The East is the Heat's to lose, and no team can change that

The East is the big 3's playground

The Miami Heat are the defending world champion and the back to back Eastern Conference champions. Once the month of May comes in it should be "back to back to back" Eastern Conference championships. They are first in the Conference right now, and will head into the All Star break with three All-Stars and Their whole coaching staff along the ride for the All Star game. The scary thing is, the Heat haven't even played their best basketball yet. Lebron James is playing his usual MVP dominating self, Wade is finally rounding up into his old elite self after being scrutinized for starting out slow despite coming off knee surgery, and Bosh continues to be the least talked about star in the league. When You think about potential threats to the Heat this year from the Eastern Conference, three teams come to mind: the New York Knicks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Chicago Bulls. However, the reality is none of these teams will be able to beat the Heat in a 7 game series (barring injury to any of Miami's big 3 of course).

Melo will look to take the Knicks past Miami this year

Lets begin with the New York Knicks, who are having their best season in over 10 years and led by Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks have two victories against the Heat this year and one happened to be without Anthony. Don't think too highly of these two victories though, in the first year of the Big 3 era in Miami, the Heat went a combined 1-7 against the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls in the regular season and proceeded to beating both the Bulls and the Celtics in 5 games each once the playoffs arrived. The Heat dismantled the Knicks in 5 games in the first round of last year's playoffs and that one loss was a product of a monster night by Carmelo Anthony. How can you expect a Knick team that will depend heavily on scoring from Anthony, JR Smith and Amar'e Stoudemire to handle the fire power of the Heat? The Heat know they can get stops down the stretch, but can you say the same about the Knicks? Who really only have 2 elite defenders in Tyson Chandler and Iman Shumpert (who happens to be coming off major ACL surgery). The Knicks are also very dependent on the three point shot, something that will not hold up in the playoffs where the game slows down and defenses key in more. Then theres' the Amar'e Stoudemire problem, Stoudemire is clearly the second best player on this team, and if you cant find a way to have both your superstars on the floor, how do you expect to beat the defending champion four times? Amar'e was putting up monster numbers before Anthony arrived, but it seems that its impossible for Anthony to have a second star alongside himself who can score 20 plus points a game. Speaking of Anthony, what makes anybody think that Carmelo Anthony can lead a team to a championship? Carmelo Anthony has been in the playoffs every year of his  career, and he's only been out of the first round ONCE, in 10 years. That one year he got out happened to be the year that Chauncey Billups arrived to Denver and who came in with a streak of multiple years of making it to the Conference finals. Carmelo Anthony is not the elite defenders, that Lebron James and Dwyane Wade are, and quite frankly he has done nothing to merit the trust of being able to beat the defending champion let alone make it to the NBA finals. How about they win a playoff series first before we deem them good enough to dethrone the Heat.
Then there's the Indiana Pacers, who many credit (me included) as the main reason the Heat won last year's NBA title. Indiana could not beat the Heat with Chris Bosh out and Shane Battier guarding power forwards and Centers for 6 straight games and with a Healthy Danny Granger. The Pacers are a great defensive team, but they lack a true star even with Granger, and while Paul George is having a marvelous season, he cannot carry the Pacers in a 7 game series.  You know where the points are going to come from the Heat, but where are the Pacers going to get enough fire power to match the defending champions?
The Chicago Bulls are having a great season, but all hopes are on Derrick Rose coming back and being the old Derrick Rose, and thats not realistic. Even with a healthy Rose, two seasons ago the Bulls could not match up with the Heat. That wont change, the Bulls should be good enough to win one playoff series, but thats about it. Remember Derrick Rose scored primarily on his explosive assaults on the rim, something he wont have back for a while, maybe until next year.
So in the end, the east is the Heat's to lose, and no team in the East will change that. The Heat have defeated each of these teams in the playoffs, and there should be no reason why it wont happen again.

Images from Bleacherreport.com

Golden State Warriors 2012-2013 preview

The Golden State Warriors are not a team that attracts much interest, and yet they have one of the best fan bases in the entire league. The Warriors finished last season in their usual spot in the bottom depths of the western conference. They finished 23-43 and lost 9 out of their last 10 games. Let's look at their roster:
F Harrison Barnes, G Kent Bazemore, C Andris Biedrins, C Andrew Bogut, G Stephen Curry, C Festus Ezeli, F Draymond Green, G Jarrett Jack, F Richard Jefferson, G Charles Jenkins, C Ognjen Kuzmic, F Carl Landry, F-C David Lee, F-G Brandon Rush, G Klay Thompson, C Jeremy Tyler

This roster, at first sight looks pretty talented, just look at their bigs, andrew Bogut, Andris Biedrins, David Lee, and Carl Landry are all starters in a handful of teams. Second year coach Mark Jackson will have a full training camp this year, which will definitely help them out. However, it all starts and ends with their best player, Stephen Curry. Curry's promising career has been derailed by a handful of ankle injuries, and at this point every time he's on the floor the fans are just holding their collective breath. Curry is one of the best shooters in the league and by trading away Monta Ellis, management have handed over the keys to Curry.
They have a great front court in Andrew Bogut and David Lee (who should be their starters), backed up by a productive Landry and Biedrins. Yet, it comes to our attention that this team does not really have a star. There is not one player on this roster that you can without questionable doubt mark as the "go to guy", yes David Lee averaged 20 PPG, but would you rather have the ball in his hands or Curry's?. They are a horrible defensive team, (and that should change this year with the addition of Bogut) they were third in the league in opponents PPG at an abysmal 101.2.
Ultimately, this team will not make the playoffs, but now must allow their young players to develop. Harrison Barnes is an intriguing prospect, he all the tools to be a star but critics say he lacks the motor to achieve his greatness. Klay Thompson is also a player who is deemed as invaluable, couple these two with a healthy Curry and that nice front court and the Warriors could be dangerous. Will they make the playoffs? Of course not but at least 30 wins is not out of the question. They have great veteran players in Jarrett Jack and Richard Jefferson, and we all know how much Coach Jackson loves Brandon Rush. Ultimately though, this team wont be very good, but they will be very fun as is always the case when it comes to the Golden State Warriors.

OKC Western Conference Champions next season? Not so fast!!

Image from Sportributor.com

            The Oklahoma City Thunder have a bright future and will certainly be the favorites to come out the western conference again. But we see reason to think otherwise. The Thunder have Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant under contract. The same cant be said of two of their other key pieces in the run to the finals in 6th man of the year James Harden and NBA shot blocking leader Serge Ibaka. These two players will be free agents this summer and the Thunder do not have enough money to keep both of them, specially if Harden is offered a huge contract by another team. The believe that the Thunder cannot win with Westbrook shooting so many shots should be dismissed but regardless it will be important to see how they handle their free agents. Regardless though, the biggest obstacle in the opinion of this humble blog, will be.... the Los Angeles Clippers... (yes the Clippers)
            The clippers had one of the best seasons in franchise history. After acquiring Superstar Chris Paul from the Hornets, the Clippers made the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The Clippers did it without a training camp and a roster that added pieces as the season went on. They added Kenyon Martin and Nick Young halfway through the season and finished as the 5th seed in the very competitive Western Conference. With the star tandem of Paul and Griffin set and pieces to surround them they are primed to make a run. They have size and length, veteran talent, offensive power and a deep bench who won them a playoff game. The Clippers also have their share of free agents they have to sign back up. Martin, Young, Billups, Foye, Evans, and Williams are all players who were key in their run to the second round. However, Billups, Young and Martin all seemed very interested in returning to the Clips and it seems to be hard fetched to believe the Clippers will let Evans go after his enormous contributions off the bench. Evans played the bulk of the minutes at center at the end of the games. With a full season now in LA, and a training camp this year along with a lot more practice time, the Clippers will no doubt make a run at the Western Conference championship.
           The Dallas Mavericks will also be in contention next year for the western conference crown. They have a willing spender in owner Marc Cuban and will have Dirk Nowitzki back, the best scoring power forward in the league. Jason Terry A.K.A "The Jet" is a free agent but the Mavs will have no trouble signing their 6th man back. The biggest reason the Dallas Mavericks have a chance at the Western Conference crown next year though, is because of Nets free agent Deron Williams. Williams is arguably a top 3 Point guard and has long battled for the title of "best point guard" with Chris Paul. Williams has said that he would either resign with the Nets or sign with the Mavericks. The Mavs have a VERY good chance of signing Williams who is a native of Dallas and who at this point in his career is starting to think more about winning than anything else. Money will obviously not be a problem when it comes to Cuban. By going to Dallas Williams will play for the first time in his career alongside a true superstar and big man in Dirk. If Dallas signs Williams then expect them to make a run back to the finals.
Tomorrow we will look at the Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs and their chances to challenge for the conference crown