Back in June, after LeBron James announced that he was taking his talents to South Beach, many people would have thought that an NBA preview would begin and end with the Miami Heat. Now, three days into the season, folks may be ready to put the bubbly back in the fridge in Miami.
This is not to diss the Heat, who have, arguably, the second and third best players in the world on their roster (sorry folks, but to be the man you must beat the man - and I've got Kobe still with the crown on his head). Any team with players like D-Wade and LeBron will win an enormous amount of games on sheer talent alone. That said, there have been teams such as the Julius Erving/George McGinis/Doug Collins/World B. Free/Caldwell Jones/Darryl Dawkins/Harvey Catchings/Joe Bryant/Terry Furlow et al '76-78 Sixers - perhaps the most talented team in sports history ever to NOT win a championship - that have been loaded with talent and nonetheless came up empty.
To be honest, as talented as Miami is at the top of their roster, the jury is probably still out on the balance of the roster. It remains to be seen whether they will have enough good shooters to spread the floor enough so that Wade and James will have enough room with which to work. Failing that, the basic strategy against them would be to basically play a 2-3 zone packed into the paint, daring them all to shoot from outside...because certainly you've got a better chance with any of them from outside than with them driving to the rim.
With all this said, my picks for the divisions are as follows:
Atlantic - Boston
Central - Chicago
Southeast - Miami
Northwest - Oklahoma City
Pacific - Lakers
Southwest - San Antonio
Most improved in the East - New Jersey, with Avery Johnson at the helm. He will have them playing defense to the extent that playing the Nets will not be an automatic win at all anymore.
Most improved in the West - Either Golden State...who will obviously be hard-pressed to make their improvement translate into a playoff spot...or Oklahoma City. I see the Thunder improving simply because future MVP Kevin Durant and their young stars continue to get better. Sooner or later the championship trophy will reside there...but as for this year...
I envision a Boston-Miami final in the eastern conference, and in the still-loaded western conference, perhaps the Spurs on the veteran end of things or OKC on the youthful end may be able to deny the Lakers their opportunity to three-peat...though I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
