Is Dwight en route 'The Decision' II ?

The last few months haven't exactly panned out for Dwight or for the Magic franchise, as they would have once wished. The way I see it right now, either Dwight is headed for another 'Decision' or, the Magic franchise owners are going to play it smart and trade Dwight before March 15. Either ways, Dwight has ensured that he'll land in a true contender franchise. Heck, he has even named his destinations of choice, namely Nets, Mavericks or the Lakers. Mark Cuban and Mikhail Prokhorov have shown keen interest in the insanely talented D12, and are probably going to do whatever it takes to bag him and immediately turn into true contenders.

At this point though, Lakers seems to be best of the three, both for Howard and Magic. After all, who doesn't want to make it big in L.A. and play alongside Kobe? Plus, the fact that Lakers has plenty to offer, considering Gasol is still in his prime and Bynum is out to prove his mettle in this true-Centers-bereft-league.

Magic have till day, have used the strategy of wait and watch, which definitely can backfire given that they have already turned down plenty of offers for D12. What I believe is going to happen though, is that Magic will wait for another month (till the end of February) and then ink the deal with maximum returns and future draft picks.

What the Magic fans haven't definitely forgotten is what happened twelve years ago when Shaq walked away and inked a multi-million deal with the Lakers for no returns. They know Dwight is the guy, who could get them future draft picks and solid role players to make sure Magic remains a contender for a long time. The wait and watch strategy is a risky, but an effective move for Magic.

Why Miami will win a championship even with wade or LeBron injured

Hey fellow NBA and Heatles fans! The last time I checked, Miami Heat was steaming 12-4 this season. No season opener nightmares, no 9-8 scores, no serious player injuries (Curry's back, FINALLY!) and no over hyped clutch issues. So far this season, we have witnessed Heat win without wade and LeBron, LeBron improve his post play, and the general consensus of both wade and LeBron to fire fewer threes. And, of course, that the Miami bench is second to none. Miller made an emphatic comeback in Heat's blowout of San Antonio Spurs, and Curry resurrected his claim why he was regarded as one of the best back-to-the-basket scorers during his days in New York.

So the Miami roster as of January 21st, 2012 goes like this :
PG - Chalmers, Norris cole
SG -  Wade, Mike Miller, James Jones, Terrel Harris
SF - LeBron, Shane Battier
PF - Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem
C - Joel Anthony, Eddy Curry, Juwan Howard, Dexter Pittman, Mickel Gladness

Last year, Heat tried as many as 7 - yes, 7 Centers, who could do anything but play ball. So the Canadian , Anthony, who had averaged 2 PPG, started for Heat in the playoffs. Sure, Miami is a defense first team, but they generally were playing 4 -on -5 Basketball while on offence. This year though, with Curry back in line up and looking more dedicated and fit than ever, Heat have a solid Center, who can score and a big body for defending guys like Bynum and Howard. I'm confident that the Heat culture and work ethic will make Curry relevant again and he'll be the starter in a few more weeks. And of course, there is no way that the Curry deal could ever explode on Riley's face. At worst, it would be another million dollar down the drain, which could have otherwise been wasted on guys like Dampier.

The Heatles also hit the jackpot when they drafted the rookie Norris Cole as the no. 28 overall pick. So far, he has won them a game against Boston, and there have been plenty of speculations about him replacing Chalmers as the starting PG(which obviously, is not what the Heat want, as Chalmers is comparatively a better 3 Pt. threat). So all in all, they seem to have solved their PG and C dilemmas. Apart from these, Heat now have Battier, who is an exceptional defender and a consistent 3 Pt. shooter, and a fit career 40% shooter in Miller.

LeBron now has everything he could ask for, post presence, perimeter threat and slashers. There is NO WAY Heat won't win the championship this season, and if they don't, LeBron has absolutely no excuse this time.