I say Miami. I mean I think both of these teams will be in the top 3-4 in the East next year (along with Chicago/Cleveland), no doubt. But I say Miami. Here are my reasons: - Detroit lost Big Ben and replaced him with Nazr. Not bad, but that is a huge blow for Detroit. They lose their leader on the court, they have some emotional difficiencies, and Nazr won't bring half of what Ben brought. - Detroit's bench is very weak outside of Mcyess/Hunter/Flip. I mean McDyess is going to be a 6th Man of the Year candidate, Flip can score some points, and Hunter is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA. But outside of those 3 guys, who do they have? Nothing. They got rid of Evans, they are probably going to lose Delk, Maxiell might not even be ready for heavy minutes, Dale Davis is too old, Dupree is better than people think but still won't make that much of a difference, Delfino is unhappy, and the rest are D-League material (Blalock, Acker, Johnson). Miami's bench is much better. Not incredible but better. Payton/Zo are comming back, Posey is a spark of energy that provides size/shooting/defense/hustle, Simien will have 1 year of maturity under his belt (I think he is going to be a good player) and so will Dorell Wright, Earl Barron was incredibly impressive in summer league, they still have Doleac (who is better than people think), plus Mike Gansey is an exceptional shooter. Now add this bench to Wade, Shaq, Walker, Haslem, and J-Will. I mean sure Shaq/Zo/Payton are all going to be 1 year older, but they will still be huge contributors. Miami has depth, Detroit doesn't. - Flip is a good coach, but this team lost a lot of its defensive mindset once LB left town. Flip lets them be free on the offensive end, but he doesn't stress defense a quarter as much as Brown did. The team is too "loose" and not disciplined enough anymore. They need that defensive firepower back, especially now that Ben is gone. - Dwyane Wade. He's virtually unstoppable, 1 more summer under his belt, he's a leader now, he's still going to get better, etc. etc. You know the story with D-Wade. He's unbelievable. I mean don't get me wrong, they don't call Chauncey "Mr. Big Shot" for nothing, but Detroit doesn't have a player that can physically take over a game by themselves. Wade can and will do that.
Miami will be better because they are the reigning champions. Detroit wont win 64 games next year but they will keep winning. With Ben Wallace gone, Detroit officially becomes a powerhouse offense. Their offense was VERY limited last year because Wallace doesnt have any offensive game...
Of course, the Heat. Dwyane Wade is only getting better, and Shaq is still the most dominant big in the game. He will still be holding up the paint and they will be the team to beat in the East next year.The Pistons on the other hand just lost their defensive stud. They wont be the same team anymore, and they wont be better than the Heat.
