The Miami Heat road show barreled into Newark on Sunday. Of the Heat's four games, this was the third played on the road in a young, rock-concert season starring the Big Three: LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. In a game the Nets were out of virtually from the opening tip, Bosh, Wade and James accounted for 31 shots and 55 points as Miami ended the Nets' unbeaten streak at two. That was fine for those fans who came to see the NBA's hottest attraction dance on the Nets' head. James, singled out for special attention, was booed each time he touched the ball. He has been cast, rightly or wrongly, as the symbol of everything that the NBA has become: part carnival and part soap opera, with a bit of good old-fashioned competition sprinkled in. James has been cast not so much a villain or a turncoat, but as a ringmaster who used his weight and power to bring the Big Three together in Miami. In the real world, that use of leverage would be lauded. In sports, where athletes are expected to be ever grateful, such a demonstration of power and control is frowned upon. This Heat team will win a lot of games. Look up and down the schedule, and you don't see a lot of early Miami losses. The Heat hosted Orlando on Friday and won by 26 points; Sunday it wound up beating the Nets by 23. Miami hosts Minnesota on Tuesday, then travels to New Orleans on Friday. By the time Miami hosts the Nets on Saturday, it could easily be 5-1. The Heat is the NBA's hottest road show. Everywhere it goes, including Sunday at the Prudential Center, fans flock to see if the home team might pull off a major upset. This is great for Miami, great for the NBA and great for the Big Three. As the win total mounts, audiences will become more eager to see if the home team can knock off these new Kings of the Hill. James likes the attention. 'There's never a time when we can't be motivated going into any arena,' James said after Sunday's game. 'We're going to get booed most of the night, and everybody wants to dethrone us. It almost seems like we've won a championship already. 'We haven't done anything, and everybody's put us up at the top. We know we have a long way to go, but when we go into people's building, we want them to boo us.' There is one potential danger for this juggernaut. The Heat, already a high-profile team of troubadours, could become the NBA's Harlem Globetrotters, going from arena to arena and putting on basketball exhibitions that turn opponents into the hapless Washington Generals. If that comes to pass, the Heat will win lots of games -- never a championship -- but will be infinitely entertaining. Wade could become Marques Haynes; James, Meadowlark Lemon; and Bosh, Curly Neal. Haynes, Lemon and Neal were exquisite basketball players, but each made a choice -- as the Globetrotters did -- to become entertainers first. Basketball simply facilitated the entertainment. Obviously the Heat will not totally become the Globetrotters because it plays in the take-no-prisoners NBA. There will be no hidden-ball tricks and sleight-of-hand dribbling. On the other hand, the NBA embraces marketing and promotion amid increasing complaints that entertainment often overshadows the basketball. That's why a number of fans had a problem with James' collaboration with ESPN to produce the 'The Decision' in July, when he announced that he was leaving Cleveland for Miami. That's why Miami will be booed everywhere it plays and why James in particular will carry a heavy burden of proof throughout the season. What matters most to James: championships or marketing and promotion? After Sunday's game, the Heat's Eddie House said he thought James' sole motivation was winning. Not marketing, not even power and control. House was a member of the 2008 Boston Celtics championship team that featured Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. 'I don't think it was power and control,' House said. 'I think it was: 'I'm tired of getting close and not making it. I'm tired of not even having a chance of making it. How can I put myself in the best position to get something that everyone who puts their shoes on and ties them up wants to do, and that's win?'' House pointed out that Garnett and Allen went to Boston through trades, while James, Bosh and Wade made a conscious decision to come together in Miami as free agents. 'They were superstars in Boston when they came together, and they're superstars here,' House said. 'Out of superstars you get superstar things. They're all superstars and they're capable of having spectacular nights, spectacular performances and a spectacular effect on the game.' We shall see. The great question for Miami's Big Three is: Will they be entertaining on the way to a championship? Or will they simply be entertainers? 