Early this season, the Miami Heat looked unbeatable. After Friday's 117-104 loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Heat have lost there straight games. While it's not time to panic in Miami, it's now obvious that this regular season won't be a walk in the park for the Heat.

Ty Lawson, like he's been doing for most of the season, led the way for the Nuggets.

This time of year, we're used to watching NBA preseason action. However, with the NBA lockout putting things on hold, we'll have to settle for exhibition games of another sort. But there's an interesting one being put together that will take place on the campus of Florida International University on October 8th.

Post from: EveryJoe

Post from: EveryJoe

Chris Bosh hit the go-ahead jumper with just under 40 seconds left and the Miami Heat went on to take Game 3 of the NBA Finals with an 88-86 victory on Sunday. The Heat now have a 2-1 lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

Dirk Nowitzki scored the final 12 points of the contest for the Mavs, but his shot at the buzzer didn't go in and Miami came away with the victory.

Chris Bosh has gotten his share of heat this season and not in a good way. The power forward has been in the shadow of Dwyane Wade and LeBron in Miami. However, in Game 3 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals against the Chicago Bulls, Bosh carried the Heat to a 96-85 victory. The Heat now lead the series 2-1.

After the Chicago Bulls drubbed the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, fans have jumped off the Heat bandwagon in a major fashion. Just a couple days ago, their bandwagon was full. Now it's difficult to find a fan who still believes that the Heat can beat the Bulls.

But it's still very much possible.

It's the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs. However, even though the playoffs are just beginning, there are some teams that appear to be the cream of the crop. While things my change between now and the NBA Finals, these teams appear to be the top five teams to beat going forward in the postseason:

1.

LeBron's New Team.So LeBron James is a minority owner of Liverpool FC this morning. Well yippe-kai-yay. Hey LeBron, can you find Liverpool on a map? (Hint: It's in England--over there, no higher. North. No, that's south).
The nuts and bolts of the deal are that Fenway Sports Group, i.e., the Boston Red Sox, and LeBron's marketing firm LRMR negotiated a deal where Fenway will rep LeBron.

Losing four games in a row is bad. Getting outed as a group of crybabies is even worse. That's where the Miami Heat stand after they lost to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon. Following their 87-86 loss Miami's fourth consecutive defeat that featured another fourth quarter meltdown, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra admitted his team is a team of crybabies.

The West lead early in the 2011 NBA All-Star Game. Despite a late run by the East, the West was able to take home a 148-143 victory. The West was led by Kobe Bryant's game-high 37 points and game-high 14 rebounds. For his efforts, Kobe Bryant was the MVP of this year's affair.

Kobe Bryant got help from young stud Kevin Durant, who poured in 34 points on 23 shot attempts.

The reserves were named for the 2011 NBA All-Star Game. The starters for both the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference were named last Thursday. There is one spot still open in the Western Conference, however. Since Yao Ming is injured yet was still voted in as a starter, NBA commissioner David Stern will have to name a replacement player for the West.

LeBron James hasn't had to score as much this season as he did when he was carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers. On Thursday night, however, LeBron's scoring keyed the Miami Heat's 104-100 victory over the Orlando Magic. LeBron finished with 51 points on 17-for-25 shooting from the field and 14-for-17 shooting from the free throw line.

The Miami Heat, although they still are far from the peak playing ability, can win on pure talent alone. Riding the backs of their Big 3 Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh the Heat were able to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder of Sunday afternoon by a final score of 108-103.

Wade led the way with 32 points and nine rebounds.

When he was on the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James was accustomed to carrying the load. With Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh out injured, LeBron once again felt what it is like to carry a whole team on his shoulders. As it turned out, LeBron was up for the task as the Miami Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons by a final score of 88-87.

The Miami Heat started the season off slowly before catching fire. However, things aren't going swimmingly in South Beach at the moment. After losing 93-88 against the New York Knicks on Thursday night, the Heat have now lost five of their last six games. Miami played its latest game without power forward Chris Bosh, who is still sidelined with an ankle injury.

The 2010-11 NBA All-Star Game takes place in February. Let's take an early look at the Eastern Conference All-Star roster and the Western Conference All-Star roster. Who should make the big game? Here is the official EveryJoe projection of the NBA All-Star rosters:

Western Conference All-Star Roster

STARTERS
C Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
F Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
F Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets
G Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
G Chris Paul, Los Angeles Lakers

RESERVES
Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Deron Williams, Utah Jazz
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns

Eastern Conference All-Star Roster

STARTERS
C Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
F Amare Stoudemire, New York Knicks
F LeBron James, Miami Heat
G Dwyane Wade, Miam Heat
G Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls

RESERVES
Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Ray Allen, Boston Celtics
Chris Bosh, Miami Heat
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks
Raymond Felton, New York Knicks

Post from: EveryJoe

Blake Griffin is the real deal. The superstar rookie for the Los Angeles Clippers is slowly but surely turning his team into a squad no one wants to play. On Wednesday, the Clippers hosted the Miami Heat winners of 13 straight road games. With Blake Griffin leading the way with 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, the Clippers beat the Heat by a final score of 111-105.