2003-04 Heat team
Moderators: KingDavid, heat4life, MettaWorldPanda, Wiltside, IggieCC, BFRESH44, QUIZ
2003-04 Heat team
-
- Banned User
- Posts: 2,857
- And1: 26
- Joined: Feb 23, 2012
2003-04 Heat team
How far do you guys think that Heat team would have gone if the main core had stayed together a few more years?
Dwyane Wade
Eddie Jones
Lamar Odom
Caron Butler
Brain Grant
Udonis Haslem
Rafer Alston
That looks like a pretty deep team to me. add Zo to the equation the following year and we look pretty scary.
Dwyane Wade
Eddie Jones
Lamar Odom
Caron Butler
Brain Grant
Udonis Haslem
Rafer Alston
That looks like a pretty deep team to me. add Zo to the equation the following year and we look pretty scary.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- Tim_Hardawayy
- RealGM
- Posts: 30,430
- And1: 10,005
- Joined: Sep 17, 2008
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
They'd probably continue to get bounced in the 2nd round. Hard to say for sure though. I kind of wonder how Wade would have developed without Shaq here, in a lot of ways I think Shaq's arrival gave Wade room to grow as a player, with less pressure being placed on him.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- lukekarts
- Head Coach
- Posts: 7,168
- And1: 336
- Joined: Dec 11, 2009
- Location: UK
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
Tim_Hardawayy wrote:They'd probably continue to get bounced in the 2nd round. Hard to say for sure though. I kind of wonder how Wade would have developed without Shaq here, in a lot of ways I think Shaq's arrival gave Wade room to grow as a player, with less pressure being placed on him.
This.
We'd see the rise of Wade/Butler/Odom coincide with the decline of Jones & Grant.
For reference, LA did very little with Kobe/Butler/Odom - it was the acquisition of Pau that put them back on the map.
Basically, too much perimeter play between Wade/Jones/Butler/Odom and not enough interior presence. If not Shaq, Riley would've been spending every minute of every day trying to bring in someone to resolve the front court issues.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- Assistant Coach
- Posts: 3,966
- And1: 758
- Joined: Mar 13, 2002
- Location: Miami
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
lukekarts wrote:Tim_Hardawayy wrote:They'd probably continue to get bounced in the 2nd round. Hard to say for sure though. I kind of wonder how Wade would have developed without Shaq here, in a lot of ways I think Shaq's arrival gave Wade room to grow as a player, with less pressure being placed on him.
This.
We'd see the rise of Wade/Butler/Odom coincide with the decline of Jones & Grant.
For reference, LA did very little with Kobe/Butler/Odom - it was the acquisition of Pau that put them back on the map.
Basically, too much perimeter play between Wade/Jones/Butler/Odom and not enough interior presence. If not Shaq, Riley would've been spending every minute of every day trying to bring in someone to resolve the front court issues.
LOL... I remember before Shaq was a real possibility, most of us on here were hoping to add Mark Blount that summer with our Mid Level Exception..
One of my favorite teams of all time. Started 0-7, rookie coach, no one knew what we had in Wade just yet, Lamar Odom had what should have been an allstar season, Caron, UD, Rasual, Skip.. Grant and Eddie. Just a fun team.. with zero expectations. Crazy that 42-40 got us a 4 seed in the east, lol.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- DefenseWins
- Retired Mod
- Posts: 39,525
- And1: 13,554
- Joined: Apr 30, 2011
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
I remember this team well. It was the first Heat team I watched. I'm a young fan basically.
But teams that can be scary, but you know their inexperience and just not being the best would not get them very far - thats how I feel about that team. But rookie Wade was the best ever to watch besides the year he got back in 08.
Kind of like the 76ers. In terms of hey they have a nice core and all, but they aren't good enough.
But if you don't take us seriously, we can hurt you.
But teams that can be scary, but you know their inexperience and just not being the best would not get them very far - thats how I feel about that team. But rookie Wade was the best ever to watch besides the year he got back in 08.
Kind of like the 76ers. In terms of hey they have a nice core and all, but they aren't good enough.
But if you don't take us seriously, we can hurt you.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- FlashFlare
- RealGM
- Posts: 10,014
- And1: 30,615
- Joined: Jun 27, 2012
- Location: Tokyo
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
This team was so fun to watch. Young Wade was so exciting to watch. Who can forget that game winner against the Hornets in the playoffs?

100% WADEaboo
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- Ballboy
- Posts: 28
- And1: 2
- Joined: Feb 08, 2011
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
this was the team that made me fall in love with the nba. I remember watching wang zhizhi warm up before games, he looked like dirk when there was nobody guarding him 

Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- Ballboy
- Posts: 44
- And1: 1
- Joined: Jun 03, 2007
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eZs4Hh0Y9E[/youtube]
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- Grumpy Heat Fan
- General Manager
- Posts: 8,658
- And1: 9,162
- Joined: Dec 09, 2011
- Location: Miami, Florida
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
Fun to watch, but would never win a championship.
Riley made the right move. We should have won the ship in 2005, too.
Riley made the right move. We should have won the ship in 2005, too.
"As for me personally, I don't truly care how much I make these days, my main focus is on playing for a winner." - Dirk Nowitzki, July 2016
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- Flash4thewin
- RealGM
- Posts: 13,415
- And1: 9,704
- Joined: Jan 27, 2006
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
StrengthNHonor wrote:Fun to watch, but would never win a championship.
Riley made the right move. We should have won the ship in 2005, too.
Yes fun but no way a contender. Zo would only go to a contender and we needed Pat and Shaq to ask him to join.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- HEAT111
- Veteran
- Posts: 2,863
- And1: 1,803
- Joined: Mar 14, 2012
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
FlashKing wrote:How far do you guys think that Heat team would have gone if the main core had stayed together a few more years?
Dwyane Wade
Eddie Jones
Lamar Odom
Caron Butler
Brain Grant
Udonis Haslem
Rafer Alston
That looks like a pretty deep team to me. add Zo to the equation the following year and we look pretty scary.
Brian? I couldn't help but laugh about that that error lol...Brain, what a first name.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 17,107
- And1: 534
- Joined: May 08, 2009
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
God I loved that team, definitely top 3 in my list of favorite Heat teams.
However, I honestly see the success of that team being similar to the Wizards teams...3 great perimeter players who win 47-50 wins but get bounced in the early rounds, possibly the ECF once or twice but ultimately losing due to lack of interior presence.
but there's no way Riley doesn't trade for a center if he couldn't get Shaq.
However, I honestly see the success of that team being similar to the Wizards teams...3 great perimeter players who win 47-50 wins but get bounced in the early rounds, possibly the ECF once or twice but ultimately losing due to lack of interior presence.
but there's no way Riley doesn't trade for a center if he couldn't get Shaq.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 11,730
- And1: 7,194
- Joined: Jul 08, 2006
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
Wade has turned it on to superstar status in the Hornets and Pacers series that year. I think he would have turned into a Superstar with or without Shaq, but we wouldn't have won the championship without Shaq in 2006. All those players that came to our team, was because of Shaq. Shaq made the NBA believe we were contenders, and that's why we had those ring chasers.
Funny, I used to think Rasual Butler was going to be a key star for us, he had great work ethic when he was in our team. He busted his ass off.
Malik Allen was one of my favorite players too on that team.
He was like a poor man version of Brandon Bass. When he was on, he was LOCKED on. But when he was bad, it was pretty bad...
Funny, I used to think Rasual Butler was going to be a key star for us, he had great work ethic when he was in our team. He busted his ass off.
Malik Allen was one of my favorite players too on that team.


Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- Assistant Coach
- Posts: 3,985
- And1: 340
- Joined: Jan 01, 2011
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
This was the team I bet at 500-1 to win the championship.
I like the Wizards comparison. We would have been a treadmill team getting mid seeds (in the weak east) and getting bounced in the first/second round.
I disagree about Wade being a superstar by the playoffs that year. Obviously great for a rookie but definitely not superstar by then.
I like the Wizards comparison. We would have been a treadmill team getting mid seeds (in the weak east) and getting bounced in the first/second round.
Vertical Limit wrote:Wade has turned it on to superstar status in the Hornets and Pacers series that year. I think he would have turned into a Superstar with or without Shaq, but we wouldn't have won the championship without Shaq in 2006. All those players that came to our team, was because of Shaq. Shaq made the NBA believe we were contenders, and that's why we had those ring chasers.
Funny, I used to think Rasual Butler was going to be a key star for us, he had great work ethic when he was in our team. He busted his ass off.
Malik Allen was one of my favorite players too on that team.He was like a poor man version of Brandon Bass. When he was on, he was LOCKED on. But when he was bad, it was pretty bad...
I disagree about Wade being a superstar by the playoffs that year. Obviously great for a rookie but definitely not superstar by then.
Your emotions fuel the narratives that you create. You see what you want to see. You believe what you want to believe. You ascribe meaning when it is not there. You create significance when it is not present.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- followthrough
- Junior
- Posts: 485
- And1: 27
- Joined: Jul 22, 2010
- Location: Miami
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
There wasn't much, if any, competition in the East after Indy's suspensions. We could have possibly made the ECF but get trounced by Detroit, assuming we wouldn't be playing Detroit in the second round. But no chance at a championship, and outrageously lucky to make one if Riley kept that team intact for a few years.
Who remembers the Alston over Shawn Bradley game?
Who remembers the Alston over Shawn Bradley game?

Re: 2003-04 Heat team
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 11,730
- And1: 7,194
- Joined: Jul 08, 2006
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
GreenHat wrote:This was the team I bet at 500-1 to win the championship.
I like the Wizards comparison. We would have been a treadmill team getting mid seeds (in the weak east) and getting bounced in the first/second round.Vertical Limit wrote:Wade has turned it on to superstar status in the Hornets and Pacers series that year. I think he would have turned into a Superstar with or without Shaq, but we wouldn't have won the championship without Shaq in 2006. All those players that came to our team, was because of Shaq. Shaq made the NBA believe we were contenders, and that's why we had those ring chasers.
Funny, I used to think Rasual Butler was going to be a key star for us, he had great work ethic when he was in our team. He busted his ass off.
Malik Allen was one of my favorite players too on that team.He was like a poor man version of Brandon Bass. When he was on, he was LOCKED on. But when he was bad, it was pretty bad...
I disagree about Wade being a superstar by the playoffs that year. Obviously great for a rookie but definitely not superstar by then.
Then you didn't watch the series because he was already hyped up as the next great player after the Indiana series. He was the best player on the court against the Eastern Conference favorites.
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- Zasterror
- RealGM
- Posts: 13,955
- And1: 10,019
- Joined: Aug 09, 2010
- Location: Born N Raised In Da County of Dade
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
The emergence of Dwyane Wade especially in the Playoffs was a sight to see, one of the best moments in my NBA viewing life. I knew he was going to be a explosive player, judging by his eye popping plays in the regular season but no one expected him to be a superstar till his tremendous performances in the Playoffs.

Re: 2003-04 Heat team
- ndnow
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 4,763
- And1: 2,010
- Joined: Feb 13, 2006
-
Re: 2003-04 Heat team
That might have been my favourite Heat team of all time.