Steve Kerr Thinks the Bulls Will ‘Unseat’ the Heat

During an interview with Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times (h/t Sun Sentinel), the TNT NBA analyst made it clear he doesn’t think a third championship is headed South Beach’s way:

There’s a reason these teams don’t do it. Emotionally, it’s just exhausting to keep doing it year after year, particularly when you have to deal with everything Miami has to deal with on a daily basis, just the constant critiquing and scrutiny on the team, and then you factor in the injuries with Wade and Bosh and their health. I don’t think Miami will get out of the East this year.

Bolch also wrote that Kerr thinks the Chicago Bulls will “unseat” Miami. Whether he was referring to their actual title or just their Eastern Conference crown remains unclear. The fact is, he doesn’t think the Heat are going to come out of the East.

And can you blame him? Three-peats aren’t easy. If they were, dynasties would be more common than twerking videos. The pressure must get to you. Everyone expects the Heat to be great, because they will be. Other teams have improved, though, making it more difficult.

The Indiana Pacers have a bench and a presumably healthy Danny Granger back in the fold. They were one win shy of taking down the Heat last season. Put simply: They’re a threat. Then there are the Brooklyn Nets. Wildly overrated? Absolutely. Brimming with championship pedigree? That too. So they’re also a threat.

Don’t write off the New York Knicks either. J.R. Smith may not be able to prevent himself from putting oregano on his pizza and Amar’e Stoudemire may pose more questions than answers, but they’re still a good team. With a healthy Carmelo Anthony and a wealth of three-point shooting, they’ll be a very good team.

Photo courtesy of Steve Babineau/NBAE Getty Images (via sportsillustrated.cnn.com).

Those Bulls, though. Seriously. They’re the ones to watch out for. If Derrick Rose is healthy—and I mean actually healthy—hot freaking damn. Chicago won’t only have its golden boy back, it will have paired him with actual three-point shooters. Mike Dunleavy, Tony Snell and Jimmy Butler can shoot. Like really shoot. Their aim is true. The exact opposite of a gun-wielding Plaxico Burress, if you will.

Drive-and-kicks should become a staple in that offense, which ranked 29th in points scored per game last year (93.2). My heart’s racing just thinking about it. You can bet LeBron and his band of minions have thought about it too. They’re still the reigning champs until proven otherwise, but they’ve thought about it.

I’m not saying I agree Kerr either. He just makes a compelling observation, the lesson being that Miami and the rest of the East must fear (a healthy) Chicago. Unlike last year, they’re not to be taken lightly. Neither is the rest of the conference for that matter. The Heat’s road to a championship figures to be their toughest of the four years they will have been together.

The increased level of competition coupled with the free-agency rumors likely to ensue regarding LeBron won’t make for smooth sailing. Choppy waters lie ahead, and if the Heat wish to power through the current, they’ll have to have an endless supply of perseverance. Another history-making campaign from The Chosen One wouldn’t hurt either.