Someone needs to pull the Van Gundy’s off the Miami Heat. First, Jeff said the Heat will not lose two in a row at any point this season and will break Chicago’s single season win record. And now, brother Stan tells a Miami radio station: “…I am going to tell you that the Heat roster is better than any roster that Michael Jordan played with the Bulls. Dwayne Wade is certainly, in my opinion anyway, as good as he was, is better than Scottie Pippen. Chris Bosh is better than Toni Kukoc. Mike Miller is every bit as good a shooter as (John) Paxson or (Steve) Kerr or anybody they put out there…I don’t think there is any question that the roster the Heat have is as talented a roster if not more so as any roster there has ever been in the NBA.” Eaaassy, Tiger.

Photos: LeBron With His New Teammates

Photos: LeBron In High School

Why even argue Wade v. Pippen; apples to oranges; they’re completely different players. Pippen obviously wasn’t the ‘go to’ guy Wade is. Well, he thought he was, that’s why he didn’t get off the bench when his number wasn’t called at the end of a playoff game. But he was a mother defensively: I don’t see Wade trying to check 1’s, 2’s, 3’s and even some 4’s the way Pippen did back in the day. Totally different guys, bogus argument. That’s like saying you’d rather have Don Mattingly over Steve Yzerman. A gulfstream over a Ferrari. It’s neither here nor there.

I also can’t argue that Chris Bosh is better than Toni Kukoc. I’ll argue that both are overrated, but not that Bosh is better than Kukoc. Based on what? He’s never won anything. Not…one…thing. He was “The Man” in Toronto yet couldn’t even get the Raptors to the playoffs last year. No wonder Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo questioned whether or not he’s a true franchise player. Bosh himself is questioning it, or he wouldn’t have gone to play with Wade and LeBron in the first place. And Colangelo isn’t the only one questioning Bosh’s toughness either. Again, considering Kukoc was more of perimeter oriented 3 and Bosh is a 4, I don’t really follow this argument either.

Considering who I am and who he is, I hate to go up against SVG again, but I’m also not buying that Mike Miller is every bit as good a shooter as Steve Kerr or John Paxson. A better overall player than both, sure. But not a better shooter. Kerr could shoot the bleep out of it; and both Kerr and Paxson were better long distance shooters than Miller is. Both were cold blooded, fearless big game shot makers. Miller, for the most part, has played on crummy teams; and he’s never had to make a shot with a championship hanging in the balance like the other two. A better player, sure, a better shooter, no. And he still has to prove he has that big game ability.

And as far as Van Gundy’s argument that their roster is as good as there has ever been. C’mon. Better than the Lakers with Erv, Kareem, Worthy, Byron Scott and Michael Cooper. Better than the Celtics with Bird, Parish, McHale, DJ and Danny Ainge. Better than the Sixers with Wilt, Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham and Chet Walker. Stan, have you even looked at the Heat’s roster beyond the big 3. I know you have and I know why you and your brother are doing this, you ripped that page right out of Phil Jackson’s playbook, you’re stirring it up, creating even more hype, expectation and pressure and making that bulls eye on their back even bigger. That way, if and when it does go sideways, they’ll spiral that much faster and harder. It’s awesome. Even if you don’t believe anything you or are your brother are saying!