LeBron went home to make amends for goodness sake. There\u2019s no collusion. Name one reporter who ever put the names LeBron James and Kevin Love together prior to LeBron announcing his decision to go back to Cleveland. Their union is in the name of fortunate timing. But to the original point, the level of contempt toward LeBron fueled that thing and slowly he was able to reverse that by winning. The new Cavs could become like the old Lakers or Bulls \u2014 universally cheered (except by fans in direct rival cities). The \u201csports hate\u201d element can add some real spice, but there\u2019s just none of it this time around.<\/p>\n Scott Howard-Cooper, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Probably better.\u00a0This doesn\u2019t feel like the same circus as when LeBron went to Miami<\/strong>. There will be a white-hot spotlight and there will be issues along the way, but James is more mature now. He is home. Settled. When those issues come up, it won\u2019t have that \u201cthe world is ending\u201d feel.<\/p>\n John Schuhmann, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0No.<\/strong>\u00a0Even though there was clearly a handshake deal on the Kevin Love trade before LeBron announced that he was \u201ccoming home,\u201d\u00a0this still feels like the \u201ccoming home\u201d part was more important than constructing a super team right away<\/strong>. We\u2019ll still evaluate these Cavs like any championship contender and point out their shortcomings when they\u2019re not playing like the best team in the league, but the motivation behind their construction, at least from my perspective, feels different than that of the Heat in 2010. Bringing one championship to Cleveland would mean more for LeBron than bringing two or three more to Miami.<\/p>\n Sekou Smith, NBA.com<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Same way. Like it or not LeBron, this is your life. Wherever you go the enormous expectations are sure to follow.\u00a0I would argue that the 2010-11 Miami Heat were much better equipped to handle the rigors of the championship chase<\/strong>\u00a0than a Cleveland Cavaliers team with two stars (Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving) who have never experienced the intense heat that is playoff pressure. I wasn\u2019t convinced the Heat would measure up to the whole \u201cnot one, not two, not three\u201d craziness.<\/p>\n Lang Whitaker, NBA.com\u2019s All Ball blog<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0LeBron did a pretty good job, right from the start, of tamping down expectations.<\/strong>\u00a0He obviously learned from the \u201cNot one, not two\u2026\u201d speech in Miami, which never went away. So in that\u00a0Sports Illustrated<\/em>\u00a0article he set the tone by noting it would take some time, that it wouldn\u2019t happen right away. It reminds me of when college football coaches talk to the media the week before the game, and no matter who they\u2019re playing, whether it\u2019s an SEC powerhouse like UGA or the Sisters of the Poor, the coach always praises the opponent in an over-the-top manner, just to give them an out in case they lose. It was a nice try by \u2018Bron, but I ain\u2019t buying it. The Cavs and the Bulls are the class of the East. So yeah, expectations should be high for Cleveland.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Simon Legg, NBA Australia<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Not quite, because they don\u2019t have Dwyane Wade.<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t get me wrong, this Cavs team looks potent and they can certainly win it all this season but I don\u2019t think they\u2019re going to be as good defensively as the Heat were in their strongest years. History tells us that you need to be a top-10 team defensively to make it to the Finals. For the Cavs to challenge the top 10, they need Varejao there when it matters most. If he goes down, who\u2019s their backup center that offers rim protection? The easy argument here is to say that the Heat didn\u2019t have a rim-protecting center either and that is true, but can Kevin Love sacrifice some of his offense in order to play steady defense like\u00a0Chris Bosh<\/strong>\u00a0did? It remains to be seen. Also, what LeBron James will we see? He tailed off defensively last season because he had to carry the scoring load without Wade at his best. LeBron won\u2019t have to do as much offensively now he has Kyrie Irving and Love alongside him. If this means that LeBron goes back to his DPOTY type form then this team will be devastating.<\/p>\n Davide Chinellato, NBA Italia<\/strong><\/a>: When LeBron took his talents to South Beach, Miami instantly became the favorite for the ring. When he decided to come home, he didn\u2019t turn Cleveland into the favorite.\u00a0The Cavs are for sure the best in the East with their own Big Three, but I don\u2019t think they\u2019re a lock for the ring as those 2010 Heat were<\/strong>. Even if LeBron-Love-Irving make a scary trio. Maybe it\u2019s the Heat experience talking: 4 straight Finals, 2 rings. Lon-term, though, I think the Cavs\u2019 Big Three can do better.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"http:\/\/turnernbahangtime.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/07\/threeamegos2.jpg?w=226&h=300\")
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