Who is going to truly challenge this Miami Heat team?

[TIMMYtoZO]

:lol Miami gets better while everybody else gets worse. The Lakers are old and slow, the Thunder replaced Harden with downgrades and lack a scoring big, and everyone else are just average teams who are nothing special. Meanwhile, Miami makes the best move of the offseason by getting Ray Allen and keep their core intact.

:lol NBA

[Clipper Nation]

Tbh, your Heat (especially Wade) shat themselves against the Clippers' BENCH, let alone the starters.... :lol

[irishock]

Knicks, if Melo continues to shoot the lights out.

[JRHernandez88]

Melo coming for dat ass

[ElNono]

Knicks without Amare look great and DAT TYSON knows how to cockblock Lebron and the Heat... but Amare will come back sooner or later and fuck it all up, tbh

[Stalin]

leCrab says, 8 in a row, scrah

[ElNono]

sup Stalin

[DAF86]

I think the Spurs are the worst fit for them, luckily for the Heat the Spurs will be knocked out by someone on the ridiculously tough Western conference while they will be coasting through the Pacers and Sixers of this World.

[Latarian Milton]

clippers have nothing but monkeyball n the heat will easily beat them to this tbh

[Stalin]

sup Stalin


sup, brah

[Malik Hairston]

:lol Clippers..

Miami shouldn't have any problems winning the title, tbh, barring injury..

:lol NBA fans that overlook Miami's coasting habits during the regular season, blindly hoping that their regular season flaws will translate to playoff basketball..

[hater]

West 6th seed >>> East 2nd seed

[Cry Havoc]

Our bench could make it a 6 game series. :lol

[DAF86]

I'm a San Antonio Heat fan but I think they can get away with all that "coasting" because of the weak ass conference they play in. I'm not sure they would be so favored to win the 'ship if they had to go through a path like let's say: 1st round: Lakers/Mavs 2nd round: Clippers/Grizzlies 3rd round: Spurs/Thunder and then whoever is waiting on the other side. East is historically weak right now.

[Ace]

New York??? :lmao

Regular season hype :lol

[scanry]

I'm a San Antonio Heat fan but I think they can get away with all that "coasting" because of the weak ass conference they play in. I'm not sure they would be so favored to win the 'ship if they had to go through a path like let's say: 1st round: Lakers/Mavs 2nd round: Clippers/Grizzlies 3rd round: Spurs/Thunder and then whoever is waiting on the other side. East is historically weak right now.

Don't matter. They've got the King. :toast

[scanry]

New York??? :lmao

Regular season hype :lol

The Heat will tap that a$$ in 5 games. Lebron is making it look way too easy. Very reminiscent of MJ's 1992-1993 season. Anything short of a three peat is a disappointment imo.

[Ace]

Miami coasted last year and they're doing it again this year.

[thunderfan]

OKC, SA, and Memphis all have the potential to challenge Miami this year.

[Latarian Milton]

there's not really a fucking chance for the likes of OKC or monkeyball to come close with us in the foreseeable future, let alone challenging us tbh.

[Brazil]

The worst starting 5 heat could go against is Memphis imho, the issue for the Grizz is that heat's bench is going to murder them.

[Latarian Milton]

West 6th seed >>> East 2nd seed
you would have a different point of view had you checked the latest season standing imho. lakers are currently the 8th in the west with a losing record, while the celtics who're the eastern #8, have a record of 9-8 as of now

[Killakobe81]

No one. As long as Wade is @ 75% ... LeBron is bringing dat shit home. I keep telling the Lakers family and friends its his title to lose but they bring up Lakers, Nets even Clips ... Rofl. It's Lebrons for at least this year ... I think they can be beaten next season.

[thunderfan]

there's not really a fucking chance for the likes of OKC or monkeyball to come close with us in the foreseeable future, let alone challenging us tbh.

Do you live close to Miami?

[Latarian Milton]

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/small/68055200.jpg

west palm beach tbh

[purplengold]

grizz, zbo lookin like he ready ta play like all star again n they got gay who can go ham

[thunderfan]

Didn't know if you were one of those bandwagon Miami fans who lives in, say, North Carolina, and couldn't even point out Miami on a blank map and likes to talk smack. Those fans are a dime a dozen on these boards, specifically LAL and Miami fans.

[Richie]

No one. As long as Wade is @ 75% ... LeBron is bringing dat shit home. I keep telling the Lakers family and friends its his title to lose but they bring up Lakers, Nets even Clips ... Rofl. It's Lebrons for at least this year ... I think they can be beaten next season.

It's the Heats title to lose for sure, they will only have one tough series and that's the Finals tbh.

The only thing holding Lebron back will be Lebron. Sure he won last year, but his pathetic 4 quarter performances against Dallas in 2011 still lingers in my memory. He doesn't have the mental toughness that the other greats have.

Also, the Thunder was a good match up for the Heat, no real inside scoring threat to take advantage of and the Heat perimiter defense is excellent.

They've gotta be favourites, but they aren't unbeatable.

[thunderfan]

OKC wasn't prepared to beat Miami in 7 games last year, but they didn't do themselves any favors by playing Perkins. Perkins is next to useless against Miami. Perkins is worth something to OKC. He's shown to be a real defensive stopper against the likes of the Al Jefferson's of the league, but Miami's style of play makes Perkins fairly worthless.

[Juggity]

Who is going to truly challenge this Miami Heat team?

How about the Spurs 7th-15th men :lol

[Killakobe81]

Let's be real no one is unbeatable even the 72 win Bulls were threatened late in the Finals vs the Sonics and the 2001 Lalets lost to AI ...this Heat team isn't as good as either so they are beatable ... But LeBron is playing almost at that level.

[DeadlyDynasty]

:lolThe Sonics were never in that series, and the Lakers only lost b/c they were rusty from a 9-day layoff (and still had a 5-pt lead in OT). Neither of those series were ever in doubt and this season is no different if Miami stays relatively healthy. Nobody else comes close to them.

[Arcadian]

I agree that they are the current favorites, but they are definitely beatable.

[DeadlyDynasty]

I agree that they are the current favorites, but they are definitely beatable.

I'd love to hear the logic behind picking another team to beat them 4 out of 7 times. If it doesn't involve injuries then it's unsound.

[JoeTait75]

The only thing holding Lebron back will be Lebron. Sure he won last year, but his pathetic 4 quarter performances against Dallas in 2011 still lingers in my memory. He doesn't have the mental toughness that the other greats have.

Did you watch last year's playoffs? LeBron looked plenty tough mentally and physically while he was carrying that team to the title.

[whitemamba]

Did you watch last year's playoffs? LeBron looked plenty tough mentally and physically while he was carrying that team to the title.

lebron was def given too much glory in the finals, supporting cast really killed it tbh, mike miller, chalmers, etc,, played well

[Richie]

Did you watch last year's playoffs? LeBron looked plenty tough mentally and physically while he was carrying that team to the title.

I also watched him collapse in the 2011 playoffs.

Come June, we'll see which Lebron turns up

[Malik Hairston]

:lol West fans said the same shit last year, tbh, but Boston and Indiana gave Miami a more difficult challenge than OKC..The Spurs and Grizzlies match up decently against the Heat, but as much as I want the Spurs to win the West, I don't think it will happen..it would require Duncan to continue playing at an MVP level, which is an unrealistic expectation for a 36-year old..as we have seen in the past, relying on Tony Parker as your best player(or any PG, for that matter), will not win a title..As for Memphis, they have the tools, but I just can't see it..Rudy Gay and their inconsistent bench/shooting will hurt IMO..The Lakers and Clippers would lose in 5 or get swept, tbh..OKC would have a shot because of the officiating, but they would lose in 5 or 6, tbh..

[Malik Hairston]

Why the fuck am I unable to edit my sentence/paragraph structure?:lol..Looks like killakobe logged into my account, tbh..

[thunderfan]

Does the perceived favorite, regardless of sport, always win the championship? Of course not. It's won on the court. Sure, there are teams that would have ZERO chance against Miami in a 7 games series, but there are a handful of very talented teams that could potentially beat Miami in the playoffs. Miami is the favorite and the Champs until they are proven otherwise, but for people to sit here and say there's no chance for any other team to win this year is just a little absurd. Again, how many times has the "favorite" been denied? Many.

[Brazil]

:lol West fans said the same shit last year, tbh, but Boston and Indiana gave Miami a more difficult challenge than OKC..The Spurs and Grizzlies match up decently against the Heat, but as much as I want the Spurs to win the West, I don't think it will happen..it would require Duncan to continue playing at an MVP level, which is an unrealistic expectation for a 36-year old..as we have seen in the past, relying on Tony Parker as your best player(or any PG, for that matter), will not win a title..As for Memphis, they have the tools, but I just can't see it..Rudy Gay and their inconsistent bench/shooting will hurt IMO..The Lakers and Clippers would lose in 5 or get swept, tbh..OKC would have a shot because of the officiating, but they would lose in 5 or 6, tbh..

As I already said Grizz is the best equipped team, they have a significant advantage on the front court: they play D, can score the ball and rebound at a high rate. Conley is under rated, dude is good, pretty good D, can shoot the 3, takes care of the ball. Allen is still one of the top D of the league then there is the ? Gay but if he can somehow produce like that in PO, he is a valuable asset. Issue is the bench, I feel the mike miller, allen... are going to expose them badly unless they have some tough shooting nights at the 3 range but 4 times out of 7 ? don't think so.

[Killakobe81]

lebron was def given too much glory in the finals, supporting cast really killed it tbh, mike miller, chalmers, etc,, played well

True but they still followed le Bron. LeBron led them to the title. The help defense on le Bron is what's left the shooters open

[Killakobe81]

Grizz are good but I don't see it come playoffs or at least past WCF

[Latarian Milton]

the only hypothetical scenario where the heat is gonna be seriously challenged is if you make up a team of similar talentlevel and play awesome team game to trump the monkeyball, like the 2011 mavs. NY will be a legit contender if melo keeps playing in top form, they have shown some good chemistry but they better hope amare won't fuck everything up for them when he comes back.

[thunderfan]

Only ignorant fools are of the sentiment that they can't be challenged. Any coach and player in the NBA or any other sport will tell you that.

[Ace]

Well what we can say is it sure as hell won't be the Thunder. :lol

[JRHernandez88]

lebron was def given too much glory in the finals, supporting cast really killed it tbh, mike miller, chalmers, etc,, played well

Yeah but LeBron got them to the finals. Him & D-Wade picked up the slack when Bosh went out, tbh. Did you see game 6 of the ECF? Legendary performance, tbh. Down 3-2 to the Celtics in Boston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNUiCvu0L2A


I'd love to hear the logic behind picking another team to beat them 4 out of 7 times. If it doesn't involve injuries then it's unsound.
Seriously?? No team in sports is unbeatable. That's the beauty of sports, anything can happen...


Does the perceived favorite, regardless of sport, always win the championship? Of course not. It's won on the court. Sure, there are teams that would have ZERO chance against Miami in a 7 games series, but there are a handful of very talented teams that could potentially beat Miami in the playoffs. Miami is the favorite and the Champs until they are proven otherwise, but for people to sit here and say there's no chance for any other team to win this year is just a little absurd. Again, how many times has the "favorite" been denied? Many.
This.

[Bill_Brasky]

:lol yeah, the team that took OKC to the woodchipper Fargo style then got better in the offseason is not gonna lose.

[Bill_Brasky]

Does the perceived favorite, regardless of sport, always win the championship? Of course not. It's won on the court. Sure, there are teams that would have ZERO chance against Miami in a 7 games series, but there are a handful of very talented teams that could potentially beat Miami in the playoffs. Miami is the favorite and the Champs until they are proven otherwise, but for people to sit here and say there's no chance for any other team to win this year is just a little absurd. Again, how many times has the "favorite" been denied? Many.

:lmao you can tell this guy is new to the NBA

[thunderfan]

:lmao you can tell this guy is new to the NBA

Is that right, Bill? Well why don't you tell what about my statement you disagree with. So the team dubbed as the "favorite" to win a title in any given sport for a given season (in this case, Miami), always ends up the victor? Since you are such an NBA veteran, please clear this up for me.

[thunderfan]

Well what we can say is it sure as hell won't be the Thunder. :lol

Do you have any stock advice as well, because I'm looking to get rich and retire. I'm assuming you have some sort of ability to predict future events...

[Bill_Brasky]

Is that right, Bill? Well why don't you tell what about my statement you disagree with. So the team dubbed as the "favorite" to win a title in any given sport for a given season (in this case, Miami), always ends up the victor? Since you are such an NBA veteran, please clear this up for me.

Two teams own 32 of a possible 62 NBA Finals trophies. In this league, when you are favored, you are Fucking favored. As in, injuries are the only thing that can prevent this from happening.

[JRHernandez88]

:lmao you can tell this guy is new to the NBA
I see what your saying. Yeah everyone knows shit is not right in the NBA but the Heat just ran into a star struck Thunder team last year. They never been there. All the players that killed us in the WCF choked. We saw what happened to them the year before when they ran into a more experienced team. But yeah, LeBron looks like he has figured it out. The next few seasons are his to lose, but not to say he can't.

[Bill_Brasky]

I honestly like OKC's chances if they still have Hardon. Replacing him with Kevin M:lolrtin makes them worse while the Heat added Ray Allen.

[Kidd K]

Spurs, Grizzlies, and Lakers would give the Heat the most problems if both teams are 100%. Clippers need to get more consistent if they're to be taken seriously, but they do look better than last year and are getting 100%. So maybe they could be added into the conversation at some point as well.

Nets and Knicks need to really step it up to be put into legit contender status. Right now they're just 2nd round fodder, or "default ECF bound" since someone has to be there to face Miami.

[JamStone]

I don't think it will happen, but as a few mentioned, if any team can, I actually do like the Knicks more than any other team. Amare might fuck it up, but if he doesn't, I like the pieces the Knicks have to give the Heat some trouble. They have the scoring, they have three point shooting, they have athletic wings, they can play in both the halfcourt and in the open court, they have multiple big men to protect the paint against LeBron and Wade, and they have a point guard in Felton who may be up and down but if playing well could give the Heat trouble. The Knicks would have to play really great and the Heat not so great, but if any team could give them a run in a playoff series, the Knicks may be as good a team as any. Still don't think it will happen though.

[thunderfan]

Two teams own 32 of a possible 62 NBA Finals trophies. In this league, when you are favored, you are Fucking favored. As in, injuries are the only thing that can prevent this from happening.

I'm aware of that. It boils down to 3-4 teams every year. I'm not suggesting Golden State is going to threaten for the title this year. I'd venture to say Dallas was not a heavy favorite early in 2011. There's 4 teams, I believe, that have a reasonable shot at winning the title this year. I'm not suggesting Miami isn't the favorite. I'm simply saying some people seem to have already given them the title and written off the possibility of any contenders. I only have to assume, based on your smart ass answer that I'm "new to the NBA", that you disagree with me and believe that no team has a reasonable chance of beating Miami for the title this year. That's absurd. Now, if you believe Miami is the favorite, I agree. HOwever, to say that no other team has a chance in hell and then basically call me ignorant for suggesting that they do really displays quite a bit of ignorance.

[thunderfan]

I honestly like OKC's chances if they still have Hardon. Replacing him with Kevin M:lolrtin makes them worse while the Heat added Ray Allen.

OKC, without a doubt, is a better team than they were last year. Would they be better with Harden? Maybe so. Still, they are an improved team over last year. I'm not implying that's a result of having Martin over Harden. It's a combination of several things, but Martin is certainly not holding the team back from improving on last season.

[JRHernandez88]

OKC, without a doubt, is a better team than they were last year. Would they be better with Harden? Maybe so. Still, they are an improved team over last year. I'm not implying that's a result of having Martin over Harden. It's a combination of several things, but Martin is certainly not holding the team back from improving on last season.
That's reaching

[stretch]

LMAO @ anyone who thinks the Thunder have a legit chance to beat Miami in the finals.

[stretch]

lebron was def given too much glory in the finals, supporting cast really killed it tbh, mike miller, chalmers, etc,, played well

its easy to kill it when you have 10+ wide open 3s every game thanks to the defensive attention Lebron takes away from everyone else

[thunderfan]

That's reaching

Not really. I don't know what you've seen of them this year, outside of game 1 @ SA. Again, not saying they are better with Martin than they would be with Harden - but Martin has been fantastic. Him and Harden have different games on the surface, but how different are they really? The results speak for themselves. Harden plays the power game and can finish at the rim, Martin's penetration game consists more of runners in the lane, but he gets penetration and gets to the line and puts up very efficient offensive #'s. People made Martin out to be a guy who just shoots jumpers and can't play defense. #1 - his defense is good. Great? No, but I just do not see any glaring holes in this guy's defense. Offensively, yeah you don't have a Harden to run plays so you're relying on RW, but RW has been fantastic lately. KD is assisting the ball a lot more, Martin moves off the ball tremendously. Ibaka is about the best 16-20 ft jump shooter in the NBA. Really, they are showing to be an improved team over lastyear.

[JRHernandez88]

Not really. I don't know what you've seen of them this year, outside of game 1 @ SA. Again, not saying they are better with Martin than they would be with Harden - but Martin has been fantastic. Him and Harden have different games on the surface, but how different are they really? The results speak for themselves. Harden plays the power game and can finish at the rim, Martin's penetration game consists more of runners in the lane, but he gets penetration and gets to the line and puts up very efficient offensive #'s. People made Martin out to be a guy who just shoots jumpers and can't play defense. #1 - his defense is good. Great? No, but I just do not see any glaring holes in this guy's defense. Offensively, yeah you don't have a Harden to run plays so you're relying on RW, but RW has been fantastic lately. KD is assisting the ball a lot more, Martin moves off the ball tremendously. Ibaka is about the best 16-20 ft jump shooter in the NBA. Really, they are showing to be an improved team over lastyear.
Harden was a foundation peice for the Thunder, much like Ginobili was/is for us.They had a true big 3. It took multiple seasons to create that chemistry and identity they had. You can't just replace that with no drop-off. He would continue the playmaking and aggression on offense for the Thunder when Durant & Westbrook rested. You can't replace what he did for that team. W/O Harden the Thunder don't get to the NBA Finals last year.

The Thunder are still deadly And VERY good... one of the best in the west. They would be the favorites this year to come out of the west had he stayed tho. This year it's up for the taking.

[thunderfan]

Harden was a foundation peice for the Thunder, much like Ginobili was/is for us.They had a true big 3. It took multiple seasons to create that chemistry and identity they had. You can't just replace that with no drop-off. He would continue the playmaking and aggression on offense for the Thunder when Durant & Westbrook rested. You can't replace what he did for that team. W/O Harden the Thunder don't get to the NBA Finals last year.

The Thunder are still deadly And VERY good... one of the best in the west. They would be the favorites this year to come out of the west had he stayed tho. This year it's up for the taking.

It's not just a Harden and Martin thing. I don't disagree with you necessarily, and again I'm not saying that OKC is better this year than they would be had Harden stayed, but compared to last year, I think they are a stronger team. There's some drop off in some areas with Martin replacing Harden, but you adjust accordingly, or try to. Brooks has changed his substitution patterns so that you have either KD or RW on the floor basically at all times, without increasing their minutes, vs last year benching the two together and relying on Harden. Ball movement is much better. Good Russell has been showing up for several consecutive games now. KD's assist #'s are up quite a bit this year. Ibaka is very noticeably better offensively. It's just a combination of things that I think have resulted in them showing to be a little better this year, and the chemistry will only improve with time.

[JRHernandez88]

Well Durants still getting better. Well see, they're still a lot of RS left. May the best team win come playoff time :toast

[Clipper Nation]

Tbh, the Lakers have to start actually resembling a playoff team before everyone starts sucking them off and declaring them as Miami's toughest test, tbh.... and frankly, with the lack of defense being played in Lakerland, not really sure how'd they be stopping LeBron in a theoretical Finals anyway....

[JamStone]

Tbh, the Lakers have to start actually resembling a playoff team before everyone starts sucking them off and declaring them as Miami's toughest test, tbh.... and frankly, with the lack of defense being played in Lakerland, not really sure how'd they be stopping LeBron in a theoretical Finals anyway....

Lakers in your head much? I just skimmed the entire thread and I didn't see one post saying the Lakers.

[Clipper Nation]

Spurs, Grizzlies, and Lakers would give the Heat the most problems if both teams are 100%. Clippers need to get more consistent if they're to be taken seriously, but they do look better than last year and are getting 100%. So maybe they could be added into the conversation at some point as well.

Nets and Knicks need to really step it up to be put into legit contender status. Right now they're just 2nd round fodder, or "default ECF bound" since someone has to be there to face Miami.
:lol Kidd K

[JamStone]

That's one. I missed that. I guess that makes "everyone."

[tlongII]

The Wizards?

[JRHernandez88]

The Wizards?
&the spurs bench

[admiralfats]

The Wizards?

came here to say this.

[rogues]

Nobody..............

[lefty]

:lol Miami gets better while everybody else gets worse. The Lakers are old and slow, the Thunder replaced Harden with downgrades and lack a scoring big, and everyone else are just average teams who are nothing special. Meanwhile, Miami makes the best move of the offseason by getting Ray Allen and keep their core intact.

:lol NBA
What now ?

[DAF86]

All this fuss for just 4 years of coasting?

[Captivus]

The answer is Lebron

[Sean Cagney]

I think the Spurs are the worst fit for them, luckily for the Heat the Spurs will be knocked out by someone on the ridiculously tough Western conference while they will be coasting through the Pacers and Sixers of this World.

You were right on the first part but wrong on the second of them being knocked out, the Spurs were the worst fit for them two years in a row. They coasted through that weak conference as well, good call there. Almost dead on.

[cd021]

You were right on the first part but wrong on the second of them being knocked out, the Spurs were the worst fit for them two years in a row. They coasted through that weak conference as well, good call there. Almost dead on.

True.

the '12-'13 nearly beat them despite Parker, Ginobili, Splitter and Neal all struggling at various points in the series. Boris Diaw was still 1.0 on offense, taking 16 shots in 6 games.

The Spurs versatility and depth were difficult to over come for Miami this year. Not to mention the Spurs knowing just how to pick apart Miami's trapping defense (a perk of playing them 9 times during that season and 11 times prior to the '13 NBA Finals)