This eight-minute video is a behind-the-scenes look at Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh coming together as teammates on the Miami Heat. In the opening, it shows highlights from last year’s All-Star game, and has Wade’s All-Star game interview going on in the background - in which he talks about James having the ability to make it easy for his teammates, as well as how he enjoys being James’ teammate during All-Star and Olympic games. This led to a question from a reporter asking him what it would be like to play as teammates for more than one day a year, to which Wade replied “We can dream can’t we.” Dreams can become a reality, as is the case here.
The video then discusses the sacrifices that are needed in order to take Wade, James, and Bosh – who have all been the leaders on their respective teams for the past seven years – to the next level as they try to win the championship together. One sacrifice that has already happened was each player taking a salary cut, which is what made it possible for the Heat to acquire James and Bosh, while at the same time resigning Wade and Udonis Haslem.
Wade discusses the sacrifices players have made – in position, playing time, salary, and name recognition – and why players have made them – because they want to win a championship that much. Wade then says, “We got the recipe to success…Now we just gotta make sure that we learn how to cook the food right.”
After the off-season brought forth the signings, a lot of media attention, and the distractions that came with it, the Heat held their training camp on an Air Force base in order to get the players isolated and focused. Head coach Erik Spoelstra wanted to instill discipline, sacrifices, and teamwork in the Miami Heat right from the start.
The video then goes behind-the-scenes at the Heat’s training camp, showing drills and interviews. For much of the training camp, Wade and James were not on the same team, but were instead playing against one another. While this may be a topic to debate, as it is important for them to play together and build chemistry, it was a good idea for Spoelstra. Everyone has been discussing how Wade and James will affect one another during games, but not much has gone into talking about what Wade and James being on the same team will do for each player in regards to practice.
If Wade and James play against one another every day in practice, the opportunity for improvement and growth abounds. Playing against good competition, even in practice, is something that can never be overlooked. With two of the top five players in the NBA being matched up against one another in drills and scrimmages every day, they will only continue to better each other on both sides of the ball. As long as they also spend some time working together on the same team and chemistry can build, it will only help both players to play against one another every day in practice.
With Wade and James going hard against one another during training camp, it affected all other players as well. “Intensity in practice went up, and players noticed it” states Spoelstra. “To get to where we want to go, it has to be intense” says Bosh. Once Spoelstra pitted Wade and Bosh against one another, the training camp competition rose to a whole new level, which will only help the team in the long run as they work to accomplish their goal, winning the NBA Championship.
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