It takes time for a team to come together. Nobody knows this better than the L.A. Lakers. Backed by MVP performances by Kobe Bryant in the playoffs, and decent big man play from Pau Gasol, LA was able to bring home their 2nd consecutive NBA championship in 2010. It took not only great performances by Bryant and Gasol, but also effective role players such as Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Sasha Vujacic, and Derek Fisher. Miami has a few of those in Mario Chalmers, James Jones, and the oft-injured Mike Miller, but what kind of experience is that really? One of them is only in their second-year and one is a journeyman with only limited playoff experience.
The Heat just went on yet another losing streak when the lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday in overtime for their fourth loss in a row. Everyone wants to make that out to be such a big deal. Well it's not. Miami isn't a real team yet. They are a bunch of thrown together, over-priced, and overrated players who haven't proved anything about their ability to play as a team to win a championship. Dwyane Wade has shown he can win a championship when he has a big man to help out, like when he had Shaq in 2006 and the Heat beat the Mavericks in the finals, but it's yet to be seen how strong of a big man Chris Bosh really is. From what I've seen he seems like a glorified shooting guard, not even in the same class as say a Kevin Garnett. Speaking of Garnett, if any team in the East should be expected to challenge for a title, Boston is the team it should be. With their wealth of experience in the playoffs, not to mention this possibly being one of their last years together, you can expect a powerful performance from the Celtics in the playoffs in 2011. Rondo, Pierce, Allen, Garnett, and Big Baby will dominate the Miami Heat in the playoffs--mark my word.
So the next time someone tells you that the Heat are the team to beat in the NBA this season, just look at them, laugh, and tell them get some rings and then we'll talk. Kobe Bryant has 5 rings, just one short of the greatly regarded Michael Jordan, but gets less than half the pub that Michael did. If I had a dime for every Laker hater....never mind.
Other Notes....Both St. Johns and West Virginia took tough losses last night, doesn't look great for those two...Boise St. has lost 2 in a row (to Utah State and Nevada) since starting WAC play 4-0. They play Idaho on Saturday in a match-up of upstart teams in the WAC....The Pac-10 looks pretty weak this year with only Washington and UCLA proving to be competitive teams.....
