HEATcast: Everything You Need To Know About the 2013 Season Before It Happens

Getting their championship rings on Tuesday night will be the easy part of the Miami HEAT's season. The hard part will be defending their title. This week's HEATcast makes a forecast for how the season will play out.

Podcast Details
Podcasters: Miami Heat Index, Alfredo Arteaga and Pheana Winfield the Queen of HEAT News
Recorded: October 26, 2012 at 7:00 PM ET
Duration: 1:15:43
How to Listen: Play the audio embedded below, download the mp3 or subscribe via iTunes

Companion Reading
The podcasters referenced the articles listed below during the discussion.

• Miami HEAT Index (MHI): 2013 HEAT Season Preview, The Section 357 Show's 2013 NBA Season Preview Podcast
• Alfredo Arteaga (AA) at HeatFreak.com: 2013 NBA Season Preview

Preseason Surprises & Concerns

• Surprises: Mike Miller & Dwyane Wade’s health; Norris Cole's improved jumper
• Concerns: Ray Allen’s shooting slump, Cole's shot selection and ball-handling

Best Games in November, December & January

• 11/2 @ Knicks (AA, MHI)
• 11/11 @ Grizzlies (PW)
• 11/14 @ Clippers (PW, MHI)
• 11/29 vs. Spurs (PW)
• 12/25 vs. Thunder (PW, AA, MHI): HEAT could go undefeated in December if they win this game
• 1/8 @ Pacers (PW, MHI): HEAT could have the second-longest winning streak in NBA history with a victory
• 1/17 @ Lakers (PW, AA, MHI)
• 1/27 @ Celtics (PW, MHI)

All-Star Weekend Predictions

East starters
PW: Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh
AA: Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh
MHI: Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh

West starters
PW & MHI: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard
AA: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dwight Howard

3-Point Shootout Champ
PW & MHI: Steve Novak
AA: Ray Allen

Slam Dunk Champ
PW: Bring superstars back to the dunk contest and then she’ll be interested enough to pick a winner
AA: DeMar DeRozan
MHI: Eric Bledsoe

Trade Deadline Predictions

None of the podcasters thought the Oklahoma City Thunder would throw away a chance to get back to the NBA Finals by trading James Harden, but they still had some intriguing trade predictions.

PW: Rudy Gay or Carlos Boozer will be traded this season
AA: Manu Ginobili will be traded to the Bulls for Joakim Noah
MHI: 3-team trade between Knicks, Magic and Clippers after the season when CP3 makes it clear he won't re-sign

• Knicks trade Amare Stoudemire to the Magic and Raymond Felton plus two 1st round picks to the Clippers
• Magic trade Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington and Glen Davis to the Clippers
• Clippers trade Chris Paul to the Knicks and Willie Green to the Magic

Best Games in February, March and April

• 2/1 @ Pacers (PW)
• 2/10 vs. Lakers (PW, AA)
• 2/14 @ Thunder (PW, MHI)
• 3/3 @ Knicks (PW)
• 3/4 @ Timberwolves (MHI): 2nd night of a back-to-back against an improved squad in Minnesota could lead to another buzzer-beater
• 3/10 vs. Pacers (PW)
• 3/18 @ Celtics (PW)
• 3/27 @ Bulls (PW, AA): How will Derrick Rose look against the HEAT defense approximately 20 games into his return from a torn ACL?
• 3/31 @ Spurs (PW)
• 4/12 vs. Celtics (PW, MHI)
• 4/14 vs. Bulls (PW)
• 4/15 @ Cavaliers (AA): Will LeBron James eliminate Dan Gilbert's team from playoff contention on the 2nd night of a back-to-back?

Twitter Will Blow Up When...

PW: The HEAT or Lakers hit a 3-game losing streak
AA: The Lakers run a Steve Nash and Pau Gasol pick-and-roll for the second time on the last possession with the game on the line
MHI: Dwyane Wade gets posterized by some young punk trying to make a name for themselves or... TMZ reports that Dwight Howard smashed Vanessa Bryant

Regular Season Awards Forecast
MVP: Kevin Durant (PW, AA),  LeBron James (MHI)
DPOY: LeBron (PW, AA), Dwight Howard (MHI)
COY: Erik Spoelstra (AA), Gregg Poppovich (PW), Scott Skiles (MHI)

Postseason Predictions

Losers (Most Likely to Win the Draft Lottery)
PW: Wizards
AA: Cavs
MHI: Magic

Pretenders (Most Likely to Get Upset in the Playoffs)
PW: Pacers, Grizzlies

AA: Celtics, Pacers, Nuggets

MHI: Pacers, Nuggets

Snoozers (Most Likely to Pull Off an Upset in the Playoffs)
PW: Bucks, Nuggets
AA: 76ers, Grizzlies
MHI: Hawks, Jazz

Contenders (Most Likely to be in the Conference Finals)
PW: HEAT, Celtics, Thunder, Lakers
AA: HEAT, Pacers, Thunder, Nuggets
MHI: HEAT, Celtics, Thunder, Spurs

Champion & Finals MVP
PW: HEAT over Lakers, Wade wins Finals MVP
AA & MHI: HEAT over Thunder, LeBron wins Finals MVP

This podcast was inspired by E.J. Fischer.