While the Miami Heat entered the playoffs as a betting favorite to win it all again, they have not been THE story of the NBA playoffs. This year, we’ve seen a couple of good stories develop with (1) breakout stars and (2) scrappy underdogs.

For any fans who weren’t familiar with the Golden State Warriors, say hello to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. This dynamic backcourt has the range to hit 3 point shots from anywhere on the court, and the team has really bought into Mark Jackson’s coaching philosophy. As a #6 seed, the Warriors ran right through the Denver Nuggets (who had the best home record in the NBA) to upset the #3 seed and advance to the second round. They are now in a toe to toe battle with Tim Duncan and the #2 seeded San Antonio Spurs.

In the Eastern Conference, Paul George’s star is rising quickly for the Indianapolis Pacers. He’s proven to be a big time defender, and a more than capable offensive player. The Pacers look to be in good shape to get past the New York Knicks and advance to the conference finals. You may think they are no match for the Heat, but they were up 2-1 against Miami in last year’s conference semifinals, and won two out of three games during the regular season this year. I’m not convinced they will beat the Heat, but it certainly looks like they aren’t afraid of LeBron’s team.

I also have to give a shout out to the Chicago Bulls. Playing all season without the 2011 NBA MVP, Derrick Rose, and further shorthanded in the conference semis without Luol Deng and Kirk Heinrich, this team is giving everything they have to try and compete. In their first playoff series, they went into Brooklyn and won game 7 on the road. Now, against the mighty Heat, they won game 1 in Miami, and are making new fans all over the league with their “heart, hustle & muscle” (credit to Stacey King).

You can follow the remaining playoff action on our NBA playoff page, where eliminated teams are updated daily.

The regular season ended Wednesday, with some great drama to end the season. The Utah Jazz lost a must win game against the Memphis Grizzlies, so the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff spot before they even took the court for their final game. The Lakers still played hungry though, and they ended up beating the Houston Rockets in overtime to move up to the #7 seed in the west, dropping the Rockets to the #8 seed. Now the fun begins.

Some critics may argue that the playoffs are too long, or that too many teams qualify for the playoffs (16 out of 30 teams get in). I’m not one of them. My basketball passion reaches a frenzy during March, as I watch the NCAA tournament, and just as my passion is starting to wane, I’m treated to the NBA playoffs. Some call it the second season, because it actually feels and looks different from the regular season. Defense is better, fast breaks are limited, and teams get plenty of rest days to tweak their strategies and game plans. Beating a team once is much different than playing them in a 7 game series.

We can all agree that the Miami Heat are the team to beat in this year’s playoffs, with the #1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder a close second. Looking at the Vegas odds to win the championship, they seem to believe that no team other than the Heat and Thunder really have much of a chance to win it all.

Odds To Win NBA Finals (via Bovada.lv)

Miami Heat 2-3
Oklahoma City Thunder 9-2
San Antonio Spurs 17-2
New York Knicks 15-1
Denver Nuggets 22-1
Indiana Pacers 22-1
Los Angeles Clippers 22-1
Memphis Grizzlies 35-1
Los Angeles Lakers 40-1
Chicago Bulls 50-1
Boston Celtics 60-1
Brooklyn Nets 60-1
Golden State Warriors 100-1
Houston Rockets 100-1
Atlanta Hawks 125-1
Utah Jazz 250-1
Milwaukee Bucks 300-1

At the first jump ball, all those odds go out the window though, as teams will do their best to win and advance. Make sure to follow your contender here as they battle towards the NBA finals.

While there are some good stories in the NBA this season, the Miami Heat’s win streak is one for the records. At press time (not really a printing press now that we are in the digital world, so I think I just dated myself with that reference), the Heat have won 27 straight games, and are the proud owners of the second longest winning streak in NBA history. The longest streak in history is 33 games, by the 1971-72 Lakers. That streak seemed untouchable for years. Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls couldn’t come close. The Showtime Lakers never did it. Neither did the great Boston Celtics teams of the 80′s. As polarizing as this Miami Heat team was after “The Decision”, it appears that more and more fans are rooting for them to topple the 41 year old record. They have tough upcoming games in Chicago and in San Antonio, then home against the New York Knicks. If they continue winning, the streak will fall on April 9th at home against the Milwaukee Bucks. Whichever way you cheer, keep an eye on the Heat as they approach history.

The NBA Playoffs are right around the corner which means the elite teams are ready to make a push towards greatness! Let’s take a look at the Top 3 teams of each Conference.

Eastern Conference:

Miami Heat – This is definitely not a surprise. Miami is dominating, once again. They’ve won 16 games in a row and hope to continue that winning streak this weekend. At the top of the east, they are 8 games ahead of New York and Indiana. The man wearing a LeBron James jersey is producing another MVP type year. It seems as though he can “flip the switch” when he needs to at the end of games to guarantee a win. Any team that has to face the Miami Heat during the playoffs will have to bring their A+++ game to have a chance to knock off the defending champions.

New York Knicks – The Knicks have cooled off behind the 3 point line. This, in turn, means they haven’t been as successful as they were at the beginning of this season. Their recent struggles can also be a result of multiple injuries to a few key players. Rasheed Wallace, Raymond Felton and Marcus Camby have missed significant number of games this year. Carmelo Anthony, their star player, has also missed a handful of games with nagging injuries. They Knicks were fortunate enough to have Iman Shumpert back in action, and also signed Kenyon Martin to his 2nd 10 day contract. Will those moves help an often injured team that can’t seem to find its rhythm?

Indiana Pacers – The Pacers are performing better than most experts/fans predicted in the early stages of this season. Especially since they’ve played a large part of this season without their “closer,” Danny Granger. As a result of Granger’s absence, Paul George has emerged as an All Star. He’s carried the team thus far and has the Indiana Pacers tied for the 2nd spot in the East. If any team can give the defending champs, the Miami Heat, a run for their money, it’s definitely this team. The pacers have always been a good defensive team, and that hasn’t changed. What has changed is their offensive prowess. They are scoring with ease and their ability to move the ball plays a big part.

Western Conference:

San Antonio Spurs – Coach Gregg Popovich’s system can work well with mediocre players that stick to the game plan. So with 2-3 All Star caliber players involved, having the best record in the NBA doesn’t come as a surprise. Tony Parker recently went down with an ankle injury. Before the injury, Parker was putting up MVP numbers. He was having a better year, statistically, then Derrick Rose’s MVP year. They Spurs are an older team, which means they are used to dealing with a variety of injuries every year. Manu Ginobili has missed a good amount of games as well as Kawhai Leonard. Dealing with adversity is what the San Antonio Spurs are all about. They’ll continue to believe in Popovich’s system, which is a championship winning system.

Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook & Serge Ibaka. Nuff’ Said when it comes to OKC. Those 3 players are, respectably, one of the best at the position they play. They are only 2 ½ games behind the Spurs and are A LOT younger. Only a handful of teams can run with the Thunder. They have 2 out the top 10 scorers in the league. They also have the 2nd leading blocker in the league. Russell Westbrook is also averaging 7.8 assists a game, good enough to be the 5th best in the league this year. Expect to see Oklahoma City Thunder gear up to make their second straight appearance in the NBA Finals. If they can clamp down on their defense, they’ll have a great chance to beat any team coming out of the East, even the Miami Heat!

Los Angeles Clippers – The Clippers started off this season with a bang. Since then, they’ve dealt with injuries to Chauncey Billups, Grant Hill, Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford. Having the deepest bench in the league has definitely helped. The LA Clippers have established themselves as an elite team this year. Earlier this year they had a season best 17 game winning streak. Blake Griffin has improved his mid-range shot. DeAndre Jordan is quite possible the most fun player to watch while throwing down a lob pass for an exciting dunk. Offense has never been a problem for this team, but their defense needs to improve, drastically, for them to become serious contenders.

Author Bio
This guest post was written by Omair T. Omair is a sales representative here at FansEdge.com. Although his favorite sports are basketball and football, he did crush the competition by winning his Fantasy Baseball league in 2012.