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#2 Miami Heat, 2012-13
Starting lineup (without injuries) - Mario Chalmers, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller/Udonis Haslem
Bench - Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Miller/Haslem, Chis Andersen, Norris Cole, James Jones, Rashard Lewis, Joel Anthony
Now, if we were talking purely about dominance of the team in the postseason, the Heat would undoubtedly rank lower. But since we're talking purely about the amount of talent the teams in question had, the Heat's lineup of dangerous shooters puts them above the Warriors and the Spurs mentioned in previous slides.
Shane Battier was an elite defender who could guard 4 positions on the floor without being exploited. Ray Allen was the textbook definition of a 3-and-D player at the end of his career. Mike Miller and James Jones were real scoring threats (although Jones barely saw any action during the playoffs), while Udonis Haslem was a pretty good rim protector and rebounder even in those years. Norris Cole was a good role player who was utilized pretty well by coach Erik Spoelstra in those years, though he was never starter material.
The Heat swept the Bucks in the first round with an average margin of victory of 14.75 points. The Derrick Rose-less Bulls posed them a slightly tougher challenge, though they went down in 5 games themselves by an average of 13.2 points per game.
The Indiana Pacers, however, had other ideas. Powered by Most Improved Player and first-time All Star Paul George alongside a supporting cast of Roy Hibbert, David West and Danny Granger, the Pacers ran the Heat really close in an entertaining Conference Finals series that the Heat ultimately won in a Game 7 blowout.
The Finals that year rank among our top 10 Finals series of all time, as the Spurs actually outscored the Heat by 5 points over 7 games, but Ray Allen's all-time great clutch shot at the end of regulation time in Game 6 coupled with LeBron's dominant Game 7 performance ensured that they got the back-to-back championships that was, at that point, an expectation rather than a possibility for them.
