16 sports November 17, 2010 + Over the Edge NBA 2010/2011 Season Preview: Will the Heat Take it all? OTE Sports Editor Brock Campbell makes some predictions for this seasons NBA BROCK CAMPBELL SPORTS EDITOR As the new sports editor | want to hear from my readers (if there are any out there), | want to know their opinions, | want to know who I’m talking too. This has prompted me to challenge you, the reader, to respond to my voice. And | like to think | know hoops, which has led me to give an extensive preview of the 2010-2011 Season. Of course the big question this year is will the Heat take it all? My answer is no. If you disagree, or have a beef with any of my picks then send me a response with who you think will come out as NBA champs, with a brief explanation why. E-mail me at over-the-edge@unbc.ca, Subject: NBA Preview, we may even publish your response, if you don’t crush my ego too badly. Here is how the league will play out this season: Western Conference Pacific Northwest Southwest 1. L.A. Lakers (1) 1. Oklahoma 1. Dallas (2) City (3) 2. Phoenix (7) 2. Houston (4) 2. Portland (5) 3. Golden State (8) 3. San Antonio (6) 3. Denver 4. L.AClippers 4. Memphis 4. Utah 5. Sacramento 5. New Orleans 5. Minnesota Eastern Conference Atlantic Central Southeast 1. Boston (3) 1. Chicago (4) 1. Miami (1) 2. New York (7) 2. Milwaukee (6) 2. Orlando (2) 3. Philadelphia 3. Indiana (8) 3. Atlanta (5) 4. Toronto 4. Detroit 4. Charlotte 5. New Jersey 5. Cleveland 5. Washington Western Conference In the West there is an interesting balance of youth and experience. Golden State, L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City, Portland and Memphis are all young teams capable of making a run at the playoffs this year. Compare them to the veteran loaded Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks and Nuggets and the Western Conference is a battle between young and old. Houston, Utah and Phoenix are a mix of both but only the Suns and the Rockets will make the post-season. The Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks will lock down their typical playoff spots leaving only three other berths open for the eager youth to wrap- up, which will make the conference intensely competitive and every game more and more important. One of those spots will definitely go to Oklahoma City (OKC). Last season the Thunder nearly knocked out the eventual champion L.A. Lakers in the first-round. This year OKC, with early MVP candidate Kevin Durant expected to dominate the league, the Thunder will win their division having only Portland and Denver to contend with. OKC should finish with at least a third seed in the playoffs and a solid chance at meeting the Lakers in the conference final. The remaining two playoff spots will go to Golden State and Portland. In the last few years Portland has established itself as a team that can win 50 or more games a season. Playing in the Northwest, the weakest division in the Western Conference, the Trailblazers should have no problem doing the same this year. Portland not only has one of the strongest backcourts in the NBA, but also has size and athleticism in the frontcourt, making them a difficult opponent for all teams across the league. The addition of Andre Miller last year at point relieved Brandon Roy being the Blazers primary ball-handler, thus, enabling Roy to focus more on what he does best, scoring. If Greg Oden decides to no longer be a band-aid this season then Portland will add to an already massive frontline that includes Lamarcus Aldridge, Joel Pryzibilla and seasoned veteran Marcus Camby. | admit some bias in picking the Warriors, as they are a personal favorite. But with Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry as one of the most exciting backcourts in the league, and having added David Lee to its frontcourt, the Warriors will be a high-powered offense. This may be one of my more highly contested picks; Golden State’s defense will be questioned all year and the L.A. Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz could very well deserve that final playoff spot. With Carmelo constantly being discussed in trade rumors, the Nuggets off-court issues will be Denver’s downfall on the court. The Clippers may be playoff contenders this year but they’re the Clippers. With Blake Griffin now healthy, they will certainly improve on their 29-53 record from last year, but L.A. will once again rely heavily on injury- prone Baron Davis to provide the offense. Furthermore, the Clippers young backcourt, Eric Gordon and rookie Eric Bledsoe, who will back-up Davis, will struggle to protect the ball. Utah does have the experience and leadership to make the playoffs. Deron Williams is arguably one of the best point- guards in the league; however, the loss of Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver to Chicago will hurt the Jazz offense, leaving the door open for Golden State to claim the final playoff position Eastern Conference With three of the NBA's top talents on their roster, the focus on the East will definitely be toward measuring Miami's success. With Lebron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on its roster the odds are certainly stacked in Miami’s favor. But it won't be a cake walk for the Heat, and as | have already suggested Miami will have to postpone its championship parade, at least until next year. Often considered the weaker conference between the two, the East now possesses several competitive franchises who on any given night could challenge Miami. Charlotte, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Indiana and Chicago, once considered the league’s dumpster teams, are now competitive playoff contenders. Even New York who hasn’t made the playoffs in seven years, could land a playoff spot with Amar’e Stoudemire in the lineup. Understandably they don’t have the talent Miami has but there are some athletic, grinder teams that could cause problems for Miami this season. Chicago was a young .500 team last season, which has added depth to an already strong core that includes phenom point-guard Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. (Numbers Represent Playoff Berths) Eastern Conference Finals: Miami over Orlando Western Conference Finals: L.A. Lakers over Oklahoma City Champions: L.A. Lakers over Miami Having added Boozer, Korver and Ronnie Brewer, Chicago will be one of the deepest teams this season, whose athleticism will create problems for all teams including Miami. Also, Chicago should have no problem clinching the top spot in the Central Division, which was often reserved for the Cavaliers who will obviously suffer horribly without Lebron. The only team who may challenge Chicago in the Central is Milwaukee. Indiana will likely clinch its first playoff berth since 2006, primarily because Charlotte who made it last season after seven years absence will not. In order for Miami to make it through to the Finals the Heat will have to burn through some tough teams. They should pummel Indiana , however, their next opponent would most likely be Boston. The Celts, since creating their own three-headed monster, have been one of the toughest playoff teams in the NBA. Garnett, Allen, Peirce and Rondo, won it all in 2008, and last post-season knocked- out Cleveland and Orlando before losing to L.A. in seven. They’ve proven they can beat the top teams when it counts and adding Shaq brings a new dimension to the club that may complicate things for Miami. If they get past Boston then Miami will have to bring down the Magic, which in all fairness might prove to be easier than beating Boston. Howard will own Bosh inside but the Magic don’t have the backcourt defenders to contain Wade and James. Finals Preview Miami will advance to the ONLINE SOURCE championship; however, | am not confidentthey candefeatthe Lakers. The difference in the finals will be the Lakers talented frontcourt and its defense. Of course a lot of the Lakers success depends on Kobe’s play, but ‘bean’ no longer needs to score thirty a night, he’s learned to win by using his teammates and stepping up when he is needed. It is the play of his supporting cast that will result in another Laker three-peat. Pau Gasol is the best overall center in the league, Andrew Bynum when healthy is an all-star, and Lamar Odom’s size and athleticism stretches out the defense. This type of depth inside will be too much for the Heat to handle. Miami doesn’t have the size down low to handle the Lakers’ bigs. Bosh has the length but he is weak on the box and can’t handle the strength of Gasol or Bynum. Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a plug, Joel Anthony is too small and Jamaal Magloire can’t run with Gasol. But how will L.A. stop the big three? Ron Artest, Matt Barnes and Theo Ratliff. Look for Phil Jackson to rest these players down the stretch and throughout the playoffs as they will be assigned to pester Miami’s stars, particularly Wade and Bosh. Artest is a proven shutdown defender and Barnes before joining the Lakers has been known to even frustrate the best there is: KOBE! So there it is the Lakers over Heat. If you think I’m full of it send me a reply at over-the-edge@unbc.ca also check me out on Twitter for T- Wolves and all sports updates and opinions at rbcampbell82/twitter. com.