NBA News: Miami Heat, Boston Celtics Should Move Over for Orlando Magic

LeBron James for MVP? Paul Pierce in the best shape he's ever been in?

Please.

All summer long we all heard the same resounding tones: the Miami Heat are the favorite to win the 2010-11 NBA championship.

Those who didn't drink the Heat's Kool-Aid were preaching about how good the Celtics were and the improvements that they've made.

But in reality, neither of these teams are the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference, but rather the little-talked about Orlando Magic.

While there continue to be question marks about the limitations in Dwight Howard's game, it seems that a summer spent working with Hakeem Olajuwon has greatly improved Howard's abilities.

Most believe that the Magic will only go as far as their big man can take them, but Orlando has arguably the deepest roster in the league and plenty of supporting talent to lend Howard a helping hand.

The player who is most important piece to the team's sustained success is forward Rashard Lewis. A monumental free-agent bust after signing an extraordinarily lucrative deal with Orlando, Lewis has never lived up the hype that he built in Seattle. Furthermore, the team has asked him to constantly play outside of his comfort zone, and he's never shown a strong affinity for doing so.

However, it appears something has happened for Lewis this season.

No longer settling for poor shot selection, Lewis is showing an increased inclination to attack the rim and play the post-up game that has been absent from his offensive attack since his arrival. A better, right-handed version of Lamar Odom, there is no reason that Lewis shouldn't be among the game's elite talents; because after all, he's certainly getting paid like one, collecting a salary of over $20 million this season.

With a fully healthy PG Jameer Nelson as well as Hall of Fame–bound SG Vince Carter, this team has far more talent than most give it credit for. They have the best backup center in all of basketball in Marcin Gortat, power forwards Brandon Bass and Ryan Anderson—both of whom are very capable of energizing the team off the bench—and a very solid veteran in Chris Duhon to back up the point.

Is 2010-11 the year Dwight Howard finally wins an MVP Award? Can Orlando prove that they're not just a regular-season team?

It should certainly be fun to watch.