Who Can Beat the Heat?

By Jordan Wagner

Ladies and Gentlemen: it’s round two for the Miami Heat to start that “Not one…not two…not three…” championship run. Before they can win the championship, they have to win the East. I cannot think of an easier scenario than this year for the Heat to lock up a trip to the ship.

Let’s start with the Knicks. Miami whopmed on New York 100 to 67 the first game of the series. Now that the Heat have the 2-0 lead, I’m not thinking a comeback is likely for a Knicks team that allowed a 32-4 run against them over the second and third quarter in game one. Let’s just call the Knicks a science experiment gone wrong and focus on the next round.

Should Miami move on, they will either play the Orlando Magic or Indiana Pacers. Therefore, they will either play a Dwight Howard-less Orlando team, or the Pacers, who lost to the depleted Orlando team the first game of the series. Don’t get me wrong, folks. I am a Magic fan through and through and want nothing less than for my team to win the NBA championship this year. However, we all must live on earth, and it doesn’t look like we would have a chance of beating the Heat this year (even the fact that we got a game on Indiana was utterly surprising to me.) What about the Pacers beating the Heat? Answer that question with the following headline: "Indiana upsets Miami to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals!" Yeah, it’s just not believable.

The real battle would have ensued in the Eastern Conference Finals had Chicago been able to keep Derrick Rose healthy. With him out of the picture, it’s going to be a struggle for the Bulls to even get past the winner of the Boston/Atlanta series. Now granted, Chicago has one of the top defenses in the NBA, so a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals is not out of reach. If one looks at the regular season, he would see that Chicago beat Miami twice without Derrick Rose. So why would it be the case that the Bulls won’t be able to handle the Heat again this year?

Simple: the playoffs are when it matters the most.

The Bulls do not have their MVP, who can create his own shots when the game is on the line. They have managed well up to this point with solid defense, good coaching and key efforts by players like Deng, Boozer and even Watson. But playing a Miami team that is only one series away from a berth to the championship will be more than difficult without the All-Star point guard. No, Ladies and Gentlemen, if I were a betting man my money, much to my dismay as a Magic and Bulls fan, would be on Miami to win the East.

Who they would play in the championship is certainly a different story. The obvious Thunder/Heat matchup would excite a lot of fans, pitting arguably the two best players in the league right now up against each other. Of course, there is always that pesky Lakers team that could slip their way into the Finals again. And who knows, maybe this will be an upset year and the Clippers will climb to the top. The West has yet to be won, but one thing is looking certain: if the Heat want a chance to try their luck again at a title and to begin that “not one…not two…not three…” run, this is the year to strike. The East is weak.