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The Miami Heat are a juggernaut. They went on a stupendous 27-game winning streak this season and each of their big three, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, shot over 50% for the season. During their 27-game win streak, they beat teams by an average of 12 points a game.
This team has a chance of winning back-to-back championships, and there aren’t many teams which can hang with them. But there are some and the Heat are not being complacent.
“There’s going to be trials and tribulations no matter what, no matter how good of a team you are,” Dwyane Wade said. “There’s going to be a moment in the playoffs where our back is going to be against the wall. And I think everything we’ve done this season will prepare us for that moment. We have a goal, just like every other team that gets into the playoffs, to win a championship. But we understand the process that it takes.”
Here’s a look at 5 teams that may provide trials and tribulations to the Miami Heat:
1. LA Clippers
Don’t be surprised if we see a Clippers-Heat Final. In order to beat the Heat you need to be athletic enough to defend their stars, or have a foolproof defensive system which can contain the damage they do. The Clippers don’t allow many points and they have the ultimate closer in Chris Paul to get them over the hump. Front-court players like Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Ronny Turiaf, Ryan Hollins and Lamar Odom can pose problems for the Heat on defense. While they have James, Wade and Bosh to stifle anyone on the perimeter, big men can pose a problem to them.
And the penetration of Paul and Eric Bledsoe really opens things up for the front court of the Clippers. The Clippers also have the X-factor, Jamal Crawford, for whom you can’t really plan. Because he doesn’t have a plan, he just rolls along and makes things happen. The Clippers rely on their core duo of Paul and Griffin to set the tone, and they have the immense luxury of a bench, which doesn’t just provide relief to the starters. Their bench pounces on teams and extends leads. Look at how the Clippers are making short work of the Grizzlies right now. This is a team on a mission and a meeting in the finals between the Clippers and Heat would be a barn burner.
2. OKC Thunder
Last season, the Heat beat the Thunder in the finals in five games, but it was a close call. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook can offset the impact of James and Wade and are athletic enough to contain them on defense. The supporting cast of the Thunder is also spry and experienced enough to cause trouble for the Heat. The loss of James Harden can come back to haunt them in the playoffs though. The Thunder finished with the best record in the West with 60-22, but the Heat finished with a league best 66-16. While Harden maybe gone, they have Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin this time.
The Knicks took the season series from the Heat 3-1, and they bear quite a resemblance to the Dallas team which beat the Heat for the title in 2011. Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd played for the Mavs back then, and Carmelo’s offensive production does mirror that of Nowitzki. “For our coaching staff, he’s a nightmare,” Erik Spoelstra said of Carmelo. The Knicks attempt a mind boggling 29 3-pointers per game and they make 37.7% of them. They are 7th in the league in points allowed with 95.6. When a team gets hot from the outside, there is little you can do. Not to mention, the have Sixth Man of the Year, J.R. Smith in their ranks as well.
4. Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are one of the best defensive teams in the league and no one really has a answer for Roy Hibbert in the post. With the way Paul George is playing this season, he has earned the Most Improved Player award. While they will miss Danny Granger, they still have enough in the tank to seriously trouble the Heat.
Word association test – San Antonio Spurs. What comes to mind? Besides the names of their big three and their legendary coach, the phrases ‘fine tuned, well-oiled, ruthlessly-efficient machine’ come to mind. The following video will send chills down any fan at the beautiful way the Spurs operate:
Part of the chills come from the realization that there is no way to defend the Spurs as well as you want to. They rely on the age old principle of basketball; the offense always has the advantage of being one step ahead. And their excellent ball movement and unselfish play increases that one step gap to the point that it is a gaping chasm in which any defense less than perfect falls down head first. Tim Duncan is having his best season in recent years and Tony Parker was playing like an MVP in the regular season before going down with an injury. A Spurs-Heat match-up would be like the meeting of fire and ice.
The Brooklyn Nets
Deron Williams is back in his classic form, and after a forgettable season in which his name wasn’t mentioned in the same breath as the top point guards in the league, he has again elevated his game to the point that he deserves to be in that conversation. A supporting cast of Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson is elite enough to make the Heat pause.
Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo has said,“I mean, give them their due. They have the best record and they’re the defending champs, so they’re the team that you need to beat, but no, I don’t think anybody is head and shoulders over any. There’s too many good teams. They’re the defending champions and they should get that respect. But that’s not what we believe. We haven’t believed in that throughout the year.”
This team believes in itself and they will be eager to make believers out of the Heat too.
Some may include the Bulls in this conversation, not least because they were the ones who ended the 27-game win streak of the Heat. But they are 25th in the NBA in field-goal percentage, 24th in three-point field-goal percentage, and last in the league in points per game at 92.8. Enough said.
Of course, the Miami Heat still have the best shot at winning it all. LeBron’s prediction of winning not one, not two, not three, and so on to seven doesn’t seem very unrealistic right now.
