Title defense will start on the road for Miami Heat..Is is easy?

it is not going to be a smooth ride for the defending champs the Miami heat for this year. they have a very tough first round match-up against the bulls. with a team that that can explode any given game, especially Gordon and Hinrich, who can score at will. i think that series alone will be decided at the 7th game. take note, though Wade is already back in the line-up, he is still not the same Wade he have seen all season long. His injury will play a factor not in that series alone but for the entire Playoffs. Even if the Heat will make it to the Finals again, the will be facing either the Spurs or the Suns. I didn't mention the Mavericks because they will be losing their first round match-up against the Warriors.

this season would be a lot tougher for the miami heat. 1.) finals MVP dwyane wade has not yet fully recovered from his shoulder injury and has to play with the hurt the whole playoffs. wade gave up undergoing a surgery to play for the playoffs, something that could really affect his performance. 2.) eastern conference teams has gone major revamps during the offseason and during the course of the season. cleveland got lebron james, ilgauskas, gooden, marshall, hughes and other reliable players. plus cleveland already got some ample playoff experience that they could bring on this season. chicago on the other hand, got the most prized free agent in the off season, ben wallace. wallace added paint intimidation for the versatile and young bulls. another playoff experienced young team, chicago might give miami a run in the first round. and of course, the detroit pistons. still as deadly as ever, the pistons might have set their eyes on a revenge against the heat. 3.) if ever the heat could make it past the first round, they've got to face either dallas, phoenix or san antonio in the finals. i dont think i have to elaborate further on this. the only bright spot is see for miami is alonzo mourning. zo still brings in his tenacious shot blocking ability to intimidate players who try to cruise in the lane. but still i believe in what the heat can do. shaq, payton, eddie jones, walker, williams.. these guys are veterans and could handle these situations pretty well.

The road to the first two-peat since 2002 is hard for the Miami Heat. In fact, in my post in NBA, entitled "Playoff Picture", I predicted that the Chicago Bulls could clinch a quarterfinals berth in six and could reach the NBA Finals for the first time of the post-Jordan era, only to lose to Dallas (just go there to check my forecast). With the Bulls drawing first blood last Sunday, I could say that my forecast is going on a right track, tough luck that Golden State drew first blood as well. Just hope that D-Wade, Kazaam, and company will get back on track tomorrow (Manila Time).