Miami Heat Against The World
With back to back NBA Finals MVP honors, LeBron James has finally solidified himself as the KING of the NBA. If you’re not a fan of the Miami Heat or living in Seattle, nobody wants to see the Heat win another title. Heading into the upcoming season, the Heat are the favorites to hold the Larry O’Brien trophy for the third consecutive year. The worst thing any NBA fan wanted to see was LeBron hold his second NBA title back in June; and now with that checked off his goal of multiple pending titles, James is almost becoming addicted to holding championships every year.
This year we’re expecting the Heat to head into the season relaxed after proving themselves as consecutive champions. Unfortunately for Miami, every team in the league will be seeking revenge against them this year for loses during their 27-game winning streak (snapped by the Chicago Bulls) and post-season embarrassment. What was looked upon as a calm schedule for the South Beach boys, could soon be a playoff-like game every night with teams becoming very frustrated of seeing a celebration in Miami every year.
Speaking of which, LeBron James and company will be looking to achieve their fourth consecutive trip to the NBA Finals. Not even Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant made it to the NBA Finals four consecutive times. Bill Russell is the only one who has more consecutive NBA Finals appearances, with 10 (see the infamous picture of him shitting on his “son’s” with 10 rings). LeBron is already in the discussions of being a top 5 player to ever grace the hardwood, but his goal is to become the greatest. Miami’s had a questionable off-season with free agent signings of both Greg Oden and Michael Beasley.
Oden has the scare of being injury-prone anytime he takes a step on the court and Beasley has off the court issues, with past substance use that has plagued his health. If Oden can be healthy for the Heat’s post season and Beasley can stay out of trouble, it will be very hard to stop them this year. Dwyane Wade’s been plagued with injuries as well mainly being his knees, but he’s taken time in the off-season to get some much needed rest and lose some weight along with Ray Allen.
The San Antonio Spurs still have memories of their game 6 loss, after they were on the brink of winning a title last June. Oklahoma City is still not over the fact that they lost four consecutive games to the Heat. Brooklyn has new editions of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry on their team, which the three still have a hatred of the Heat. Chicago and Indiana both have postseason losses to the Heat and will be looking to dethrone them as well this year. To say the Heat have a target on their back is an understatement.