Five Stars: 2013-14

Miami’s 26th NBA season would see the Heat get all the way to the NBA Finals for the fifth time, and for the fourth time in a row.

After a 54-28 regular season which would clinch for Miami the Southeast Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference, the Heat breezed through the first three rounds of the postseason for the fourth year in a row by defeating the Charlotte Bobcats, four-games-to-zero, the Brooklyn Nets in five games, and the Indiana Pacers in six. The San Antonio Spurs gained a measure of revenge against Miami by defeating the Heat in five games to end the season. Soon afterward, the Big Three era would come to an end when LeBron James signed back with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

First Star

LeBron James 2196.1

James earned the First Star in Miami for the fourth time in his four years with the team in 2013-14. In that season, he shot 765-for-1354 from the floor for a nearly unfathomable career-best .567 field goal success rate, which was all the more shocking when you factor in the 306 three-point shot attempts (of which he made 116 for a .379 long-distance rate). His 765 field goals ranked second in the league, while his 1,354 attempts ranked only 10th. He also drained 439-of-585 free throws (.750). In 77 games, he led the team with an NBA-sixth 37.7 minutes per game, and also led Miami with an NBA-third 27.1 points, an NBA-10th 6.3 assists, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.

In total, James also led the Heat with an NBA-eighth 2,902 minutes on the floor, an NBA-third 2,089 points, 533 rebounds, an NBA-ninth 488 assists, 121 steals, an NBA-fourth 31.0 usage rate, an NBA-second 29.3 PER, an NBA-second 15.9 Win Shares, and an NBA-second best 8.0 VORP. He made the All Star team for the 10th year in a row, won the Player of the Week Honors twice, Player of the Month Honors twice, made the All-NBA First Team, the All-Defensive NBA second team, and finished second in the MVP Award vote.

James scored 20 or more points 61 times and earned 12 double-doubles. On February 18th, in a 117-106 win against the Dallas Mavericks, he made 16-of-23 shots from the floor, including four-of-eight from outside for 42 points, with nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. On March 3rd, he made 22-of-33 shots, including eight-of-10 three-pointers with seven rebounds and four helpers to finish with 61 points in a 124-107 victory against the Charlotte Bobcats. Two weeks later, in James’ last game ever against the Cleveland Cavaliers, he scored 43 points on 14-of-19 shooting, with six-of-eight makes from long distance, with six boards, four assists, three blocks and two steals as Miami won, 100-96.

Through Miami’s 20 playoff games, James was one of six players to appear in every contest. He drained .565 of his field goals, mirroring the regular season while improving his three-point shooting success rate to .407 by making 35-of-86 from outside. He again showed that he was the biggest of the “Big Three” by leading Miami with 548 points, 141 rebounds, 95 assists, and 36 steals, adding a team-third 11 blocked shots. He turned in a 31.1 PER with 4.3 Win Shares, with a 2.4 VORP which was actually higher than any other member of the Heat’s regular season rating. On May 12th, in Miami’s Game Five 102-96 win over the Brooklyn Nets, James erupted for 49 points on 16-of-24 shooting, with six rebounds, three steals and two assists.

After the playoffs came to an end, James departed the Heat for points north, rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers. Counting his time with the Heat, James has been to each of the last six NBA Finals, helping his team to the title on half of those occasions.

Second Star

Chris Bosh 1214.4

Bosh ranked second on the Heat with 79 appearances in 2013-14, for the first time since joining the Heat not finishing in the Third Star spot. He played a team-third 32.0 minutes per game, and averaged a team-third 16.2 points, a team-second 6.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, a team-fourth 1.0 steals and a team-second 1.0 blocks.

Bosh started in each of his 79 appearances for the Heat, mostly at center but he got a lot of playing time at the stretch four position. He made 492-of-953 shots from the field (.516), 74-of-218 (.339) from deep, and 223-of-272 from the foul line (.820). He had a 19.0 PER, a 22.6% Usage Rate, 8.0 Win Shares, and 1.6 VORP.

Miami went 53-26 in Bosh’s appearances through the regular season, and scored in double-digits 67 times with six double-doubles. On December 28th, in a 108-107 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, he made 15-of-26 shots from the floor, including all three of his three-pointers for a game- and season-high 37 points, with 10 rebounds and two steals. He scored 31 points on January 23rd on 15-of-22 shooting, with six rebounds in a win against the Los Angeles Lakers, 109-102. Three days later, he went nine-for-10 with five boards, three helpers, and a steal, scoring 24 points in a 113-101 win against the San Antonio Spurs.

Bosh played in all 20 postseason games for Miami, and averaged 34.3 minutes, scoring 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds. In Miami’s series-deciding 117-92 win against the Indiana Pacers in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, he made 10-of-14 shots for 25 points, with eight rebounds and two blocked shots.

Third Star

Dwyane Wade 1050.8

Wade appeared in the Five Stars for the 11th time in his 11th seasons with the Heat in 2013-14. His rank as the Third Star was his lowest since his rookie season. Injuries kept him to just 54 games for the Heat, 53 of them which he started at shooting guard. His 1,028 total points still ranked him third on the club although he was just sixth in minutes played with 1,775. He also had a team fourth 241 rebounds, ranked third with 252 assists, and fourth with 79 steals.

Wade’s per-game figures were a little more heartening. He was second with 32.9 minutes, 19.0 points, 4.7 assists, third with 1.5 steals, and fourth with 4.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocks. He shot .545 from the field (415-of-761), nine-of-32 from outside (.281) and 189-of-258 (.733) from the foul line. He had a 22.0 PER, rated with a 1.9 VORP, earned 5.5 Win Shares, and had a 27.9% Usage Rate.

Through the season, Wade scored in double-digits 48 times and racked up four double-doubles. On November 15th, he scored 17 points with eight assists, five rebounds, and a mind-boggling eight steals as Miami defeated the Dallas Mavericks 110-104. In a 103-81 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 20th, he made 11-of-17 shots from the floor with 10 assists, seven rebounds, and three steals to finish with 24 points. On March 16th, he scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shots with eight rebounds and two steals as Miami set down the Houston Rockets 113-104.

Wade played in all 20 playoff games for Miami, and averaged 34.7 minutes with 17.8 points, 3.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. On May 14th, in Miami’s deciding Game Five 96-94 win over the Brooklyn Nets, he scored 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting with three assists and two rebounds.

Fourth Star

Mario Chalmers 729.2

Chalmers started 73 times at point guard for Miami in 2013-14. Chalmers, or “Rio,” ranked fourth on Miami’s yearly leaderboard with 29.8 minutes and 9.8 points per game, ranking second with 4.9 assists and tied for first with 1.6 steals. He was third with 2,178 minutes played, and shot 254-for-560 (.454) overall, making 87-of-226 from outside (.385) and 121-of-163 (.742) from the charity stripe. He was also fourth with 716 points, second with 357 assists and 119 steals, and fifth with 214 rebounds.

Rio racked up a 14.0 PER, 4.8 Win Shares, a 17.4% Usage Rate, and a 1.7 VORP through the regular season. He scored in double figures in just over half of his games, 37 times, and helped the Heat to a 49-24 record while in the rotation. On November 12th, in a 118-95 Heat win over the Milwaukee Bucks, he had 15 points with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals. In a 123-114 loss to the Golden State Warriors on January 2nd, he scored 17 with seven rebounds, three steals and three assists. On April 4th, in a 122-121 double overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he scored a season high 24 points with six helpers and six boards.

Chalmers played in all 20 of Miami’s postseason matchups, starting 19 times at point guard. He was on the floor for 26.8 minutes and averaged 6.4 points with 3.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals.

Fifth Star

Ray Allen 644.3

Allen, who was 38 years of age at the start of the season and the oldest player on the Heat’s roster by just under three years, suited up for 73 contests with Miami, starting nine games at shooting guard. Despite his reputation as the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history, he ranked fifth on the Heat in long-distance shooting, making .375 of his shots (116-of-309). That ranked him behind James Jones (.519), Michael Beasley (.389), Mario Chalmers (.385) and LeBron James (.379).

Allen was fifth on the team with 1,936 total minutes on the floor (26.5 per game), and sunk 240-of-543 shots overall from the field (.442). He led the club with a .905 free-throw shooting percentage (105-for-116) and ranked fifth on the team with 143 assists, or 2.0 per game. Allen also had 205 rebounds (2.8 per game), 54 steals (0.7 per game) , and finished the season with a team-fifth 701 points (9.6 per game).

Although he all tell each other and ourselves that Allen was as good as ever in his final (so far) NBA season, the truth is that his 12.8 PER was only the fourth time he had ever ranked below the league average mark of 15.0, and the third season in a row. It was also the lowest mark of his career. He had career lows with a 16.8% usage rate, 4.1 Win Shares, and a 1.0 VORP.

In Allen’s games, the Heat posted a 47-26 overall record. He finished in double-digits on 36 occasions. On October 30th, as the Heat were surprised by a 114-110 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen dropped in 19 points with six rebounds and two assists. On March 14th, he scored 22 points, going seven-for-nine from the field (including five-of-seven from outside) with four boards and two assists in a 111-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Two nights later, in Miami’s nine point win over the Rockets, he made seven-of-11 shots for a season-high 25 points.

Allen was one of six players to play in all 20 of Miami’s postseason contests, and he averaged 26.4 minutes on the floor, with 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.

The Rest

Chris Andersen 597.9

Norris Cole 432.0

Michael Beasley 294.4

Shane Battier 271.7

Rashard Lewis 269.2

Udonis Haslem 167.2

James Jones 111.0

Toney Douglas 99.1

Greg Oden 50.1

Roger Mason 44.7

Justin Hamilton 17.1

Joel Anthony 2.4

DeAndre Liggins 2.4

Sorry for the long delay between articles. Check back here around this time next week for a recap of the 2014-15 season and the emergence of Luol Deng, Hassan Whiteside, and others.