Considering what happened during the last three games of the 2014 NBA Finals, the notion would be laughable if it weren't coming out of Las Vegas.
Chandler Parson says LeBron James will leave the Miami Heat
Extramustard.si.com reported Monday that the Miami Heat - losers in their bid for a championship three-peat in five games at the hands of a clearly better San Antonio Spurs team - are the early favorites to win the 2015 championship, according to vegasinsider.com.
Of course, the Heat's title hopes are contingent upon the return of LeBron James, the league's best player. James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all can opt out of their contracts this summer and become free agents.
Obviously banking on the fact that the Heat's big three return, Miami is a 5-to-2 favorite to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy next June.
Addition of Carmelo Anthony would not fix the Miami Heat
The Spurs, despite their domination over the Heat in Games 3, 4 and 5 in the just-finished series, are tied for second with the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8-to-1.
Miami may take a page out of the Spurs playbook, or more precisely, their payroll and have James, Bosh and Wade opt out and take smaller salaries to allow the Heat to restock the talent around them. That could put the rumored Carmelo Anthony free-agent signing into play, although the team would seem to need more than just Anthony's presence to reclaim the NBA crown that they had from 2011-12.
The Heat have several question marks heading into the offseason, aside from the status of their big three. They still need a post presence that can turn the defense into a more cohesive unit and that can allow Bosh to continue to play out at the 3-point line and take advantage of mismatches.
They signed Greg Odom in the offseason but still are unsure whether his body can rebound from the rigors of a full regular season.
The team also must find more production at the point-guard spot and will need to find some talent to fill the shoes of Ray Allen and Shane Battier.
But what does Vegas know, anyway?
Do you think the Miami Heat are the favorites to win the NBA championship next season? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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