The Miami Heat are the favorite to win the NBA Championship for the second consecutive year. They dominated the season locking up the best seed and winning 27 straight games. They started the playoffs as everybody expected and swept the Bucks quite easily.
Simple question: Who can stop The Miami Heat?
The Pacers have the defense to slow Miami down, but the Hawks are giving them a fight and might be in danger of losing in the first round. Pacers are either a poor road team, or The Hawks are actually that good. They've been shooting on this Pacers defense and getting good baskets down low. I still have Indiana winning, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Hawks beat them. The #6 seeds in these playoffs are not going down without a fight. Indiana was beat 3 times during Miami's winning streak.
The Hawks wouldn't stand a chance. I'll get that out of the way now. The Hawks aren't offensively disciplined enough to take down an efficient offense like Miami.
The Knicks could give Miami a run for their money, but it'll be an offensive explosion. The Knicks don't have the defense to stop Miami. Their best bet would be to try and out score them and I don't even know if they can do that even with the leading scorer on their team. Miami doesn't play around and can pour on the points as well. It'll be about which defense can lock down in crunch time.
The Spurs have a golden ticket through the remainder of the playoffs. If Golden State can take care of business against Denver, I think this will be The Spurs biggest test. The Warriors are streaky, can shoot the hell of the ball, and have a terrific home court. But if they can get past them, nobody else can stop them. The Thunder can't beat them without Westbrook. Whether people want to believe it or not, Westbrook is the catalyst that provides stability to this team and gives them some energy and passion on the court. Durant may be the best shooter on this team, but Westbrook makes this team go. The Spurs have the playmakers and the discipline to contend with Miami.
What about Golden State? If they can handle Denver, they can give The Spurs a run for their money. If The Warriors somehow reach the Finals and face Miami, they can play them well too. They're the best 3 point shooting team in the league and their front court could give Miami some problems. They also have Stephen Curry.
The Miami offense can break through the Memphis defense. They've put the clamps on Lob City so far. They wouldn't do it against Miami. The Clippers are in the same boat as The Knicks. They would have to outscore Miami and make bigger plays. Miami would win that one every time.
Provided the Bulls can get past Brooklyn, I think they're the only team in the East that may have a shot at taking Miami. The Bulls like to play them tough, get physical with their players, and get out and shoot the basketball. The Heat will have a hell of a time defending the Bulls perimeter shooters and defending Joakim Noah down low. Even injured, he's a great presence down low. The Bulls can really match up well with the Heat better than people think. It would be a good series, but the Bulls are very inconsistent. You never know which team you'll get.
So, in The East, The Bulls can match up well, play defense, get physical and force turnovers. The Knicks will have to out score Miami to beat them because they won't beat them with their defense.
In the West, if the Spurs get past the second round, they could beat Miami. The Thunder without Westbrook can't, Memphis can't, and The Clippers (no matter what people say) wouldn't be able to either.
Either way, this list of teams that stand in the way of Miami repeating is very short. We'll just have to see how the rest of these playoffs turns out.
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By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
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