How the Miami Heat Stack Up Against the Beasts of the Eastern Conference

The Miami Heat started the second half of the season in a similar fashion to the way they closed the first half of it.

After last night's win against Portland, the Miami win streak is now at nine and the Heat are prepared to make a run at a second consecutive Eastern Conference championship.

But is it too early to crown Miami?

In the Eastern Conference, the Heat should have very little competition to make it through to the Eastern Conference Finals at worst.

Looking at the rest of the contenders in the east: Philadelphia, Indiana, Orlando, Atlanta and Boston would all be in the playoffs if the season started today, but none measure up in any way to Miami.

Sure, each team can grab a win here or there against the Heat, but they don't stack up well.

That leaves New York and Chicago.

We saw what Miami did to the Knicks right before the All-Star break, but as the season goes on the Knicks are going to become much tougher and match up pretty well against the Heat.

If Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire get going at the same time, Jeremy Lin and company could be tough for the Heat.

But while the Knicks have improved, Miami has a huge edge at the defensive end of the floor and when they are committed to playing at that end of the floor, they are nearly unbeatable.

But the Bulls can get it done at the defensive end as well.

They not only match Miami's effort at the defensive end, but the Bulls exceed it. It's tough to score consistently on this Bulls. The allow only 88.1 PPG, good for second best in the NBA.

Miami, on the other hand, allows an average of 94.3 per night, good for 14th, but that's fine when you are averaging 103.8 PPG at the offensive end, where you would think that the Heat have a huge advantage over the Bulls.

That may be true right now, but come season's end, it could be close.

Looking at the two teams, the Heat have an explosive offense. The Bulls have an efficient one.

They don't make many mistakes and for the most part, they get good shots.

The one concern I have for the Heat offense is the perimeter shooting. Do they have enough outside shooting to get them through the playoffs? Do they have enough shooting to keep the lane open for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade?

If teams decide to zone the Heat, they have to knock down shots.

But the one concern I have for the rest of the east is, who is going to guard LeBron when Miami coach Erik Spoelstra plays him at the 4?

He's a tough cover on the block almost impossible given his skill set.

Playing the 4, James has posted a PER of 43.1. Playing the 3, he's got a PER of 29.1.

That's just one example of how good the Heat are as a team, but no one really cares what this group does in the regular season.

It's all about the postseason and right now, the road to win the east once again goes through South Beach, but it won't be easy and the Chicago Bulls will certainly have something to say about it.