The Heat got their rings, and then continued where they left off

Image from the Miamiherald.com

Lebron James finally got his ring, while Dwyane Wade got his second and the rest of the Heat raised their championship banner. Opening night was a spectacle down in Miami, from Ray Allen in a Heat jersey to Rondo Clotheslining Wade to Lebron getting cramps. Yet one thing was certain, this Miami Heat team is clearly the best team in basketball and they looked in mid season form in the first of 82 games.
The first defensive play of the game for the Heat was indicative of it. With crisp rotations, the possession started with a Bosh block of a Bass jumpshot, followed 10 seconds later by a Wade block, and which culminated with a Shane Battier 3 at the other end. The Celtics will definitely be the team challenging them for the eastern conference but it will be tough to stop Miami from going to a third straight finals. Their two superstars destroyed the Celtics, Lebron James looked like the best player in basketball, picking his spots and attacking when he had to, he had a double double by halftime and it seems like Spoelstra will continue to use this "no position lineup". Then there's Dwyane Wade, there were concerns amid his offseason surgery on his knee ( He played during last year's title run with the knee injury) and how he would look. Well he looked like his usual self, attacking the basket, posting up smaller defenders and wrecking havoc on the defensive end, he finished with 29 points and don't be surprised if he leads the team in scoring this year.

The other big story is the Heat's bench, Ray Allen had 19 points and was giving Boston nightmares. He will clearly be a six man of the year contender and looks much more healthy than last year. Rashard Lewis had 10 points on 4 out of 5 shooting as well, looking in great shape. You can argue that the Heat's bench could have several members in a starting lineup for some of the other teams.
The Celtics on the other hand have some things to work out. While Rondo looks great, and Pierce looks like he's going to have a big season, the Celtics defense allowed the Heat 120 points and simply allowed the Heat to do whatever they wanted. Jason Terry was profoundly outplayed by Allen, and Jeff Green was held to 6 points. The bright side for the Celtics was Leandro Barbosa, who scored 16 points on 6-8 shooting. The Celtics will get better of course, they are still waiting for the return of Avery Bradley and the new pieces to get used to the system, but even then beating the Heat seems like a long shot.
-Kyrie Irving had 29 points in his first game of his sophomore year, and Varejao had 23 Rebounds 9 points and 9 assists as the Cavs defeated the Wizards
-Dwyane Wade passed the 15,000 points milestone early in yesterday's game

If you cant beat em join em, Ray Allen picks Heat over Celtics

Image from Redsarmy.com

Ray Allen has agreed to leave the Boston Celtics and join rival and defending champion Miami Heat. The Heat will give Allen their Mid level exception that will pay Allen roughly 9.5 Million over three years.  Allen is leaving more money on the table as the Celtics were willing to give Allen a 2 year 12 million deal. Thus it ends the era of the "Big Three" in Boston, many believed that Allen simply wouldn't bring himself to "betray" Pierce and Garnett and join the Heat. However, it wasnt as simple as  not wanting to make feel former teammates and friends bad.
First, Allen went through a year of scrutiny to say the least. He played during this year's postseason prolonging an Ankle surgery that was troubling him to the point that he was missing free throws. Second, he spent most of the first half of the season worrying about rumors that Celtics general manager Danny Ainge would trade him. To top it all off, he was stripped of his starting spot for Avery Bradley. It has long been established that should Allen had signed back with Boston, he would continue to come off the bench.
So why leave to the Heat? Thats simple, the defending champion at this point are a better championship contender than the aging Boston Celtics, that is first and foremost above everything else.  The Heat were favored this year before the season started, and no doubt will be the favorites this upcoming season considering they just won the whole thing.  Allen and everybody outside of Celtics nation knows that the Heat are the top dog in the Eastern Conference. In addition the Heat were willing to give Allen a third year, something Boston did not. And as a far of the notion of not starting, what would insult you more? coming off the bench for a team that you helped win a championship for a player who is not better than you? Or come off the bench for the Defending Champion and coming off the bench behind the a superstar, and the best shooting guard in the league in Dwyane Wade? (pick your poison between him or Kobe, we like Wade due to Age Kobe isn't 27 anymore)
         Ray Allen knows he will be out there come crunch time in the 4th quarter playing for the Heat. It Wont be a problem for the Heat, who played this year with so many different lineups it was like playing spin roulette in a casino. Does a lineup of Allen, Wade, lebron, Bosh, and Haslem seem so far fetched off? Not at all considering that they spent a good portion of the playoffs with Shane Battier guarding David West and Brandon Bass. The Celtics also knew that Allen and star PG Rajon Rondo were having a degenerating relationship. Instead of providing Allen with reasons to return (or try to mask coming off the bench with a bigger picture), they went out and signed Jason Terry one of the best 6th man of the last decade.
So how much better does this make the Heat? Well they now have a considerable upgrade over Mike Miller, and opens up the floor so much more for Wade and Lebron. The Heat's bench was never really good to begin with, it was one of their weaknesses alongside their lack of size. Because coach Spoelstra had no options, Lebron and Wade ended up playing Heavy minutes in the playoffs, Allen instantly upgrades their bench exponentially. More so though, it will be what he can do when playing alongside Miami's big 3 that will be crucial on their path for the Heat's third championship
-Miami will also meet with free agents Rashard Lewis and Marcus Camby this weekend
-Brandon Roy makes return as he agrees signs 2 year 10 Million deal with the Wolves
-Knicks say they will Match any Linn offer up to 1 billion dollars

Like what you read? Subscribe so that you dont miss out on future posts
Comments and questions are welcomed