Frontpage Features

BY MAX BERMAN

To all the people who say they “hate” LeBron James, I’m done hearing it.  No more, “LeBron James lost! Let’s party!” I find it annoying and unnecessary.  Let's be clear, LeBron didn’t lose, the Miami Heat lost. I understand that any team that believes they can win the whole thing and then doesn’t considers the season a failure.  I don’t think the Miami Heat need to go there.

Remember, this was their first year together and they proved they could get all the way to the NBA Finals on their talent. Next season the Heat will be a very hard team to beat.  I’m saying it now, the Miami Heat will win the NBA championship next season, and probably the season after next.

I won't say the Heat is the equivalent to the Los Angeles Lakers getting Pau Gasol and then losing to the Boston Celtics, but it's essentially that.  I realize Gasol came to the Lakers in the middle of the year as opposed to the Heat's Big Three being on board at the beginning of the season.  Lets be honest, once the Lakers got Gasol, they still had some growing to do and the next season they were ready and won another championship. And a second. This is a road map for the Heat. They're talented, and with time to grow and with what they learned this season, they will become a true team. Then no one will be able to contend with them.  I repeat, no one!

People may be shocked by that statement, but lets take a sneak peak at next season. You have the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, but are a team full of veterans who made their last run for a title, and it worked.  Next, I go with the Chicago Bulls.   I predict they'll be the next Cleveland Cavaliers. They have Derrick Rose, who is like LeBron James when he was with the Cavs.  The Bulls organization is trying to surround Rose with big-time players, but it hasn’t worked and I doubt that it will. Don't be surprised if Rose copies Lebron's "get out of town" act in a few years.

Another contender is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who will try to contend, but I don’t think they'll be able to beat the Heat. And, what about the Lakers, who were two-time defending champions and then got swept by the Dallas Mavericks?  If they don’t change, they have no chance whatsoever.  If they're able to work a deal to get Dwight Howard from Orlando before he becomes a free agent, and they find a first rate point guard to free up the workload on Kobe, they'll be hard to beat.  A team to keep an eye on is this years' surprise playoff team, the Memphis Grizzlies.  They'll be even better because of the return of Rudy Gay. However, they still can’t compete with the Miami Heat. Those are the teams I see having a chance of challenging the Heat next season. But to be honest, I don’t see any of them taking it all.  Again next season the eastern conference superpowers will be Miami and Chicago.  Also, I expect to see a Western Conference final between the Thunder and the Grizzlies.

Former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippin recently said that LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game. Most fans and experts think Pippin played along side the best player to ever play the game-Michael Jordan. I don’t agree with Pippin yet.  James is young, but I believe when it's all said and done, James will be the game's greatest player.  He may not have as many Championship rings as Jordan has, but he'll win more than two. Many people measure a player's greatness on how many championships they've won. But, I think James will be the greatest player because he's already the most dominant scorer in the NBA and in these playoffs he showed he's the leagues' greatest perimeter defender. If James is the best NBA player on both sides of the court, then there is nothing that says that by the end of his career he won't have the greatest numbers ever recorded. I’m not saying that he will lead every category, but he will be in the top five in a lot of them. LeBron will never be the greatest champion, but there will come a time when Michael Jordan will not longer be the greatest and James will indeed be King James.