Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

[RaychelSnr]

It wasn't supposed to be this easy for the Miami Heat.

This is Indiana's year, right? Miami can't coast through a regular season and just turn it on in the playoffs with aging stars and mediocre role players -- can they?

Granted, the West still has something to say about the outcome of the NBA Finals, but playoffs are as much about hot streaks as anything. There's nothing stopping the Pacers from returning the favor and putting away Miami (who may likely begin to coast now they have a two-game cushion) but it looks like we're headed for a potential Miami 3-peat.

Sound Off: Will the Miami Heat ride their current momentum to an easy NBA Championship?

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[MattUM]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Won't be an easy finals for sure, but I think they will come out with a victory.

[Gramps91]

I think if the Spurs can beat out the Thunder, then the Spurs could put up a pretty good fight against the heat. This series with the Pacers is over though. Heat are officially headed to the Finals as far as I am concerned and If the Thunder beat out the Spurs I think it will be a repeat of the 2012 finals with the Heat beating the Thunder in 5. If the Spurs beat the Thunder and it's Heat vs Spurs I got Spurs in 7.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Not sure how I feel about OKC w\ a weary Ibaka against this MIA team..dude is still limping out there

but the Spurs have great chance for revenge if they make it.

[ojandpizza]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Not sure how I feel about OKC w\ a weary Ibaka against this MIA team..dude is still limping out there



but the Spurs have great chance for revenge if they make it.

Agree, Spurs have been the largest concern for me every year since the "Big 3" happened.


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[Sportsbuck]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Honestly, I'd favor the Spurs over the Heat... I think they've been the best team in the NBA all year and they match up so well with them.

[BringTheHeat]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Still going with Heat in 5 and Spurs in 6..

Probably will have another classic Finals but Danny Green isn't going to be that hot again, so I think we might see a 6 game series.

Spurs are definitely the most likely team to beat Miami though. And if we were going to lose to anyone, that'd be who I want to see win.

[JODYE]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Spurs.

Should be repeating, but we know how that story goes.

[Jamesmaster]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

It all depends on Parker's and Ginobili's health imo. The Spurs should close out their series asap and get as much rest as possible. To me the Spurs look better than last year and I seriously doubt the Heat have been tested so far. Should be a great finals as long as the Spurs defeat the Thunder.
I like the Thunder but no way are they able to win the title with an injured Ibaka (he can't be 100% if they'd reach the finals), a "human" Durant and the inevitable crazy bricks of Westbrook.

[MrBill]

Los Spurs over the Thunder in 6 and the Heat in 5.

[bakan723]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

That's the big knock against the NBA. The predictability of the teams at the end, ect..

I don't like it that there's only a very few amount of teams which actually have a chance to win the whole thing, but I've come to grips and now expect to be disappointed with the end result (Knicks fan)

I just enjoy the little things more, the ride that leads up to it. (first round was awesome this year)

Not so much the big picture.

[spidertour02]

**coughTheNBAisriggedcough**

[elgreazy1]

Might as well crown them already **rolls eyes**

[MossMan84]

This is why basketball has taken a back seat for me. You pretty much know the teams that will be in the conference championships and finals every year so its not that much fun! I think this stacking teams shouldnt be possible. Every smart person could see back when Lebron n Bosh signed with Miami it was a done deal that they would dominate the league! Its really not fair. If you look at the last 35yrs of basketball like 5-teams share something like 28 of the 35 NBA titles so where is the parity? The rich get richer thing just doesnt make any sense? Hopefully something changes?

[VDusen04]

Re: Sports Daily: The Inevitable Champions?

Yes, it has all felt inevitable for me since 2010, which is why I have never been in favor of the rightful and legal decisions made by Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh (and eventually a slew of excellent role players such as Shane Battier, Mike Miller, and Ray Allen). I felt the Heat were just a bunch of disjointed Dream Teamers in '11, not understanding how to play with any extended sort of togetherness or flow, yet they still came a legendary game 2 comeback away from winning the whole thing anyhow. Once they even kind of discovered they couldn't all average 28 per game, winning has been a foregone conclusion for me ever since.

As someone who is not a Miami Heat fan, it's been kind of tough to see how easy it was for the second greatest player of the past 30 years to team up with two fellow Dream Teamers and come about as close as one can to making a bevy of NBA championships a foregone conclusion. As someone who is a fan of competition and the idea that winning shouldn't just be as easy as the greatest players deciding to join up together in a random city, it's been a bummer.

It always reminds me of those times on the playground where there's three players who are clearly the best on the court (sometimes four or five) and they only agree to play on eachother's team. No captains, picking for squads, shooting 'em up - just always the same top talent together, who then proceed to predictably trounce everyone, yapping it up the whole way. It's good they've all developed their games to be so great, but what's the point? You're winning, but only after one has stacked the odds incredibly in their own favor. What does winning even mean at that point? You took the best players, piled them up, and largely defeated many teams who are likely weaker in part because you've taken their talent.

All that said, I still understand it was their right to make those decisions. I just do not favor it from a single fan's perspective.