LeBron Suitors Chasing Shabazz Napier

LeBron's suitors--including the Miami Heat--should all be taking a good look at Shabazz Napier in the upcoming draft after LeBron's tweet about Napier being the best point guard in the draft:

Sources: Heat aggressively trying to move up in draft. Target is Shabazz Napier. LeBron thinks he’s best PG in the draft & Heat need a PG
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) June 25, 2014

LeBron has been very complimentary of Napier since the tournament and this is certainly not the first time he has publicly sung his praise. For a team looking to sign LeBron in the next few weeks, adding Napier could be a strong move. It would be a particularly strong move for Miami, who sorely lacks strong PG play with the disappearing act that was Mario Chalmers against the Spurs. I'd love to keep Norris Cole, and would be really upset to see him go; but, if that's what it takes to keep LeBron happy, then Miami should do it. There is almost no way that Napier falls to the 26 spot, so Riley is aggressively trying to move up to a pick in the late teens. Unfortunately, Miami has no assets besides Cole and a 2017 first round pick to flip into a higher pick in this draft. We'll see what Riley can pull off, though. He certainly fits the bill of the type of player that Riley targets in drafts (when he targets anyone at all rather than just flipping the pick for veteran free agents): a multi-year veteran college player who has developed his skills, overcome adversity, and had a taste of championship success. Napier is exactly that kind of guy. He isn't the uber-athletic point guard that would be great on the Heat, and struggles with on-ball perimeter defense; yet, scouts seem confident that he can develop better defensive habits just like Chris Bosh did when he came to the Heat.

Still, I don't want to see Cole go, but it's a small price to pay to lure LeBron back to Miami and set the tone for Wade and Bosh's opt-out decisions and probable pay cuts. I think I might prefer them to flip the 26th pick for Iman Shumpert if that deal is even on the table; something tells me Phil Jackson isn't going to do Riley any favors. It's a Cole World out there...

LeBron Will Rise to the Task

Tonight, after all the backlash against LeBron, he's going to do what he always does when his back is against the wall and have a legendary performance. I don't expect it to quite reach Game 6 Boston levels, but he is going to be super-aggressive (and hopefully, super-hydrated as well) and really make his mark on this game. It should be a close game, but I think Miami will get the much-coveted split tonight. In the 2-2-1-1-1 format that the NBA finally switched back to for the Finals, home court advantage is even more important. Miami really won't want to go home in a 2-0 hole, where the Spurs can steal a close game and then come home for Game 5 to finish them off. Consequently, you can expect the Big Three to be incredibly aggressive tonight on defense. They're going to try to smother Danny Green, and make sure they're chasing him off the line at all time. While it would be nice if Bosh could play better defense on Duncan, I think the Heat are content to let him get his 25-10 stats as long as the three point shooters are kept in check and Parker isn't going nuts creating easy dump-offs after his drives.

Tonight's game should be a tight one because the Spurs don't often get complacent (especially after last year's Finals debacle for them) like the Heat are prone to do when their backs aren't against the wall. But, I expect Miami to snag a game tonight and win Game 3 on an emotionally-charged home court in a couple days.

With no Lance Stephenson antics, no A/C failures, and no other silly distractions from the great basketball being played, the rest of this series should be exactly what it has been billed as...a hotly (no pun intended) contested match-up of two NBA teams who will already be known as some of the best teams in league history.

Side Note: We're going to have a Super Mario Chalmers sighting. Less turnovers, more high-arcing threes.