Lakers Try To Threepeat Against The Talented Heat

The big story of the offseason is the talented trio of the Miami Heat. LeBron James, Dewayne Wade, and Chris Bosh are all down in South Beach hoping to knock off the two time defending champs. While everyone is giving the title to the Heat already, the Lakers are still a formidable foe in the West. They return most of the roster that defeated the Celtics in an epic seven game series in the NBA Finals.

In my opinion the Heat will represent the East in the Finals and the Lakers will represent the West. The Lakers only weakness is at the center position where Andrew Bynum still has not recovered from last season's injuries. In order for the Lakers to hold off the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland TrailBlazers; they will need a healthy Bynum. If Bynum is able to come back and play at a 90% level, then expect to see the Lakers in the Finals for a third straight year.

What were the Heat thinking?

The Miami Heat traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Jermaine O'Neal, Jamario Moon and a draft pick. I don't understand exactly what the Heat were thinking. This move would make sense if the Heat were getting 2003 or 2004 Jermaine O'Neal but the Heat are getting 2008 Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal has seen his scoring average decline for the last 5 years. He may only be 30 but he has played 12 NBA seasons which makes his body closer to 35. Miami has no idea what to expect from him on a nightly basis. O'Neal is as likely to give the Heat 7 points as he is 20 points. He is no longer an elite big man and is not a consistent player.

The Heat lose Shawn Marion's expiring contract and have to pay 23 million dollars to a big man who is worth nowhere near that amount of money. I think that the Heat would have been better served to have used Marion's expiring contract to go after Carlos Boozer or Amar'e Stoudamire. Both are younger big men with much more upside. Boozer is a free agent and Stoudamire could have been gotten through a trade. I do like the pickup of Jamario Moon because he enables Dwyane Wade to save energy on the defensive end of the court. Moon can guard the Kobe's and Lebron's while Wade can focus on defending lesser talents.

I don't think this trade makes Toronto much better. The Raptors have an uphill task of even trying to get a number 8 seed in the East. They don't have any realistic shot of getting past the first round if they are able to get in the playoffs. This does give the Raptors cap room for the off season but I don't see them being able to entice any of the star free agents to come play in Toronto. The Raptors will have a hard enough time convincing Chris Bosh not to bolt after next season.