Power Ranking the Biggest Threats to the Miami Heat's Title Hopes
Despite boasting one of the NBA's best records this season, the Miami Heat have proven to be a vulnerable contender.
Miami is just 9-7 in its last 16 games, and quickly fading out of contention for the Eastern Conference's top playoff seed.
Last spring, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company stormed into the NBA Finals resembling an unbeatable juggernaut, but that suddenly changed during the course of five days in June, as they were inexplicably beaten by the Dallas Mavericks.
There will surely be seismic shifts in South Beach if the Heat fall short of the ultimate goal this year. Still, falling short of the Larry O'Brien Trophy is a very real possibility considering the number of championship-caliber teams out there.
So which teams are best equipped to keep the new-look Heat ring-less?
Join Bleacher Report as we rank the 10 biggest threats to the Miami Heat's title hopes this season.
10. Indiana Pacers
1 of 10The Indiana Pacers hardly looked like a worthy adversary for the Miami Heat during the teams' first two meetings this season, but they since have proven to be a legitimate threat.
Miami took three of four from the Pacers this season, but Indiana won the most recent meeting at home by 15 points.
No team plays better team basketball against Miami, however, as seven players currently on the Pacers roster averaged double figures against the Heat in 2012.
Indiana's front court, led by Roy Hibbert and David West, is one of the more underrated front lines in the NBA, and more than capable of holding its own against Miami's.
However, the scoring punch provided by Danny Granger, Paul George, Leandro Barbosa and the rest of Indiana's offensive leaders is far from enough to dethrone the defending Eastern Conference champions by itself.
The Pacers' defense, which ranks in the top 10 as far as points allowed, would have to play lights-out for significant stretches of time to keep Miami within striking distance.
9. Philadelphia 76ers
2 of 10The Miami Heat have had little trouble with the pesky Philadelphia 76ers in 2012, after struggling to dispose of them in five games last spring.
Miami is 3-0 against Philly heading into the teams' final meeting of the regular season on April 3. The only good news for the Sixers is that they have narrowed the gap between themselves and the Heat over the course of the season.
Philly lost by 21 in January, by 20 in February and then by just six in March. The bad news for the Sixers is that LeBron James is shooting 60 percent from the field in three games against them this year.
Also, Philly is only averaging 83 points per game against Miami this season, compared to the 93.6 points per night against the rest of the league.
The 76ers are clearly on the decline as they plummet in the Eastern Conference standings, having lost 14 of their last 23 games, but their No. 1-ranked scoring defense keeps them in every game and would give them more than a puncher's chance in a postseason series against the Heat.
8. Los Angeles Clippers
3 of 10The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers have met only once this season, with the Clippers winning a 96-89 overtime matchup at the Staples Center. Keep in mind that loss came just one night after a Miami overtime loss on the road at Golden State.
In that matchup, though, the Heat got to the free-throw line 34 times but missed 14. The close loss was highlighted by LeBron James' 9-of-17 effort from the foul line. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for five additional misfires from the charity stripe.
Blake Griffin struggled from the field, making just 9-of-23 field goal attempts, but he was assisted by MVP candidate point guard Chris Paul, who poured in 27 points and 11 assists.
The trouble the Clippers present to the Heat stems from the mismatch in the back court. Paul is one of the best floor generals in all of basketball, and Miami lacks a solid playmaker at that position to wear down Paul on the defensive end.
If the up-and-coming Clippers faced off against the Heat in the Finals, the point-guard matchup would loom large over Miami's chances of winning a title.
7. Dallas Mavericks
4 of 10Miami exacted sweet revenge against the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks this season, routing them twice home and away, including a brutal beatdown on Christmas Day in Texas.
Just last month, the Heat beat the Mavs by 21 points in South Beach, cementing themselves as the better team in 2012, despite their epic meltdown against Dallas just 10 months ago.
Even though the loss of center Tyson Chandler has clearly hurt Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs in how they matchup against the Heat, they still own the mental edge over Miami come playoff time.
If Dallas is able to make yet another improbable run to the Finals this June, Miami would have to overcome the fear of repeated failure and the nightmares of 2011, an obstacle that no other team in the league can present to the Heat.
6. Boston Celtics
5 of 10Miami is scheduled to play bitter rival Boston four times this season. The two teams have met twice already, with each winning once on their home floor.
The latest matchup saw Boston's Rajon Rondo lead the Celtics to a blowout victory while recording a triple-double in the process. Rondo is almost averaging a triple-double this season against the Heat; 19 PPG, 13 APG and 9.5 RPG.
Another concern for the Heat if they wind up in a Eastern Conference semifinals rematch with the Celtics is that veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen has found his stroke against Miami. Allen is averaging 28 points per game in two matchups with the Heat, and has hit six of his eight 3-point attempts.
Also, thus far during the regular season, Kevin Garnett has matched Chris Bosh in production, effectively forcing LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to penetrate or create from the perimeter.
Miami took the teams' postseason series in five games last May, but the Heat would certainly find the road through Beantown a whole lot tougher without the benefits of a banged-up Rajon Rondo and a super-confident and hot-shooting LeBron James.
5. Orlando Magic
6 of 10Southeast Division rivals Miami and Orlando have faced off four times this season, with each team winning on its home floor twice.
A bittersweet takeaway for the Heat: the Magic bring out the best in Dwyane Wade, but not so much LeBron James. Wade averaged a shade under 30 points per game against Orlando this season, and shot better than 56 percent from the field.
Meanwhile, James shot less than 40 percent from the floor while averaging just 18.8 points per game in four games against the Magic.
By far the biggest concern for Miami in a potential playoff matchup with Orlando though is the strong play of Dwight Howard against the Heat's undersized front line.
Howard averaged a tremendous double-double, 19.8 points and 18.8 rebounds per game against the Heat during the regular season.
If Superman leads Orlando into a conference semifinals matchup with Miami, the Heat may need to win all four home games to advance.
4. San Antonio Spurs
7 of 10The Heat did not require Dwyane Wade's services back in January when they dismantled the San Antonio Spurs in South Beach behind a combined 63 points from LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
Without Manu Ginobili in the lineup, the Spurs struggled to slow the Heat, who shot 58.2 percent from the field as a team. Miami also poured in 16 threes in the 22-point win.
That matchup was the only scheduled meeting between the Spurs and Heat this season, though, and it hardly provides us with enough to determine who would the edge in a seven-game championship series.
The surging Spurs are arguably the hottest team in the league as the schedule flips to April, having posted a 24-5 record since late January, and their championship pedigree cannot be denied.
San Antonio also boasts the NBA's third-highest scoring offense and has a chip on its shoulder after bowing out in the first round last spring to the upstart Memphis Grizzlies.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
8 of 10The Miami Heat and LA Lakers split their regular-season series this year, with the home team taking each, and the Lakers winning the most recent meeting in March.
Seven-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum both teamed up for double-doubles, and Kobe Bryant chipped in 33 big points to lead LA comfortably past Miami.
Udonis Haslem, who replaced Chris Bosh in the Heat's starting lineup, was scoreless in 19 minutes of action, and proved insufficient in handling LA's monster front line.
In January, however, a Dwyane Wade-less Heat team overwhelmed Bryant and the Lakers in South Beach, thanks to the timely contribution of a combined five made 3-pointers from Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier.
The biggest concern for the Heat in a potential seven-game series against the Lakers is without question LA's front court. The Lakers boast size down low that few other teams in the league can match, and that's why they have a shot to beat anyone come playoff time.
2. Chicago Bulls
9 of 10The Chicago Bulls are likely headed to the postseason as the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed, which means they would take home-court advantage into any and every spring playoff series, including one against the Miami Heat, in a potential Eastern Conference Finals rematch.
The two NBA powerhouses met in last year's ECF, but it was the Heat making mincemeat of the Bulls and their home-court, taking the series in five games.
Chicago and Miami have met twice thus far in 2011-12, with the home team winning each time. Oddly enough, both games were decided by exactly four points.
The scariest takeaway from the most recent meeting back last month in Chicago was that the Bulls proved they can beat the South Beach trio without their MVP point guard Derrick Rose in the lineup.
An impressive, 56-point effort from the Chicago bench helped the Bulls rally past a combined 71 points from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Even though many feel the Bulls will go as far as Derrick Rose takes them this year, Chicago has an undeniable second-unit advantage over Miami.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
10 of 10The Heat have played the Oklahoma City Thunder just once this season, but in the teams' March 25 meeting, the Thunder won easily.
Oklahoma City presents an even scarier look to Miami than Chicago does, considering that the Thunder has two legitimate league superstars capable of taking over a game in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Miami shot 46.5 percent from the field, knocked in seven 3-pointers and went 14-of-14 from the foul line against Oklahoma City last month, but was hounded into 21 turnovers by the young Thunder.
Sixth Man of the Year candidate James Harden will also be a potential thorn in the Heat's side this June if the two teams meet in the Finals. Harden poured in 19 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field against Miami.
Oklahoma City has the star power to not only contend with the Heat in a seven-game playoff series, but to topple them. The Thunder would likely benefit from home-court advantage as well, making Miami's road to a title that much more difficult.
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