The 2013-2014 NBA season is set to kick off, and the Miami Heat will be looking to three-peat for the NBA title. They are led by the best player on the planet, Lebron James, and a great supporting cast of other stars and role players.
Their road to the NBA Finals last season was easy, but will not be as easy this year. The Brooklyn Nets basically bought the Boston Celtics when the Celtics decided to fire sale their team. If they had Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in their primes along with their big three of Derron Williams, Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace, they would be by far the best team.
However, they do not and they have a very weak bench. They are much improved from last year but are still only the third best team in the Eastern Conference. The Heat are still superior and it appears that the Chicago Bulls will be the clear second seed.
They challenged the Heat last year in the playoffs without Derrick Rose. Rose is back this year and will join a star-studded lineup of Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. Many people also think that their young guard Jimmy Butler will have a break out year.
They appear to be a great team, but the Heat have such a great on court chemistry, and a lot of great role players. If Greg Oden can play anywhere near what he was supposed to be coming out of college, the Heat will easily run away with the East.
The Bulls have a chance to challenge, but it is just not a smart idea to bet on them to take down the Heat, when there best player will be coming back from a year and a half off.
The Western Conference picture is a little more weird. it seemed that the Thunder were going to run away with it, but Kevin Durant’s right hand man, Russell Westbrook went down with an injury.
With him coming back, and the team’s core remaining basically the same, the Thunder appear to be the favorites.
The Lakers will not be nearly as bad as the 12 place finish that ESPN predicted for them, but will not be a challenge for the Thunder. They will be without Kobe for a couple of months, and will get off to a subpar start but will definitely get it together in time to make a playoff run.
The Spurs are a year older, so it seems the Clippers pose the biggest threat. They were already a playoff team last year, and addressed most needs. They lost Eric Bledsoe but replaced him with Darren Collision. They also added JJ Reddick, Jared Dudley and Doc Rivers, one of the best coaches in the game. They should have their best year ever, but will not beat the Thunder. The Thunder are just too dangerous when they are healthy.
At the end of they day, the Heat should three-peat in a hard-fought series with the Thunder.
