The super-team that LeBron James thought he was creating by rejoining the Cavaliers and recruiting Kevin Love did not coalesce last year, even as LeBron dragged its mangled form into the NBA Finals against a miraculously healthy Golden State Warriors team. Now, things are quite different — Love and Kyrie Irving enter the series healthy, and LeBron is at the helm of the most talented squad he’s ever had in Cleveland. But is it the most talented he’s ever had, period? Let’s talk about the 2012 Heat, which like these Cavs were LeBron’s second shot at a title with his hand-picked club. When LeBron first changed addresses to form a super team, the star he was joining, Dwyane Wade, was already firmly established and an NBA Finals MVP; far different than Irving, dripping with talent but yet to win anything of significance (also nearly a decade younger at the time). At 30, Wade was already beginning to suffer a physical toll for his hard-charging style. But he was still a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball, teaming with LeBron to jump passing lanes on the outside and creating offense for himself on the low block and on secondary drives after LeBron action. Kyrie is miles behind where Wade was in 2012 defensively, but his offensive game is far better suited to play with LeBron. He can handle the ball as well as Wade ever could, and he can actually shoot the three ball, which is crucial in today’s game when you play with a penetrator like ‘Bron. Irving has had trouble toeing the LeBron company line, and Wade occasionally bristled at King James’ status as the new hometown king, but both seemed to harmonize with the star of stars by the time they reached their second Finals. Because of defense (which will be absolutely crucial against Steph Curry), give me Dwyane, but not by as much as one would think. Meanwhile, Love has been subjected to much of the same treatment by fans that Chris Bosh suffered in Miami. Both times, unquestioned alpha dogs in smaller markets used to being the highest-usage player on the court had to give up touches and change their role to fit with LeBron and a second creator. Superficially, they both got hammered for posting fewer stats, even though it was never fair to expect a third scorer to put up 25 a game. But whereas Bosh kept his value as one of the best players in the game by filling in every nook and cranny the Heat ever needed (mostly by defending incredibly well in an impossibly demanding scheme that put him at center, while Shane Battier filled the undersized power forward role), Love is still a below-average defender whose value fluctuates wildly depending on if his shot is falling. Love also is an underrated passer and still a very good rebounder, though he just doesn’t have the athletic ability to become anywhere near the defender Bosh was. Bosh hadn’t started shooting threes in 2012, but his range still extended 20 feet, enough to clear some space for drives. The bottom line is that Cleveland is simply an offensive juggernaut with a suspect defense, and Miami was the polar opposite. Still, Bosh averaged more points per game in that season, which means Bosh wins over Love easily.

Beyond the big threes are where things get even trickier. It bears repeating just how much the league has changed even compared to four years ago. The Spurs’ ball movement and Steph Curry’s emergence accelerated the emphasis on the three-pointer at alarming rates, but even back then, shooters were necessary for the Miami offense to survive. The Heat’s leaders in three-point attempts per game were Mario Chalmers, Mike Miller and Shane Battier. Battier was still a heady defender, but Miller could barely survive on that end and Mario was still getting screamed at regularly by his star teammates. Then again, Miller did shoot 45 percent from deep, James Jones shot 40 percent and Chalmers shot 38 percent. The Heat’s shooters could shoot. J.R. Smith is a gunner on another level, however. Averaging 40 percent on more than six and a half attempts per game is incredibly valuable, and though it’s inexact as hell, we’d say defense is a wash between he and Chalmers. Both had — and have — awareness issues on both ends, but both could be counted on to hit fearless threes when their teams needed it most. Channing Frye and Matthew Dellavedova are polar opposites defensively — after all, Frye has only had a few months to learn Cleveland’s scheme — but Frye makes up the difference with his size. Just like in his halcyon days in Phoenix, Frye is too dangerous to leave alone and too tall to guard with a perimeter player. Delly’s defense helped swing a couple of games for Cleveland last year, and he’s become a 40 percent shooter this year. We’d have to give the edge here to Cleveland. As for the big men, those were never Miami’s strong suit. In 2012, the Heat rotated Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem, who, against all odds, are both still in the league. Neither of them cracked 6-foot-10 or provided any form of meaningful offense, but they at least were tough to push around on the block. By the time the Finals rolled around, neither of them played much and Bosh was essentially the center for most of the series. Timofey Mozgov’s presence in Cleveland’s rotation is but a memory, and Tristan Thompson is not the rim protector Cleveland wishes he was, though he is above average switching on the perimeter and downright elite at snagging offensive rebounds. He is also not a meaningful source of offense, but at least he has some solid NBA skills. Like in Miami, a LeBron squad would rather play with an undersized five than waste minutes on an under-skilled center. Still, Cleveland wins this round. As for the token old guy saddling up for one last ride, Juwan Howard was basically an assistant coach in 2012, even if he hadn’t put on a suit yet. Meanwhile, Richard Jefferson has given the Cavs meaningful and solid minutes in the goddamn 2016 Playoffs. This might have been the unlikeliest and most fun storyline in the entire postseason (and hopefully he gets a little more airtime, because he’s playing in NBA Finals 13 years apart). James Jones now falls into this category for the Cavs, though he was a real reserve option in 2012. Thanks for being LeBron’s friend, James.