Why Tonight Could Potentially Determine the Fate of the NBA Playoffs and Beyond

In just over an hour from now, the epic collision between Heat and Lakers will happen again. With the Celtics officially out of the Finals race with the loss of Kendrick Perkins and the indefinite absences of the O'Neals, the new favorites to win the East are the Bulls, Magic, and Heat in that order. In the West, it's become clear that the only team capable of winning the West without fatigue are the Lakers who have been steamrolling their competition since the All-Star Break, mostly consisting of teams that are title contenders. Since the Break, the Heat have also managed to not only lose, but lose in epic fashion 5 games in a row.

Based on the way these to teams have been playing, the Lakers have about an 80% chance of winning by 20+ points. However, one must keep in mind that it's games like this that can make a team that is performing very poorly perform exceptionally well. Despite all that, the Heat have been exposed and have three glaring weaknesses: their complete lack of post-play, the weakness of LeBron when he is double-teamed, and the complete lack of talent on the bench. Meanwhile, the Lakers have three big men who are all averaging double-doubles, Kobe thrives on being double-teamed, and the Lakers bench is one of the deepest in the league.

Here, I present multiple possible scenarios for the rest of the reason based on what happens tonight:

• Lakers defeat Heat by 10+ points
• Lakers continue to steamroll through the regular season and sweep the playoffs en route to their three-peat. The Heat are re-energized, but fall in the Conference Semis or East Finals.
• Lakers defeat Heat by 9 or less points
• Lakers continue to do well, but lose occasionally. The playoffs go well for the Lakers and they win their 3rd consecutive championship. The Heat are crushed beyond belief and Erik Spoelstra is eventually fired as head coach. The Heat lose in the 1st round of the playoffs.
• Heat defeat Lakers by 9 or less points
• Lakers go on a bad stretch, but enter the playoffs re-energized. The Lakers eventually win the Finals in 7 games. The Heat are slightly re-energized, but they lose in the East FInals.
• Heat defeat Lakers by 10+ points
• Lakers get revenge by demolishing the Mavericks this weekend and begin steamrolling again through the season until they reach the NBA Finals, where they may or may not win. The Heat are immensely re-energized, but still falter in the East Finals.
• LeBron or Wade again fail to make a game-winning or game-tying shot
• Erik Spoelstra is immediately fired as head coach.
• LeBron or Wade makes the game-winning/tying shot
• Confidence boost even superior to that of normally beating Lakers by 9 or less points. They potentially make the NBA Finals, but get swept by the Lakers.
• Kobe makes the game winning shot
• Lakers eventually sweep the playoffs.
• Kobe misses game winning shot
• Lakers lose this weekend at Dallas and possibly lose at home to the Magic, but they enter the playoffs similar to last year.

This is only my guess of what could possibly happen, note that only one scenario leads to the Lakers not guaranteed to win it all. The only team I could see beating the Lakers in the Finals are the Chicago Bulls who have a real shot to win it all if the Lakers start to crumble.