Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade is as clutch as they come and Udonis Haslem is a beast on the boards, but Miami is old and vulnerable. Shaq is 34, slow, creaky and at times unmotivated. With last year’s Heat Championship under his belt, what does he have to keep him going? The bench is also rotting out. Gary Payton is 38 and nowhere near the defender he once was. Alonzo Mourning at 36 can only give you 15-20 minutes of superb defence a night.
Pat Riley will have to lean heavily on Wade, who will try his best to shoulder the brunt of the burden. The Heat got hot at the right time last year, but if they believe that they can just turn on the jets whenever they feel like it, think again.

ODDS: 8-1

Phoenix Suns: Amare Stoudemire is back and appears to be reloaded for the Suns run-and-gun attack. But when playoff time comes, can the Suns stop anyone? Steve Nash may mean more to his team than any player this century, and has a supporting cast that can do damage in the playoffs in Stoudemire, all-star Shawn Marion, and rising star Boris Diaw. But in a seven-game series, can you really see them locking a team down on the defensive end of the floor?

ODDS: 5-2

Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki is the best big man in the game, hands down. He has heightened his game to the point where he is almost unstoppable on the offensive side of the ball. That said, the Mavericks are soft and not the type of team who will wear you down mentally and physically. Every guy on this team is a bit soft and more likely to choke in a key moment than rise to the occasion. Their offence is also street-like in that it involves a ton of one-on-one play. Take point guard Jason Terry, who can score but has issues getting everyone else involved-a problem since that’s his job. There’s no one on this team that scares me at the end of the game, including Dirk.

ODDS: 3-1

Detroit Pistons: Ben Wallace’s departure from the motor city to the windy city has most experts declaring an end to the Piston’s run of dominance. Not so-the Pistons will be fine and maybe even better. Wallace is wearing down athletically and has become less dominant on the defensive end of the floor. His lack of offence and woeful free-throw shooting killed the Pistons during the playoffs last season, forcing Flip Saunders to replace him with Antonio McDyess in crucial situations. I like the grit on this Detroit team a lot, and loved the additions of sleeper-sub Flip Murray for his sweet shooting and centre Nazr Mohammed with offence in the five spot. With Chauncey Billups playing like an MVP, I see this team representing the East in June.

ODDS: 3-2

Chicago Bulls: With the addition of Wallace, the Bulls have become the sexy pick to win the title this year. But Big Ben brings something Chicago already had plenty of: defence. Last season, the Bulls D was up there with the best teams in the league. It was their offence that was the problem. Which makes the acquisition of Wallace all the more puzzling. The Bulls needed to add a big man who could score and Wallace is a far cry from that. They could’ve addressed that need in the draft with Lamarcus Aldridge but chose to go with a Wallace clone in Tyrus Thomas. There’s not a player on this team who you’d worry about shutting down in a seven-game series. Ben Gordon can score, but he’s far from dominant.

ODDS: 10-1

San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan was a monster in last year’s playoffs (26 ppg, 11 rpg), after limping badly through the regular season with plantar fasciitis. He will be back at 100 per cent for the first time in years and will look to avenge the Spurs’ loss to Dallas last spring. Tony Parker has developed into one of the best point guards in the league and is the glue of this team. Parker’s ability to get into the lane and create open shots for teammates makes the offence go and helps ease the pressure on Duncan. The Spurs added the Red Rocket from Toronto (Matt Bonner)-an almost perfect acquisition for a team that has the ability to mask defensive deficiencies of almost any player. Bonner is less than stellar on the defensive end, but his sharp shooting will be a perfect complement to the inside play of Duncan.

ODDS: 2-1