Can anyone in the Eastern Conference stop the Miami Heat?

• The Miami Heat are dominating the New York Knicks and now Amare Stoudamire is hurt.
• I am sure that the Miami Heat will advance to the next round.
• The Chicago Bull have lost Derek Rose.  Even if the Chicago Bulls can advance in the playoffs, without Derek Rose, the Chicago Bulls have no shot of beating the Miami Heat.
• The Boston Celtics are always a tough team.  However, with aging players like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, I highly doubt that they can beat the Miami Heat in a 7 game series.
• The Atlanta Hawks have some talent with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith and some other nice players.  However, without Al Harford, the Atlanta Hawks cannot beat the Miami Heat in a 7 games series.
• Without Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic do not have enough to challenge the Miami Heat in a 7 game series.
• The Philadelphia 76ers are a scrappy group and they may get by a Derek Rose-less Chicago Bulls.  However, the Philadelphia 76ers do not have enough to seriously challenge the Miami Heat.
• The only team in the Eastern Conference that can even pretend to compete against the Miami Heat in a 7 game series is the Indiana Pacers.
• The Indiana Pacers are the only team left in the Eastern Conference that has a traditional center in Roy Hibbert.  Roy Hibbert provides the Pacers an advantage over the Miami Heat’s center Joel Anthony.
• The Indiana Pacers have powers forwards David West and Tyler Hansbrough.   West and Hansbrough are capable of matching the Miami Heat’s power forwards of Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem.
• The Indiana Pacers’ point guards of Darren Collison and George Hill can compete with the Miami Heat’s point guards of Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole.
• The Indiana Pacers two most talented players are Paul George and Danny Granger.  George and Granger play the same positions as the Miami Heat’s two most talented players, Dwayne Wade and LeBron.
• Certainly, Paul George and Danny Granger are not as good as Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.
• However, if George and Granger can at least be competitive against Wade and James, then this will at least give the Indiana Pacers a punchers chance against the Miami Heat.
• Still, I would expect the Miami Heat to easily advance to the NBA Finals.

 

Evaluating the NBA trade deadline

• Washington Wizards – The Washington Wizards needed to surround John Wall with more talent.  Getting Nene is a step in the right direction for the Wizards.
• Los Angeles Clippers – When Chauncey Billups went down, that was a big loss for the Clippers.  The addition of Nick Young was a good pick-up for the Los Angeles Clippers.
• Denver Nuggets – The Denver Nuggets are a middle of the pack team.  With JaVale McGee, the Denver Nuggets are getting out of Nene’s contract and they are getting young potential..
• Los Angeles Lakers – Getting Ramon Sessions and losing Derek Fisher is a step in the right direction for the Lakers.  Still, I do not think that it’s enough for the Los Angeles Lakers to win an NBA title this year.  The Lakers also got more cap relief for next year.
• Houston Rockets – The Houston Rockets got Derek Fisher and Marcus Camby.  The Houston Rockets are not good enough to pick-up aging veterans.  I do not understand these moves for the Rockets.
• San Antonio Spurs – Richard Jefferson has been a major disappointment for the San Antonio Spurs.  Stephen Jackson had success with the San Antonio Spurs.  The San Antonio Spurs are true contenders to come out of the West.
• Portland Trailblazers – The Portland Trailblazers have gutted their team by trading Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby.  The worst thing you can be in the NBA is average.  Now, the Portland Trailblazers have a chance to rebuild by being bad.  I am curious to see what kind of impact Hasheem Thabeet can have for the Portland Trailblazers if given minutes.
• Cleveland Cavaliers – The Cleveland Cavaliers got some cap relief and a first round draft pick.  This make sense for where the Cleveland Cavaliers are in their development.
• New Jersey Nets – Getting Gerald Wallace improves the Nets.  However, the New Jersey Nets were the big losers of the day since Dwight Howard is going to stay with the Orlando Magic for another year.  Deron Williams is now going to leave the Nets after the season.  The New Jersey Nets should have traded Deron Williams once they learned that Dwight Howard is staying with the Magic.  Good luck to the Nets when they move to Brooklyn.
• Indiana Pacers – Leandro Barbosa is a nice little pick-up for the Indiana Pacers.  The Toronto Raptors trading Barbosa for a 2nd round pick is fine given where they are in their development.
• Philadelphia 76ers – Sam Young may provide the Philadelphia 76ers with a little depth and some defense.  This was a non-move for the Memphis Grizzlies.  Overall, not much of a move for either the 76ers or the Grizzlies.
• Golden State Warriors – With Andre Bogut and Richard Jefferson, the Golden State Warriors now have a chance to build a traditional NBA roster instead of playing small ball.  I think the Andrew Bogut is a good gamble for the Warriors.
• Milwaukee Bucks – The combination of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings maybe exciting, but is not a winning combination.  The Milwaukee Bucks shall continue to be stuck in NBA purgatory.
• Orlando Magic – By Dwight Howard not opting out of his contract, the Orlando Magic will have an outside chance to compete for an NBA Championship this year and another off-season to bring in another piece to help Dwight Howard.
• Dallas Mavericks – Without making a deal, the Dallas Mavericks were the big winners of the NBA Trade Deadline as the Dallas Mavericks are now the favorite to sign Deron Williams as a free agent this summer.