Heating Up in South Beach

The Playoffs have Arrived

Going against pre-season criticism such as "too much talent on one team like this isn't going to work, they won't make the playoffs" or "They're just going to crash and burn, three stars hogging the ball the whole time" have been eliminated as the playoffs are now here and the Miami Heat, along with the "Big Three," Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, have clinched the No. 2 seed out of the Eastern Conference.

The Heat started out the season along a little bit of a rough patch, relying solely on high-scoring games from James or Wade and weren't really creating a flowing chemistry throughout the team. However, against the odds, they won 20 out of 21 games in a stretch from November 29th to January 9th, improving their record from 10-8 to 30-9. They then captured the attention of the NBA and sports analysts throughout: "maybe these guys are for real," but I guess you could expect a few wins down the stretch especially if you have three all-stars on one team, but it is more than that because these three guys, Wade, James, and Bosh, have become the team that everyone was afraid they would and now have the potential to beat anyone.

Miami has also created a well-involved bench including the sharpshooting ability of James Jones, Eddie House, and Mike Miller to drain 3-pt shots when the team needs a boost. Another advantage is the versatility at the point guard position with the introduction of Mike Bibby to the team. Bibby, an excellent shooter, gives someone else for head coach Erik Spoelstra to look to in addition to the former Kansas Jayhawk Mario Chalmers.

Going into the playoffs the Heat are coming off key wins against the Atlanta Hawks as well as their Eastern Rivals the Boston Celtics, drawing blood against them for the first win of the season series.

The Heat definitely have the skill, but do they have the heart and the depth that former World Championship teams have had in the past? I guess we'll see. I hope to keep you updated on the latest throughout the playoffs. Thanks for reading!