The Game Everyone Wants To Watch: 2013 Miami Heat vs. 2021 Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA has seen some great teams over the past few years. We have seen the Miami Heat super team led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh win 2 straight NBA titles, and also the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis win the title last year. That is why it might be interesting to pit some of the great superstars against each other in the greatest superstar showdown ever.

Contents

The Big Three vs. LeBron & AD
Key Players
Coach
Conclusion
Final Result
2013 Miami Heat vs. 2021 Los Angeles Lakers 4-2

Specifically, it will be exciting to match up Team Heat led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh against Team Lakers led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis. By comparing the qualities of the superstars on both teams, the key role players, and the abilities of the coaches, here is how the game plays out.

The Big Three vs. LeBron & AD

The showdown between both superteams will ultimately be decided by which group of superstars play better. The Miami Heat have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to form an all-time great trio of impactful stars while the Lakers counter with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Miami’s LeBron James has too much help. Dwyane Wade is a greater all-time player than Anthony Davis because he has proven he can carry a franchise on his back when needed. Wade is the 3rd greatest shooting guard of all time and he does it in both ends of the court. Chris Bosh is also one of the most underrated stars in history because he can score from anywhere and is a crafty defender. As a third option, it’s hard to find better.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James in Los Angeles form an incredibly talented duo thanks to their size and offensive abilities, but the Heat have 3 stars and 2 superstars which ultimately makes the difference.

Key Players

The Heat will rely mainly on Ray Allen to nail outside shots while Mario Chalmers plays exceptional defense at the point guard position. Chris “Birdman” Anderson will try to handle the likes of Marc Gasol and Anthony Davis, while veteran Udonis Haslem can come in and play tough defense as well. Overall, there is too much depth on the 2021 Lakers and they have the edge here.

The Los Angeles Lakers are stacked with strong role players. Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder were both worthy 6th Man of the Year candidates in 2020, and they are backed up by Marc Gasol, Kyle Kuzma, Wesley Matthews, and Alex Caruso. There is too much defense, scoring, shooting, and overall talent that cannot be ignored behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Coach

The 2013 Miami Heat and 2021 Los Angeles Lakers both have excellent coaching staffs, but the edge has to go to Eric Spoelstra. Spoelstra is a genius at drawing up strong offensive plays, and he is a very tough defensive-minded coach as well. He managed to handle the egos of 3 franchise players and get everyone on the same page which is a gargantuan task. Spoelstra is intelligent, ruthless, and willing to do whatever it takes to get a victory.

The 2021 Lakers coach, Frank Vogel, is a very defensive-minded coach who deserves a ton of credit for leading the Lakers to the title last year. Vogel will trust LeBron James to make the right plays for the Lakers, which is probably the smartest move, and will place a heavy load on everyone else to defend Miami’s stars vigorously. In the end, Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the past decade and he has the edge.

Conclusion

In a 7-game series, superstars always dictate the outcome. The Heat have too many stars to handle at once because LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are too unstoppable in their own right. Chris Bosh is very capable of going off during any game as well, which means the Lakers will try to get backups with their incredible depth.

Montrezl Harrell and Dennis Schroder will be critical in placing pressure on Miami’s defense all series long, although Chalmers will be very crafty at bothering Schroder as much as possible. Harrell is very active and aggressive inside, but Birdman and Haslem can manage to bother him as well. As good as Kuzma, Matthews, and Caruso can be, Ray Allen is simply on an entirely different level. He is one of the greatest clutch shooters in NBA history and the best shooter in the series, meaning the Heat have a massive edge in shot-making as well.

The first 4 games will be split between the two all-time great teams, with all the stars showing up. LeBron and Wade handle Games 1 and 3, while LeBron and Davis handle Games 2 and 4. Game 5 is a blowout win for Miami, who find a way to minimize Davis all game which hinders Los Angeles greatly. Game 6 is close, but the Heat smell blood in the water, and with the quality scorers they have in Bosh and Allen supporting LeBron and Wade, they close the series out in a hard-fought overtime.