Two Jordans are Better Than One

Before the season began, NBA analysts wondered if there would be too many egos and not enough basketballs to go around once the Big Three donned Miami Heat uniforms. Three months and a crapload of victories later, it seems pretty safe to say the whole LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh thing is going to work out just splendidly. The crux of criticisms always centered on James and his supposed softness. James, said his detractors, opted to play second fiddle to Wade, flushing away all those You’re-totally-the-next-Michael-Jordan monikers he’d been bestowed with since he could bounce a ball. Opposing arenas even begun chanting “Scottie Pippen” at James, mocking his place on the team as the other guy instead of the centerpiece. But, as those critics have come to learn, truth is a cold, hard bitch. Case in point: LeBron dropped 44 points in Portland, scoring the bulk of that to force overtime, where he buried two long three-pointers to put the feisty Trailblazers away. It was an epic performance by an epic player — proving the Heat is not so much a Jordan-Pippen team as it’s a Jordan-Jordan team. The Three Kings host the Toronto Raptors Saturday night at American Airlines Arena.
Sat., Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m., 2011