[easyliving]

Don't let the juice scare you @-185(5dimes) they have absolutely no competition left in the east with Rondo going down. Beginning of the year I thought a fully healthy Boston team can challenge team and I am certain if Bradley was healthy Boston would have won the series last year. For now in the East it is Miami and the others with a wide gap. Lets look at the other 3 teams that are considered decent in the East.

Knicks- offensively inept besides Melo. There #2 scorer J.R Smith is shooting 40% from the field which is ridiculous. They have no second scorer and would get dominated by the Heat in a playoff series with the game being slowed down. Don't overestimate the 2 regular season wins over the Heat, the first game was an emotional game and the second game was on a night where the Knicks were shooting lights out from 3.

Indiana- physical team that can give the Heat alot of trouble inside and Heat clearly don't matchup well against them due to the lack of a big man. However even in a playoff series Heat would likely find a way to win 1 on the road and eliminate them.

Chicago-Perhaps the team that would challenge the Heat the most especially if Rose is back to his old self again. I am worried that Rose might actually affect their rhythm on the defensive side of the ball however offensively they will be a different team not to mention Boozer, Noah and Deng all playing very well.

I will definitely make a play on this however I am contemplating whether I should wait or not as the line might improve once Rose comes back or if Heat aren't the first seed.

[Mitchell88]

[mcduggly]

Agreed. Chicago will take them over once Rose gets back.

[Easy-Rider 66]

Chicago +750 to win the East. Nice value if Rose comes back to his old self. But have to agree that Miami should be able to advance to the finals. Might wait a little bit to see if you get a better price though.

[Sport_Fish]

Of course they're a lock...Heat have already beaten Bulls when they were healthy - Bulls stand no chance in a series against them. LeBron can shut down a healthy Rose and they have nobody else that can close for them, simple.

Even with Rondo Celtics would not beat Miami, but since he's out, this doesn't even leave room for debate.

Knicks? Please.

Just a matter of having your money tied up. I think ill wait a bit longer because I agree that the price could get a bit better if Rose comes back and Bulls click...Or might just wait closer to playoff time and pay a bit heavier price in exchange for having money tied up for a lower amount of time. But yeah regardless, there is absolutely no way Heat are not getting out this slug-fest conference.

[tto827]

Of course they're a lock...Heat have already beaten Bulls when they were healthy - Bulls stand no chance in a series against them. LeBron can shut down a healthy Rose and they have nobody else that can close for them, simple.

Even with Rondo Celtics would not beat Miami, but since he's out, this doesn't even leave room for debate.

Knicks? Please.

Just a matter of having your money tied up. I think ill wait a bit longer because I agree that the price could get a bit better if Rose comes back and Bulls click...Or might just wait closer to playoff time and pay a bit heavier price in exchange for having money tied up for a lower amount of time. But yeah regardless, there is absolutely no way Heat are not getting out this slug-fest conference.

Bellinelli? Have you seen him go to work to close games? Incredible, Deng is fine too.

[HardCore]

Listin carefully ppl how many times do I have to tell y'all this the Knicks will best the heat n a series they won't beat anybody else but trust me they'll beat Miami 2 reasons
1. Hear can't rebound. Knicks have chandler n amare nuff said...remember the 2011 finals
2. Heat play no peremiter d at all there's a reason why the Knicks 3s were falling all gm lol they were wide the penetrate open.
I live in Miami I watch this overrated ass team they won't beat chi or nyk

[Sport_Fish]

Bellinelli? Have you seen him go to work to close games? Incredible, Deng is fine too.

Yeah Bellinelli is gonna close the Heat in a playoff series

Deng could be a problem at times, but again, Heat have a plethora of solid defenders and the best team defense anyone can play, so I don't think it'll be a problem at the end of the day.

[mcduggly]

Listin carefully ppl how many times do I have to tell y'all this the Knicks will best the heat n a series they won't beat anybody else but trust me they'll beat Miami 2 reasons
1. Hear can't rebound. Knicks have chandler n amare nuff said...remember the 2011 finals
2. Heat play no peremiter d at all there's a reason why the Knicks 3s were falling all gm lol they were wide the penetrate open.
I live in Miami I watch this overrated ass team they won't beat chi or nyk

I think Noah is a better offensive rebounder than anyone on the Knicks, which is why I like the Bulls more than the Knicks to beat the Heat. Amare and Chandler can do some damage inside against the Heat though. I guess we'll see.

[mcduggly]

Yeah Bellinelli is gonna close the Heat in a playoff series

Deng could be a problem at times, but again, Heat have a plethora of solid defenders and the best team defense anyone can play, so I don't think it'll be a problem at the end of the day.

Great team defense doesn't matter if they aren't collecting the rebounds. Where do they stack up in the league in terms of offensive boards against? Exactly.

[easyliving]

Knicks will finally win a series and lose in the 2nd round.

[Sport_Fish]

Great team defense doesn't matter if they aren't collecting the rebounds. Where do they stack up in the league in terms of offensive boards against? Exactly.

They suck at the boards because of their lack of inside presence...but then again, who did they really have last year there? And they won a championship. Exactly.

[bjb7223]

of course they're going to win the East. The refs will make sure of that. anyone that bets against them is a fool.