LeBron James and the Miami Heat Have No Excuses Left, It's a Title or Bust
The last real excuse LeBron James and the Miami Heat had for not winning a title this season was carried off of the floor with less than two minutes remaining Saturday afternoon. If you've been living on the moon recently, Derrick Rose tore his ACL against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first round match-up on Saturday.
While the Heat weren't guaranteed an NBA Finals berth, it was commonly held that there were only a couple of Eastern Conference teams that stood a chance of halting the Heat before they could make the Finals.
CHICAGO BULLS
The Bulls wanted vengeance for last season's playoff defeat at the hands of Miami. And they had the personnel to do it. But not without last year's MVP Derrick Rose. The Bulls could still make the Eastern Conference Finals, but a Finals appearance is a pipe dream now.
ORLANDO MAGIC
The Magic had one of the two key pieces you need to beat the Heat, an all-world center (also acceptable: an all-world point guard). Dwight Howard can dominate the paint and the Heat don't have a player (not that there are many) who can handle him. No worries, Howard needed back surgery and he is out for the remainder of the season. Hell, he might never play another game for Orlando.
ATLANTA HAWKS
You might chuckle a bit, but when at full-strength this is a very serious team. They have enough depth, size and athleticism to disrupt what the Heat like to do. Unfortunately, Al Horford and Josh Smith are the two players that make this all work. And Horford looks doubtful to play again this season.
Do you sense a trend forming here?
NEW YORK KNICKS
Probably not a serious threat, but with a ton of offensive firepower and the addition of Tyson Chandler, they had a puncher's chance of knocking off the Heat. But now their point guard position consists of a playing-hurt Baron Davis and Mike Bibby. Jeremy Lin MAYBE could make it back if the Knicks advance. Too bad they're playing the Heat. Iman Shumpert (the Knicks best perimeter defender) also tore his ACL on Saturday. Not to mention Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler are all playing through injuries of various degrees.
BOSTON CELTICS
As crazy as it sounds, the Celtics are probably the only team with any hope of knocking off the Heat in the East. And even Boston can't get healthy with Ray Allen only 50/50 to play in Game 1. Even when Allen plays it will be coming off of the bench with reduced minutes.
The only prayer for the Celtics is for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to play like they're Rocky vs. Drago and Rajon Rondo averages damn near a triple-double. Is it likely to happen? Nope. But could it? Well (SPOILER ALERT) Rocky did manage to win AND end the Cold War on the spot, right?
Apologies to the Philadelphia 76ers and Indiana Pacers, but you would be lucky to win a game in a series against the Heat. Philly especially.
So what? The Eastern Conference has seemingly been weak for years. What's the point? Ah, glad you asked. The point is that whichever team comes out of the West is going to have been through playoff wars to get to the Finals. While the Heat could potentially sweep every series in the East, the West champion will most likely be pushed almost to the limit every round.
Look at the list of teams in the Western Conference that have a realistic shot to win the NBA title this season:
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
And the "lower-level" teams in the West?
UTAH JAZZ
DALLAS MAVERICKS
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
DENVER NUGGETS
There is a definite, non-zero chance that every team in the West should beat every team in the East except the Heat (and maybe the Celtics) right now. The defending World Champion Mavericks and the Chris Paul-led Clippers don't even check in as a "top" team in the West. Is there anyway the Clippers WOULDN'T be the second best team in the East after all of these injuries?
Think of this season of the NBA Playoffs as a mountain. The Western Conference teams will have to hire sherpas and make the long, arduous journey to the summit just below the peak. It will be a terribly difficult journey and who knows if whoever makes it does so in good health.
When this Western team reaches that summit (the NBA Finals) they will find a well-rested Miami Heat team that took private helicopters to the summit, bypassing that "long arduous journey" nonsense. Which team would you put your money on at that point? Kobe Bryant might be as good as LeBron, but if you make Kobe play an extra seven or eight games before he has to face LeBron? Well, just ask Roger Murtaugh about that.
This is it LeBron. I cannot possibly think of any reason that the Miami Heat won't make the Finals and be a prohibitive favorite against whomever they face there. The East is so weak I would imagine that the Heat would still coast to the Finals without Dwayne Wade or Chris Bosh.
The NBA (and the Player's Association) made a poor decision to pack 66 games into such a condensed period of time. We've already seen the toll it has taken on some NBA players and teams. Playing those extra games and longer minutes is going to wear on the Western Conference teams. Meanwhile LeBron will be resting, dreaming on a NBA Finals where the Heat are winning by so much, he doesn't even need to play in the 4th quarter.
Thanks for reading. If you have anything to add or any questions, please use the comments below.
Follow John on Twitter
Find more from John at SportsSomething
