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

Top PF going into 2012-2013, #5 Kevin Garnett

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Here we go, now things get interesting. We continue our countdown of the top power forwards going into the 2012-2013 NBA season with Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics at #5. Now, it took some time for us to decide where to put the ageless Garnett, but after watching plenty of film and consulting with our committee of 1, we decided that Garnett deserved to be at #5. The first problem with placing Garnett in this group is determining whether he even belongs in the "power forward" department. Celtics coach Doc Rivers began using Garnett at the center position some time during the season right about after the All-Star weekend all the way to the end of their season in game 7 against the Heat. Ultimately though Kevin Garnett is a 4, a power forward. Or in his own words: "Preference-wise, I don’t like it, to be honest with you. I’m a 4. I don’t like, you know -- it's what it is. I’ll be whatever this team needs me to be. Other than a cheerleader with pom-poms and some short-shorts. Other than that, whatever this team needs me
to be, man, I’ll be it". Just like Lebron James played PF through the playoffs Kevin Garnett played Center, and Lebron is still known as a small forward, so we will continue to call Garnett a power forward.
Now lets get into the fun stuff, Garnett averaged 15.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, and 1.0 BPG on 50% shooting from the field. Don't be fooled by these numbers though, Garnett was only averaging a little bit over 31 minutes a game no doubt conserving his body for the playoffs. And boy did it show, during these 2012 playoffs he averaged 19.2 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 1.5 BPG and 1.3 SPG. Garnett was unstoppable on both ends of the floor and became Rondo's favorite target during their Eastern Conference Finals run.
Garnett is one of the best 2 way players the league has ever seen (If it wasn't for his lack of multiple championships do you think there would be any doubt about who the best power forward in the history of the league would be?). Garnett has been primarily a jumpshooter ever since he arrived to Boston, his jumpshot out to 23 feet is flawless. His shot has a high arc release and very quick, he uses his full 6-11 size and a wingspan well over 7 feet to get his shot off. Garnett is a dangerous pick and roll player to defend, mostly he will pop out to shoot the jumper but he will roll and finish when he has to.

His most deadly weapon is his turn around jumpshot, it is virtually unguardable. Take this play Garnett does a few things right that most bigs wouldn't do, first he catches the ball deep in the paint. Secondly, he notices that Horford is coming to double team, so he spins AWAY from the double team into his patented turnaround jumpshot, now mind you despite all this Smith played beautiful defense, but Garnett uses his length to perfection to get off a quality shot. We have always said you cant take size or length for granted and Garnett has both. Garnett is also a big who excels at playing both with his back to the basket and also facing his defender. When facing up, he uses his quickness to his advantage to score around stronger but slower bigs. But our favorite Garnett quality is his craftiness, look at this play  in which Garnett gets a post entry pass from the top of the three point line. Garnett is posted up at about the mid level-to-high post area. Bradley cuts from the right side of the wing as soon as Garnett receives the ball, instead of focusing on the cut or his own man, Garnett focuses on Bradley's defender and sets a screen while having the ball thus giving bradley a point blank layup. You can count with your hands the number of people who can do that successfully in the NBA. It was just a tap, not enough to warrant a call from the referee.

Dont forget about Kevin Garnett's defense now, Garnett is a lock down defender. He uses his aggressive style to get under player's skin and has the lateral quickness (still at 36 years of age) to be able to switch out on pick and rolls and guard perimeter players. He's a great weak side helper with timely blocks and very vocal. Now a days, players underestimate the value of being vocal on the defensive end. Garnett also knows how to get into player's head and his little "dirty" tricks are key in his defensive tenacity. Garnett at age 36 is clearly on the decline, but his monster postseason warrants his #5 positioning entering the 2012-2013 NBA season. Garnett matches his production on the offensive end with his tenacious defense. He has been the ultimate two way player over the last decade and we have no doubt that come the end of next season he'll still be in the top 10.

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Now that the Linsanity Drama is over, how good can this Knicks team be?

Jeremy Lin is gone, whether fans like it or not he will not return and will be nothing more than gossip over the next months. Now its time to pose the question, how good will this New york Knicks team? They have resigned JR Smith and signed veteran PG Jason Kidd, Iman Shumpert continues to recover from a torn ACL and Raymond Felton was acquired from Portland. In addtion, they will of course have their monster frontcourt of Melo, Stoudemire, and Chandler back. Coach Mike Woodson will have an entire season and a full training camp with his team. So how good can this team realistically be?
First, everybody knows that the Miami Heat are the favorites to repeat as champions. In the minds of most it is a foregone conclusion that they will come out the Eastern Conference (barring Injury or a major change). After the Heat however, the Eastern Conference is wide open. There will be 3 other spots available with at least fhome court advantage in the first round. Indiana has resigned Roy Hibbert and George Hill and have their core in check. They will have home court advantage in the first round, whether the second third or fourth seed (we believe third or fourth). The Boston Celtics will also be back in the mix, Kevin Garnett may be old, but he was deadly in last year's playoffs. They have signed Jason Terry, and Brandon Bass will be back. Avery Bradley will be healthy to go along with Rondo in the backcourt so look for this Celtics team to make a run at the Eastern Conference again (once again barring injury).  The Brooklyn Nets have made a lot of moves and will definitely be in the playoffs. They have positioned themselves to acquire Howard after January because that is when Brook Lopez will be available for trade. If they get Howard, they will catapult themselves into championship contention, and if they dont they are still a very good team. Kris Humphries is a double double machine, and people forget how good Brook Lopez is. He is a career 17 PPG scorer, and has yet to have a full season playing with a true PG like Deron Williams, who was forced to be more of a scorer for the last year and a half because of the team's lack of scoring options. They will also challenge for home court in the first round and will definitely be no worse than 5th in the conference.
The Knicks have several issues, the most glaring one being the fact that Carmelo Anthony and Stoudemire cannot play together because of Melo's dominance of the ball. When Melo touches the ball, the flow and movement of the basketball stops. Perhaps if the Knicks had acquired Steve Nash (who played with Stoudemire in the years that Phoenix was part of the elite of the Western Conference) things would have been different. They have Jason Kidd, but at this point in his career how much of a difference can he really make? Stoudemire is coming off one of the worse if not THE worse season of his career. Before Melo was traded to the Knicks Stoudemire was averaging over 25 points and was breaking Knick's scoring records. With the arrival of Melo? things have gone south. Stoudemire is the Knicks second best player. if Melo is 1A, then Stoudemire needs to be 1B for them to truly be successful.
Now, at this point Successful isnt making the playoffs. Successful for them is making a run at the championship. They need to be a better defensive team, Iman Shumpert was their best defender and he was a ROOKIE. He is coming off a torn ACL and will take some time for him to get back in his groove. The Knicks also struggled shooting the 3 last year, and they had the best 3 point shooter in the league in Steve Novak who shot a blistering 47%. After Novak though, it was abysmal, Jason Kidd should help in that category and Felton will look to help Stoudemire regain his dominance as he was with Amar'e before the Melo trade. Ultimately, it comes down to whether Melo and Stoudemire can make it work, they are their two best players and unfortunately neither plays defense. The Knicks will be no higher than third in the Eastern Conference and we see them as no more than the second round at best.
News around the league
-Kobe Bryant calls sterns age limit for olympics "stupid"
-The Clippers have signed Grant Hill to add to their mix
-Heat's Miller will not retire and will return to the Heat
-Miami Heat are interested in Greg Oden
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If you cant beat em join em, Ray Allen picks Heat over Celtics

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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

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Deron Williams resigns with Nets, how good can Brooklyn be this year?

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Deron Williams resigns with the Nets for 100 Million and 5 years. He rejected the Mav's 4 years and 75 million, and will continue to be the face of the franchise. With Williams now resigned and Joe johnson on his way, how good can this team be in their first year in brooklyn? With D.Will at the point and Joe johnson at the 2, they now have one of the best (if not the best) backcourts in the NBA, along with Gerald Wallace you are looking at a dangerous team.
Before we can determine how good they really can be, we have to wait and see what happens with Dwight Howard. The Nets have offered the Magic, Brook Lopez, Kris Humphris, three first round picks (2013,2015,2017), and promising stud MarShon Brooks. Regardless of what happens with Howard though, expect the Nets (barring injury) to reach playoff. If they manage to get Howard, no doubt they could be as good as second in the east behind the Heat. If they don't trade for Howard then they wll resign back Lopez and have a formidable starting 5.
The reason we like this team so much is because they have addressed specific needs. While everybody is talking about D.Will and Joe Johnson, people forget about their first offseason signing of Gerald Wallace. Wallace will start in almost any team and is a proven defender. When the Nets play the Miami Heat or Oklahoma City, they will have a very good defender to guard Lebron or Durant.
Deron Williams will have a great year, last year his assist numbers went down a little bit (8.7) and his scoring went up because of a lack of weapons. Lopez missed most of the year and without him, the Net's offense depended solely on Williams scoring. This year, he will have Lopez back, and fans should not worry about injury concerns. Before this year, Lopez had not missed a SINGLE game in three years since he entered the league. Gerald Wallace can also score the ball, and then there's Joe Johnson.
Johnson is a polarizing player, many like him and many hate him. It is agreed that the Hawks made a mistake in giving Johnson a max contract. However, we cannot crucify him for taking the best available offer on the table and use it as an excuse to downgrade how good this guy is. A 6 time all-star, and a guy that can give you 20 points every night. Johnson was simply on a team where he had to be the #1 indisputable option and he's not that player. Now he goes to a team where he is the second or third option and with one of the best point guards in the league. Avery Johnson is a great coach and he will put him in situations to score, and not dribble out at the three point line for 20 seconds of the shot clock. The nets regardless of what happens with Howard, are in a great position going forward and will have home court advantage come april 2013.
-In other news, the Celtics are close to a deal with Jason Terry that will pay him 5 million for three years, which raises the question: what now for Ray Allen? The Celtics still are intent on signing him, but Allen does not like the idea of coming of the bench for Avery Bradley
-The Toronto Raptors have agreed with Landry Fields on a three year 20 million contract, he is a restricted free agent so the Knicks will have three days to match the offer
What do you think of the Net's offseason moves so far? All questions and comments are welcomed

Eastern conference challenges for the defending champs next year?

Over the next two days, we will analyze who could challenge the Heat and Thunder for a trip to the NBA Finals. Today we will talk about the Eastern Conference. The Heat no doubt will be heavily favorite to repeat as champs and definitely to represent the eastern conference. Their main competition since the formation of the big 3 have been the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls and both have heavy question marks as the off season begins.

The Chicago Bulls spent all of the shortened season dealing with nagging injuries to their backcourt and particularly their superstar Derrick Rose. They still survived all the setbacks to finish with the best record in the eastern conference for the second year in a row. However,  Rose tore his ACL in that unfortunate first round series against the Philadelphia seventy Sixers and will likely be out until January. This obviously puts a very big question mark on the bulls chances to challenge the Heat without their Superstar guard. Even before rose went out with the injury, it didnt seem like the bulls had  played enough games together to challenge past the Boston Celtics. Their free agents for this summer are Omer Asik (restricted), Mike James, John Lucas and Scalabrine A.K.A the white Mamba (all unrestricted).

Obviously none of these players will be able to fill in the huge gap that Rose will leave and Cj Watson will be the starting PG once the season starts. By the time Rose gets back on the court, it may be too late to really make a run at the conference championship and challenge the Heat.

Then there's the crafty and aging Boston Celtics (although we seem to say this every year). The celtics gave the Heat everything they could handle this year in a tough 7 game series that saw Rondo score 44, and Lebron 45. The Celtics may have seen the last run for this group. They have 9 players who are unrestricted free agents, the two biggest free agents being Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Most certainly one of the two will not be back and it figures to be Allen who has ankle surgery to go through this summer.

Even with Garnett back, how much longer can he play at a high level with 17 years under his belt? in addition Brandon Bass will test the free agency waters and figures to get a lot of interest from other teams as will Pietrus and Jeff Green. At this point its safe to say that the celtics will not be a threat to the Heat. 

The Indiana Pacers on the other hand are the one team who seem to be back next year at full force with another year under their belt, they are young have depth and the Heat's most glaring hole, size. They have to lock up Roy Hibbert and George Hill who are restricted free agents but that wont seem to be a problem. Could they possibly beat the Defending champs in a 7 game series? Probably not specially when the top 2 players are on the Heat, but no doubt they will be the ones i believe who will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals with the Heat.

The Magic who will not have Stan Van Gundy anymore as coach, are looking at a long road to convincing Howard to sign back. And Atlanta will continue to be a 4 seed who will regret giving Joe Johnson a max contract for years to come. 

In the end, The Heat will be back in the NBA finals whether people like it or not, the Eastern conference does not have enough to challenge the defending champs. Barring injuries, they will cruise along the first three rounds of the 2013 playoffs.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the entry on the western Conference