Wade Watch: Happy New Year: The Top 11 Stories from 2011

Losing in the Finals, haters, the Three Kings, greatness, public relations, predictions, power moves, Christmas games, free agency and Florida Gators were the most popular stories at the Miami Heat Index in 2011.

Top 11 Articles of 2011

2011 was a busy year at the Miami Heat Index blog: 245 posts in 12 months. The 11 most popular articles from those 245 are listed below.

1. How the 2011 Finals Were Lost

The Miami HEAT lost the 2011 NBA Finals 4-2. The first season of the Three Kings' reign on South Beach ended in disappointment and failure with two consecutive bad losses at home. This article took a cold, hard look at the numbers from the 2011 Finals and isolated the cause of the HEAT's loss.

More stories from the 2011 Finals: HEATcast: Tupac & Father's Day is Therapy for Losing the Finals

2. HEAT Shit List

This page is a catalog of ramblings about the Miami Heat's enemies on Twitter, just in case LeBron loses his mental notes. If a team/player appears on this list, then there's a good chance they'll get beaten down by 20+ points during the season. Die slow, haters. Die slow. Check out the anniversary edition for the last update of 2011.

More HEAT Shit List stories from 2011:

3. The Mavs Played Like Hockey Goons to Put the HEAT on Ice

This article was an "I told you so" moment... the Finals recap stated the HEAT's chance to win the title was lost when hockey goon Brian Cardinal injured Dwyane Wade. After the Finals, Mavs assistant coach Dwayne Casey admitted the coaching staff wanted the Mavs to play like hockey goons and beat the HEAT up. See the article, "No Wonder Mavs Played Like Hockey Goons, They Were On Ice" for more information.

4. The HEAT Produced Page

This page tracks the Estimated Wins Produced for the Miami Heat throughout the season, thus the term "Heat Produced". LeBron James led the team in HEAT Produced during the 2011 regular season with an estimated 17.5 wins.

As the article "Did the King Murder Wade On His Own Shit?" pointed out, LeBron was the star of the regular season, but Dwyane Wade led the team in HEAT Produced during the 2011 playoffs.

More stories on HEAT Produced in 2011:

Speed Kills
Winning Numbers from the Weekend were 30-10-50
Cost Efficiency

5. NBA's 50 Greatest Players - 2011 Remix

If they updated the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, then who should be added to the list and who should they replace? Spoiler alert: Bill Walton better hide his jacket.

Should Jason Kidd, Mark Jackson (3rd all-time in assists), Gary Payton, Reggie Miller or Kobe Bryant replace some of the guards on the list of the 50 greatest NBA players?

Should Kevin Garnett, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Buck Williams, Shawn Marion, Larry Nance or Charles Oakley replace some of the forwards on the list of the 50 greatest NBA players?

Those questions were answered in the article and also debated during this podcast at the Wages of Wins Network.

More Christmas stories from 2011:

10. Did Losing to the Knicks Push Arroyo Out and Bring Bibby In?

The rumors started shortly after the Miami Heat suffered their worst loss of the season. The New York Knicks were leaving Biscayne Boulevard with a 91-86 win and Mike Bibby was on his way to give the team what they so desperately needed. Wait... what?!? You had to understand that loss to the Knicks in order to understand why Heat fans and management thought Bibby was desperately needed in Miami. This article explained it.

Oddly enough, Bibby's the Knicks' problem now: NBA Free Agency - Where Golden Showers Happen.

11. The Gator Effect

The big story from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals was Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller finally joining the Three Kings in the lineup for the first time all season. Haslem and Miller led the Florida Gators to the NCAA title game in 2000. This article examined whether they could have the same effect on the 2011 Miami HEAT.

More stories on the Gator Effect: