2013 Top 5 Offseasons

This Offseason has been more ridiculous than most I can remember. A lot of players moving clubs and a lot of teams really are improving. A good offseason to me is one that addresses team weaknesses by signing players who are an upgrade to last season. Let’s take a look at the teams who have made the biggest impact in free agency this season.

Honourable Mentions

New Orleans Pelicans: They added Tyreke Evans and Anthony Morrow both who will be given an important role for this season. They also traded Nerlens Noel for Jrue Holiday giving them a lot of flexibility at the Point Guard position. They will be around the mark this season to make playoffs but expect them to be a real threat in the next 2-3 years.

Dallas Mavericks: Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon, DeJuan Blair, Devin Harris and Samuel Dalembert have all been added onto this roster. However this is another case of Plan A failing for the Mavericks. They couldn’t land Deron Williams last season and they failed to get Dwight or CP3 this season. It may look like they’ve had a good offseason but in reality its not what they wanted and they will struggle to make playoffs. Jose Calderon is being overpaid too, especially when they have enough young talented guards already.

Houston Rockets: This may come as a surprise as I don’t have them in my top 5 but it is for good reason. The other 5 teams have had great offseasons and addressed their weaknesses. However with Houston I feel as if they just took the best option available and sat on their laurels. Dwight Howard, Marcus Camby and Omri Casspi are the new inclusions but due to this they lost Thomas Robinson and Carlos Delfino also Asik is upset and wants a trade. I think they will make 5^th-6^th seed in the West and lose first round. Despite many people saying otherwise Jeremy Lin and Parsons are not stars.

 Cleveland Cavaliers: I’ve written a full article on the Cavs earlier see that for full details. They landed Andrew Bynum, Earl Clark and Jarret Jack. This improves their team immensely having two players who can come off the bench and add offense and energy while now having a legitimate centre who is the best offensive big man in the game when healthy. He will fit nicely alongside Varejao. Furthermore they chose Anthony Bennett with the first draft pick, a small forward who is a big upgrade from last year. I expect they will challenge for 6^th seed in the East with Detroit but next year they should be aiming to take LeBron and compete for titles.

The Top 5

5. Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have had an interesting offseason with early speculation that CP3 might not have resigned. But they removed Vinny Del Negro from head coaching position and added Doc Rivers. They only shot 35.8% of threes last season and obviously they noticed this as a weakness and recruited hard to fix it. JJ Redick, Jared Dudley and Byron Mullens were signed and all of them are 3-point specialists. This cost them Caron Butler and Billups also left, two ageing players anyway. Their biggest loss was Eric Bledsoe, an athletic backup point guard, however they signed Darren Collison to replace him. They have a deep roster and a lot of guys that can really play. If it all fits in to place they can win the West this season.

4. Detroit Pistons

There’s no denying that Detroit have had a great offseason with the likes of Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings and former Champion Chauncey Billups however I don’t think they’ll be a great team. There are too many players who take too many bad shots on this team now. It will be Brick City and won’t be as good as most people think. They have had a great offseason and will be able to put a decent show on the court for the fans, but they will get destroyed come playoff time. If they could tank for Wiggins then they may be able to contend but as long as they have Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith two of the most erratic shooters they will struggle. Expect a 7^th seed in the East

3. Golden State Warriors

They opened their campaign by dumping Biedrins, Jefferson and Brandon Rush. All players who weren’t given big roles and aren’t important to the team’s core. They used this extra cap room to sign Andre Iguodala. He is athletic and a great defensive player something that the warriors can really use. He isn’t the best shooter but he doesn’t need to be with Curry, Barnes and Klay Thompson all on the team. The loss of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry however hurt them. Carl Landry especially he added a lot of toughness to this team. Jarrett Jack sometimes makes bad decisions in games so I don’t believe it was vital to sign him. They did replace these two with Toney Douglas and Marreese Speights. Toney is similar to Jack and Speights is a bit bigger than Landry and is a better rim protector, as his block rating is higher than Landry’s. They are both less experienced but signed for cheap so these are good signings. The last signing was Jermaine O’Neal an old Vet who gives the team experience and will help on the boards if needed. They have a strong team and could even win the West, however I have them coming second maybe third.

2. Brooklyn Nets

Many probably have these guys as number 1, and they easily could’ve gone there. They had an incredible offseason by trading Gerald Wallace, Marshon Brooks and Kris Humphries for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry. However there are injury concerns over these players, they are all older now and their minutes will have to be monitored closely. The fun doesn’t stop there for the Nets they were able to lure Andre Kirilenko a great all around player and Shaun Livingston to replace CJ Watson. They have a complete roster with little weaknesses and have a lot of players who hate their rivals the Heat. Those Boston players would like nothing better than to destroy Miami this season and they could possibly do it. They should get 4^th seed in the East and will cause trouble to some of the top teams especially if they get the chemistry right. Jason Kidd’s first role as head coach is going to be surrounded with high expectation.

1.     Indiana Pacers

It may be surprising that I have them here but they really have had a flawless offseason. They only lost Sam Young, DJ Augustin and Tylor Hansbrough, all players who did little to nothing in the playoffs. If we remember what happened in the post-season the starters for Indiana really dominated while the bench stank it up. So they addressed this issue and picked CJ Watson to replace Augustin, Chris Copeland to replace Tyler Hansbrough and they even managed to make a trade that sent Gerald Green to Phoenix for Luis Scola! An incredible move that now gives them a really good big to come off the bench behind Hibbert and West. Obviously a move to prepare them for Miami as Miami are weak in this area. Even better for the Pacers is that Danny Granger is back from injury which means Lance Stephenson will go to the bench, further bolstering that. To put things in perspective last season in the playoffs they played Young, Augustin, Hansbrough and Mahinmi off the bench, this season it will be Watson, Copeland, Scola and Stephenson with Granger and George starting on the floor together. It is an incredible turnaround and one that will see them win the East this season. Check out the full Pacer article for more details.

Which Team had the Best Offseason?

Indiana Pacers

Brooklyn Nets

Golden State Warriors

Los Angeles Clippers

Detroit Pistons

Houston Rockets

Dallas Mavericks

Other

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Do the Clippers Run LA?

Lakers, Kobe Still Run LA

The Battle of LA has been well documented over the last couple of seasons. With some bandwagon fans and Laker haters saying that the Clips have taken over as the city's number 1 team. 

That's an absolute joke. How can one or two seasons of better basketball be enough to knock the Lakers off the pedestal? The Lakers own LA, the Beat LA chants have started with the Lakers, people HATE the Lakers- a sign that you're doing something right. No one hates the Clippers because they have and will always be largely irrelevant. They will always be number 2 in Los Angeles. 

Take a look at who the Clippers had in their franchise best season: Barnes, Odom, Turiaf, Caron Butler all former Lakers not to mention that CP3 was traded to the Lakers in a deal that was famously vetoed. Signing players from your cross-town rivals isn't a way to become bigger than them. Despite having such a good record during the regular season it doesn't mean anything if you can't convert it into playoff wins and naturally the Clippers lost in the first round to Memphis. All those extra wins over the Lakers yet only find themselves going out in the exact same round. And supposedly they have taken over LA? Give me a break!

Best Clippers Player Ever: Bob McAdoo

Now let's look at the history. The Clippers in total have had eight winning seasons, yes EIGHT. Eight out of forty two, that is abysmal. They have had a 12-70 season, all-time regular season record is an appalling 1303-2175 (.375) and playoff record is 26-38 (.406). They have made the playoffs 9 times with their best performance coming in 2005-06 when they lost in 7 games in the Western Semis. Their best player for the franchise was Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo; they made the playoffs 3 times out of his 4 seasons with the franchise. He was the 1975 MVP with 34.5 PPG, 14.1 RPG 2.1 Blocks per game and 2.2 APG.  In only his second season he became (and still is) the only person to average 30ppg and 15 rbp in the same year. He ended up winning 2 rings and guess what team that was with? Yep, the Lakers as sixth man. 

The next best players would have to be Bill Walton although he spent his best years in Portland, Elton Brand, Danny Manning and Ron Harper. Dominique Wilkins also spent one season with the Clippers. As you can see the players here are no match for the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem, Shaq, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, James Worthy, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Cooper, George Mikan and others.

Now let’s take a look at the rivalry itself:
Seasons with better record (out of 28): Clippers: 5 Lakers: 23

Head-to-head series in regular season won: Clippers: 2 Tie: 5 Lakers: 21
Overall head to head wins: Clippers: 33 Lakers: 97
Playoff Appearances in the 28 year period that the Clippers have been in LA: Clippers: 6 Lakers: 26
Championships (in this time): Clippers: 0 Lakers: 8
Pacific Division titles (in this time): Clippers: 1 (last season) Lakers: 14

So as you can see no the Clippers do not run LA.

2013-14 Preview

Potential Lineup

PG: Chris Paul, Darren Collison

SG: JJ Redick, Jamal Crawford, Willie Green

SF: Jared Dudley, Matt Barnes, Reggie Bullock

PF: Blake Griffin, Byron Mullens

C: DeAndre Jordan, Ryan Hollins

New Head Coach: Doc Rivers

The Clippers have again positioned themselves to make a run this year. The trade that sent Caron Butler and Eric Bledsoe to the Phoenix Suns allowed them to acquire two deadly three-point shooters in Redick and Dudley. Despite the loss of Chauncey Billups and perhaps Lamar Odom, free agency was kind to them, signing Darren Collison a young PG who was good in his first year at the Pacers and will be able to bring a spark of the bench and Byron Mullens who is a big man that can spread the floor. Their biggest acquisition however is replacing Vinny Del Negro with Doc Rivers. Rivers won coach of the year in 2000 while coaching the Magic after almost making the playoffs with a team that was expected to come last. He is more known however for his role with the Boston Celtics’ big 3 where he won his only ring in 2008. He will provide more stability than Del Negro did as the players trust his judgment more and also has proven he can turn a team of stars into a championship team. He has signed for 3 years, CP3 and Griffin have signed for 5. They will be good for years to come. 

With one of the deepest benches in the league and one of the best leaders in CP3 what is there to worry about with this team? The only weakness that I can spot is that the two big men (Griffin and Jordan) are both power players have a very limited range of post moves, bad free throw shooting and the inability to spread the floor consistently. I expect they will end up between 1^st and 3^rd seed in the West, I have yet to commit to a spot just yet but I will be and this will be revealed in my Western Conference Preview article.

Where will the Clippers Finish in the West?

1st Seed

2nd Seed

3rd Seed

4th Seed

5th Seed

6th Seed

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Pacific Division: Sacramento Kings the History and 2013-14 Preview

Oscar Robertson Era

The Sacramento Kings have had a tough history filled with mostly losing records and average players. There have been a few however that were beneficial to the franchise such as Oscar Robertson drafted in 1960. He was incredible averaging 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists per game (leading the league) in just his first year. In 1962 they finally had a winning season their first since 1954. There best showing during this period was in 1963 when they lost to the Celtics in game 7 of the Eastern Division Finals.

The Kings then acquired the duo of Jack McMahon and Jerry Lucas who averaged 49.1 ppg 27.3 rpg and 13.6 assists combined. To go along with Oscar Robertson who averaged a career high 31.4 ppg and 11 assists per game and winning the MVP award. The 1963-64 season saw them make real strides as they finished with a 55-25 record and lost in the EDF again. They continued to fail in the playoffs up until the 66-67 season.

Chris Webber and Mike Bibby Lead the Franchise to it's Best Record

Years of Struggles

Bob Cousy then took over as coach in 1969 and the team was terrible with losing records up until 1974. Oscar Robertson was traded to Milwaukee. At one stage they lost 14 in a row -a franchise low. The Kings would relocate from Cincinnati to Kansas City in 1972 but it didn’t help them. They only had four seasons with winning records from 1972 up until the 1998-99 season. During this terrible stretch they had tried new owners and even Bill Russell as coach but nothing helped this team.

Chance to Contend

The 2000’s proved to be the franchise’s best apart from their early championship in 1951. They had a 55-27 record in 2000-01 and were swept by the Lakers in the second round of playoffs. However it was 2001-02 where the Kings were a real threat to win the title. Finshing with a franchise best 61-21 record. This team had Chris Webber (24.5pts and 10.1 rebpg), Peja Stojakovic (21.2ppg), Mike Bibby (13.7ppg 5.0 assists), Vlade Divac (11.1ppg 8.4 rpg) along with key role players Hedo Turkoglu, Doug Christie and Bobby Jackson. They ended up losing the Western Conference Finals to the Lakers in what now is considered one of the most controversial series to have taken place. They continued on their winning ways for the next season finishing with 59-23 and up until 2006-07 they continued to make the playoffs.

DeMarcus Cousins: Future of the Franchise?

Potential 2013-14 Lineup

PG: Gravis Vasquez, Isaiah Thomas
SG: Marcus Thornton, Ben McLemore, Jimmer Fredette
SF: Luc Mbah a Moute, Travis Outlaw

PF: Carl Landry, Patrick Patterson

C: DeMarcus Cousins, Chuck Hayes

Since this time they have been abysmal. Finishing 17-65 in 2009 and 28-54 last season. They’ve drafted players such as Tyreke Evans, Omri Casspi, Jimmer Fredette, DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas, which haven’t been the best recruits. Even this year the choice of Ben McLemore before CJ McCollum may be a regretful one. I expect them to continue to struggle this year and finish 14^th in the Western Conference. Hopefully their luck changes and they can have a shot for Andrew Wiggins who may be able to help this franchise return back to the success it had in the early 000’s.

Where will the Kings Finish this Season in the West?

Make Playoffs

9-10th

11-12th

13th

14th

15th

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Lebron: Will He Leave for LakerLand or Return Home Back to Ohio?

"I got a goal, and it's a huge goal, and that's to bring an NBA championship here to Cleveland, and I won't stop until I get it."

Lebron James said these famous words but the question remains will he live up to it? I think he will, he has an Early Termination Option for his contract with the Heat and he will use it to return to Cleveland in the 2014 summer and team up with Kyrie Irving and Andrew Bynum. He has shifted teams once before showing that he is a ring chaser and that was to team up with Wade and Bosh and not much else. It makes sense for him to go to Cleveland he would be with a Kyrie Irving who would be entering his prime and probably a top 5 player in the NBA in a few years, an Andrew Bynum who when healthy is the best offensive center in the game and not to mention Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, Tristan Thompson who are all about to enter their prime! Not to mention it would partner him up with his good pal Anderson Varejao and former coach Mike Brown. In Cleveland who knows how many rings he could end up with, my guess is more than 6. He would be turning 30 next year and about to enter the later part of his career why not do that with people who are about to enter their prime? It makes no sense for him to stay with an ageing Dwayne Wade or Ray Allen, a disappointing Chris Bosh and other veterans that are just there to make up the cap space. Yes he would be hated in Miami and around the league but the Cavaliers fans will love him again, how quickly one forgets after their home hero brings a few championship rings to the franchise. 

 

The Return?

The other option is to team up with Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony in Lakerland. If the three wanted this to happen they would take a pay cut and Steve Nash is still signed giving them four superstars. However Nash is nearing retirement, Kobe is coming of an achilles tear, although I wouldn’t count him out to contribute up until 40, and Carmelo is about the same age as Lebron. The age factor plus the chemistry issues that would entail make this hard to see working. Even if they could all get on the same page they could possibly win 2-3 rings together providing they all stay healthy and aren’t affected by age too much. Then again how would they fill out the rest of the roster?

Could this happen?

Would Nick Young, Wes Johnson, Chris Kaman and Jordan Farmar take a pay cut to stay with the Lakers as they have done this year? They have stated in their press conferences that they are just happy to be a Laker and if this is true and they do stay in LA to play with these three then you have an unstoppable team.

Either way I believe Lebron will not be in Miami next season because there is nothing left in Miami. Wade is injury prone and at the tail end of his career, Ray Allen too. Chris Bosh has shown that he cant always be counted on ala game seven with a grand total of zero points and the role players Chris Anderson, Haslem, Battier are all old and not really ideal counterparts. The Lakers Fans and media would put too much pressure on Lebron and he wouldn’t want it not to mention the chemistry issues with Nash, Kobe and Carmelo all looking to have the ball. Cavaliers have a bright future and he would be the hometown hero bringing the first ever ring to the franchise and putting his legacy on the team whereas Miami has always been Wade’s home and the Lakers Kobe’s. It would give Lebron a chance to have something of his own and make his own history if he went back to Cleveland.

Who WIll Lebron be Playing for in the 2014-15 Season?

Miami Heat

Cleveland Cavaliers

Los Angeles Lakers

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Emerging Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers

Can Kyrie Irving make himself a top 5 player in the league?

2013-14 Potential Lineup

PG: Kyrie Irving, Jarrett Jack

SG: Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, CJ Miles

SF: Anthony Bennett, Earl Clark

PF: Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller

C: Andrew Bynum, Anderson Varejao

The Cleveland Cavaliers had somewhat of a disappointing year last year finishing with a 24-58 (.293) record and placing 13^th in the Eastern Conference, a worse percentage than the season before: 21-45 (.318) 13^th in Eastern Conference. However the season was impacted by the injury of Anderson Varejao who was injured in early January for the rest of the season after averaging 14 points and 14 rebounds which was 2 more RPG than the NBA leader after the season (Dwight Howard). Furthermore star player Kyrie Irving missed 23 games with injury.

The Cavaliers will be determined to rebound from a couple of poor seasons and they have had a great offseason thus far, making them prime for a run to the playoffs. Mike Brown has been reinstated as head coach (potentially a move for Lebron?), they drafted Anthony Bennett as the number 1 draft pick, signed free agents Jarrett Jack and Earl Clark and took a chance at Andrew Bynum 2-time champ with the Lakers but has many injury concerns. It should be easy enough to improve over last years 24 win season, this team should aim to win 45-50 wins which may seem a little much at first but given that Kyrie Irving has continued to improve and will continue to do so and that he is helped by the other talented young players on the team I see no reason why 2 or 3 of the Cavs couldn’t have breakout years and really take the NBA by storm.

Kyrie Irving and their other young players have been gaining experience and talent as their careers have begun. Kyrie averaged 22.5 ppg 5.9 ast 3.9 rpg in only his second season, these numbers are better than Derrick Rose’s second season (he won MVP in his third). Dion Waiters averaged 14 points in only his first season, Tyler Zeller had 8pg and 5rpg for his first season and Tristan Thompson had 11ppg and 9rpg in his second season. Combine these guys with number 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett and they are set. The future definitely looks bright for Cleveland with these young players leading the charge. They have the talented guards and now with the addition of Andrew Bynum their frontcourt is a lot stronger

New starting centre Andrew Bynum

. He and Varejao should destroy the boards and beat most other frontcourts in the NBA. Varejao is a hustler, he dives for balls and his energy is evident in every match whereas Bynum is offensively skilled and has a plethora of post moves that can compete with any other big man in the league. They are a perfect fit and the health of these two will go a long way to deciding whether the Cavs make the playoffs.

If the team can stay healthy and that’s a big if after Bynum missed a whole season last year and Varejao missed half of it, then I have no doubt the Cavaliers should make the playoffs probably around the 6^th seed and have the potential to really push some of the elite teams come playoff time. They are in a tough division though with the Bulls and Pacers so they should be aiming for 3^rd in the Central division. With all this talented youth that raises the question, will Lebron return? (Read our next article to find out)

Where Will The Cavaliers End Up in the East?

1st-4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

Miss Playoffs

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Kobe: Shaq's Sidekick?

A usual point of discussion when bringing up the Greatest of All Time is that Shaq carried Kobe during his first three rings. This argument is probably the most overused, non-researched and uneducated view point that I have heard. Funnily enough usually the people referring to it did not even watch the Lakers win those titles. To say the Kobe was simply a sidekick is saying that if you took him off the Lakers they would still win three titles, which is wrong. It implies that he was not important but just a role player that could’ve been replaced easily.

Obviously Shaq was the number one guy during the Finals and his stats prove it but you need to get past three rounds before the finals and Kobe performed well in these. In the first three rounds of 2000 playoffs he averaged 22.8 ppg 4.4 rpg and 4.4 ast compared to Shaq’s 28.2 ppg 15.0 rpg and 3.4 ast. Kobe was only 21 years old this year and still managed to produce these numbers. The toughest series this season was Lakers vs Trailblazers and in Game 7 Kobe came to play leading the team with 25 points 11 rebounds 7 assists and 4 blocks. He was clearly the best for the Lakers, Shaq only had 18 points 9 rebounds 5 assists and 1 block.  Undoubtedly Kobe was the dominant player during this pivotal game 7 where the Lakers were down by 15, without this win they don’t even make the Finals let alone win their first ring! During the Finals against the Pacers of this year however he injured his ankle in Game 2 and did not play in Game 3 (a game the Lakers lost). Game 4 was when Kobe made his mark; he had a shocking game up until the end when Shaq fouled out with 2:33 remaining in overtime. At this point of the game Kobe had 3 isolation plays in a row- he scored on every one. He then scored a reverse layup which iced the game for the Lakers- his 8 points scored in overtime are the second most points in an NBA finals game in history. Again in game 6 he proved clutch as he hit five free throws in the final minutes. This was Kobe’s first ring and first Finals appearance, he had his struggles but was definitely a pivotal player for the Lakers.

In 2001 Kobe was now well known and ready for another title. He showed it during the first three rounds of the playoffs his stats looked like this: 31.6ppg 7rpg and 6.3ast. Pretty impressive stats for just a ‘sidekick’ hey? Compare this to Shaq’s stats: 29.3ppg 15.3rpg 2.5ast. Kobe also had back-to-back 45/10 games achieving 48 points 16 assists in game 4 of the WCSF and 45 points 10 assists in game 1 of the WCF. In the NBA finals against the 76ers he had back-to-back games of 30+ points over game 2 and 3. Shaq was clearly the better of the two in the Finals but over the course of the playoffs they were just as important. As a second option to average 31 points throughout the playoffs is incredible most first options can’t even average that!

2002 was the final year they won a championship together the finished the season with a 58-24 record third seed in the West behind the Kings and Spurs. Again the stats throughout the first 3 rounds of the playoffs show the importance Kobe. 26.6 ppg 5.8 rpg 4.4ast compared to Shaq’s 26.4ppg 12.7 rpg 2.6 ast. In this year the most important series was the WCF not the Finals as the Kings were far stronger than any East team and were the number 1 seed. Lakers found themselves down 3-2 facing elimination but in game 6 Kobe scored 31 and Shaq 41 followed by a game 7 where Kobe had 30 &10 Shaq 35&13. During the Finals it was mostly a comfortable win for the Lakers the only issues coming in game 3. Finding themselves behind entering the 4^th quarter and with Shaq starting on the bench and Kobe launched the comeback scoring 12 points that quarter and 36 for the game. Kobe again took over the 4^th quarter in game scoring 11 points and sealing the three-peat. 
Here are some of the stats from Kobe in his 2002-03 season when he should've won the MVP as he was clearly the best player in the NBA:
 30 ppg 7 rpg 6 apg 2.2 spg against both handchecking and zone
 1st team All-Defensive
 1st team All-NBA 
40+ points 19 times in 82 games
 40+ in 9 striaght 
35+ in 13 straight 
NBA record 12 threes in a game
 50+ points 3 times 
42 ppg in February 2003 (Jordan never averaged 40 ppg for a month in regular season, Kobe did it 3 times)
 5 straight double doubles with 2 triple doubles in the 1st 5 games of the 2002-2003 season 
 27/10 25/10 33/15 34/14 15/13 Just incredible

As you can see the numbers Kobe put up do not indicate he was merely a sidekick or was carried by Shaq. It is simply untrue. He consistently took over fourth quarters even during 2000 when he was just 21 and yet to win a ring. He came through when it mattered most in times throughout all three titles and he averaged more points for the last two years during the three rounds of playoffs. The argument that Kobe really only has won 2 rings is absolutely invalid and is proven throughout this article that without Kobe the Lakers do not win these rings. 

Will the Miami Heat Three Peat?

On the back of the big 3 Miami have been the reigning champions two years in a row now and made the finals three times in a row. Their impressive display against the Thunder in 2012 confirmed that the Heat would be a serious threat for many years. What made them even scarier was the fact that their role players such as Miller, Battier, Haslem and Chalmers were playing well. Coming into the next season they managed to pick up Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen making it seemingly impossible for anyone to compete with them.

Taking a closer look at the series vs. the Thunder Shane Battier was incredible. He became the first player since Dennis Scott to make four triples in four straight post-season games! Chalmers had a 25-point game in game 4 and Haslem was pretty good on the rebounds for most of the series. Then of course Mike Miller raining down SEVEN three pointers in game 5 to clinch the title! These players’ great performances combined with the domination of Lebron James averaging 28.6ppg 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists- incredible numbers- made it impossible for OKC to stand a chance especially with Harden somewhat fading away.

Coming into the 2013 NBA Finals Series, Miami had just passed Indiana and Spurs had cruised by Memphis in what promised to be a great Finals matchup. The league was about to see why Ray Allen was signed by the Heat- because he delivers in the big moments and there was none other than game 6 when he hit the three to send it into overtime.  In this series the role players that stepped up were Chalmers, Miller and Ray Allen. The other new recruit Birdman was more effective in previous series during the playoffs. Mike Miller hit a crazy 61% of his threes while Shane Battier waited until Game 7 to do his best work but Chris Bosh was nowhere to be seen he really struggled this series and depended on Lebron and Wade to carry the team.

The question is now can Miami again count on its role players to step up once again? They have resigned Chris Anderson and Rashard Lewis; apart from that they have made no acquisitions yet. By amnestying Mike Miller it takes away a three-point threat that has consistently delivered over the last two years in the Finals. The roster up until this point has gone backwards and we know in the NBA you can’t stay still and expect to be in the same position you were last year, which is why the Heat have to make moves if it expects to win again.

Ray Allen's big 3

 Will Battier, Allen and the other vets be a little more complacent now? They won their titles now do they really have the drive to do it again? Wade’s health is also a concern he has been struggling with knee issues, there is a cloud over Bosh’s status if he will be kept or traded and uncertainty over whether Lebron will stay with the team or switch back to the Cavaliers. The lack of roster upgrades combined with the amount of uncertainties at this point in time with key players make it very doubtful to see the Heat three peat.

What’s even worse for the Heat is that the teams all around them in the Eastern Conference have improved over last year. Pacers regain Danny Granger and signed CJ Watson and Chris Copeland, Brooklyn picked up Paul Pierce, KG, Jason Terry and Andre Kirilenko, Chicago will have Derrick Rose back and the Knicks signed Metta World Peace and Andrea Bargnani while hopefully Amare Stoudemire achieves full health as well. It will be a hard task for the Heat to overcome these teams while not making many changes apart from Greg Oden to their own roster at all.