The NBA Playoffs are almost upon us in 2011, and the Miami Heat have been one of the main storylines throughout the entire season. It all began back in July when LeBron James announced he would join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach. You all remember "The Decision," do you not?
Exactly. It is the main reason why people root against the Heat now, whereas before, people barely knew they existed.
This has been an up and down season for Miami. They started off slowly, heated up during the middle of the year, and then sort of leveled out a bit before reeling off eight wins in their past 10 games.
Sure, they are absolutely horrible against teams who are superior to them in the standings, but they will not face any of them in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
That won't happen until the second round when they get annihilated by the Boston Celtics.
As of now, it appears as if these two teams are destined to meet in the second round. Neither looks like they can catch the Chicago Bulls for the top spot, but both will finish ahead of the Orlando Magic for the fourth seed. If they can both come out victorious against the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks (matchups to be determined), the two will meet in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
A month or so back, I felt as if the Heat would not survive the first round. But after watching how the Knicks have been playing, and that the Sixers just really aren't that good, I have changed my mind.
As a sports writer, I always reserve that right. It is in everyone's contract from day one.
But now, I feel that the Heat are good enough to get past the Knicks or 76ers. But it has nothing to do with my feeling that Miami has improved. It is simply mathematics.
The Heat beat the bad teams. If their opponent has a worse record than them, they usually trounce them. If their opponent is better than them, then it will almost always show in the final outcome.
Therefore, Miami has a much better record than Philadelphia and New York. That almost guarantees that they will win at least four out of seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
To those who disagree, I have just one question:
Don't you know math?
Miami will advance past the first round. But when they take on the Celtics in the second round, it will be a different story. People can say what they want about the Celtics being too old or beat up or slow. But when the playoffs roll around, they become a totally refreshed team.
Nothing leads me to think that this year will be any different. Miami will find that out soon enough.
For an opposing view, make sure to check out Bleacher Report Heat Featured Columnist John Friel, who takes a look at Dwyane Wade: Miami Heat Will Win the NBA Title If He, Not LeBron James, Leads the Way.
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