Can the Heat Three-Peat?

After joining forces in 2010, the Miami Heat led by LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh has become one of the most hated, yet prolific teams ever assembled. During the first three years they reached three NBA Finals, losing in 2011 to the Mavericks and beating the Thunder in 2012 and the Spurs in 2013. Now, in their fourth year together, they seek to do what very few teams have done in NBA history: winning three in a row. But, what are the real chances of achieving their goal? Let´s see:

The East is Weak

Long ago, the East has been home to some of the most unstoppable team ever, like the Bulls led by Jordan, Bird´s Celtics or the Bad Boy Pistons. However, the east has seen a decrease in the talent of the teams, to the point that only the Pacers can keep up with the Heat, as proved by the last two meetings in the Playoffs when the Heat suffer a lot to defeat the team coached by Frank Voguel. 

The West is a War

While the East keeps getting worse, the other side of the country is fulled of good teams. The Spurs and the Thunder are stacked, the Warriors and Clippers are very good offensive teams, the Blazers are one of the youngest and most exciting teams and the Mavericks are a team that you can´t count out.

The Biggest IFs

Will Wade remain healthy? If so, will he play at a high level? Will Bosh expand the floor and shoot the ball well? Will the bench contribute like the past two years? How long can Allen keep this level? Will LeBron be the same complete player he´s been for the past five or six years? All those are question that need to be answered, and will be answered as the postseason advances and the Heat face different types of rivals that pose a new challenge.

Conclusion

This is a very difficult and complex question to answer. As i´ve pointed out during the article, there are a lot of factors taking part in the equation. As a Heat fan, i´d like to see the Heat raise that fourth banner, the third straight. But, with the Spurs playing at the level they are, i firmly believe they are poised to be the 2014 NBA champions.