5 Reasons Why the Heat may NOT Repeat

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You must’ve already read our take on why the Miami Heat will REPEAT and become the NBA Champions once again this season. But it would be boring if we automatically assume that the Heat will win it all. After all, there’s going to be a lot of basketball to be played this season and a lot of teams are gunning for that elusive trophy.

So how about we look at things in a different perspective? Here are 5 Reasons why the Miami Heat will NOT repeat as champions this season!

 

1.)    Wade and Bosh’s Health

 

The Miami Heat barely made it to the NBA Finals last season. The injured Boston Celtics pushed the Heat to 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Imagine if the Celtics managed to close the Heat out? Truth be told, the Miami Heat got lucky (which isn’t a bad thing).

 

The Heat had a banged up Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh also missed some games due to injury. If the Heat aren’t healthy come Playoff time, they may not make it past the Eatern Conference Finals. LeBron’s talent alone can’t catapult the Heat to another NBA title. He needs Wade and Bosh to be healthy for them to make it back to the NBA Finals.

 

2.)    The Interior is Still Weak

 

Well it looks like the Eddy Curry experiment didn’t last long. Pat Riley probably figured out that Curry was taking too much space on the bench. In all seriousness though, the Miami Heat cut Eddy Curry and did not make any significant addition to bolster their frontcourt.

 

It seems that the Miami Heat are going to continue sporting a non-traditional line-up without a real center. The Heat will start Chris Bosh at center and hope for the best. With Andrew Bynum making his way to Philadelphia, the Heat may face some trouble in the interior. The teams in the East such as the Celtics, Knicks, and Nets could take advantage of the Heat’s interior weaknesses and potentially expose them in the playoffs.

 

3.)    Carmelo Anthony says Hi!

 

It’s not a secret that Carmelo Anthony always had LeBron James’ number since High school. Although LeBron got the best out of Melo in last season’s playoffs, there’s no guarantee that LBJ can expect the same results this season.

 

Melo’s Knicks are gunning for the Eastern Conference Championship with a revamped roster. With the additions of point guard Jason Kidd, defensive big man Marcus Camby, defensive ace Ronnie Brewer, and new starting point guard Raymond Felton amongst others, the Knicks are poised to debut their best line up in over a decade.

 

Carmelo Anthony is regarded as the best player in the NBA right now not to have won an NBA title, and many believe that his time may soon come. Heat fans… What if it is Melo’s time this season?

 

4.)    The Hunger is Gone

 

LeBron James, after a long wait, FINALLY got the trophy that he dreamed of since he entered the league. The “King without a Ring” or “Ringless” jokes are now old news and LeBron finally got that chip off of his shoulder. So this potentially begs the question of what else is LeBron James playing for? Whether the Heat will be as hungry as MJ’s Bulls teams of the 1990’s or Shaq+Kobe’s Lakers remains to be seen.

 

Given that guys like Mike Miller, James Jones, Shane Battier, and even 2nd year player Norris Cole won a title last year, the hunger might not be there. Whether the additions of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis provide the same intensity remains to be seen.  Rashard will most certainly want that seemingly elusive title, but it remains to be seen if the Heat can  muster the same intensity this season because of  already having  won it all.

 

5.)    The Lakers are on a Mission

 

If the Heat make it all the way back to the Eastern Conference finals for a 3rd straight year and to the Finals for a 3rd straight time , the odds on favorite to be there waiting them are the newly revamped Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers like the Knicks are now stronger than they have ever been in a decade, but in the Lakers sense this means so much more because it”s only been two years since they last won back to back titles.

The prospect for any team to have to face a team that includes the likes  of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Paul Gasol, Dwight Howard, Metta World Peace ,and Antwan Jamison is a daunting one.  With Steve Nash running the point, Kobe Bryant should get much easier shots and be more rested for the post season. In a hypothetical finals match up,  Dwight Howard’s presence down low could give the Heat seemingly infinite pain given how soft and undersized their interior D is.

 

The Heat may not have enough weapons to beat the Lakers in the NBA Finals, should they meet. But nothing’s for certain and that’s why the games are played and watched.

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