Spoiler Alert: Miami Will Go To The Finals Again Next Year

Stroll, Don't Walk

I saw no point in watching Heat - Paces Game Six, by the way. I was hosting the poker game, and a couple of my regulars asked why I didn't have the game on, and the plain and simple of it was that I valued a big screen with poker blinds more than I did unwarranted exposure to Jeff van Gundy, Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. One of my guys asked who I thought was going to win, and I threw out Miami by 25 without a second thought... which is exactly what happened.

So, bullet dodged.

But rather than delve into the stats et al of what has gone before, let's examine just how much Miami trumps the rest of the conference. As we've seen from this series, Indiana isn't anywhere near their league. Washington might be better next year and could be seen as the next great hope, but teams that are that young never make the leap to the Finals in their second year in the playoffs. Chicago might make some noise if Derrick Rose can come back and be a star, but given that he wasn't playing like one this year before the latest catastrophe, that's a pretty weak bet. Brooklyn will throw all of the money that they can get, but Deron Williams just got ankle surgery, and two of their five starters need to be euthanized. Toronto has a fun home crowd, but the talent's nowhere near good enough.

From the non-playoff teams, maybe Cleveland steps up hard with the relentless number one lottery picks that make the Association look fixed as hell. Maybe some other team makes a run at Kevin Love, or Miami blows their mid-level signings next year, the way they did this year. I think Orlando and Philadelphia (no, seriously) are building their teams the right way, with long-term goals timed to coincide with James starting to wane.

And if you gave me Miami versus the field right now, I'd take Miami at 2 to 1.

By the way, James might not start to wane for another three to five years. And maybe not even then, especially if the Heat actually get good at developing benches.

That fact, by the way, is also the reason why James is going to re-sign with Miami, and Bosh and Wade aren't going anywhere, either. This is the cushiest road to the Finals that anyone could hope for, and it's not going to get harder any time soon.