That's surprising. I'd say the Pacers just based on that they were a game away from being there and we still have something to prove.
Because we don't have a team like MIA standing in our way. And since everyone seems to think MIA is the hands-down favorite to win the title, and there's absolutely no consensus in the West, it stands to reason that we have a better shot than IND at making the Finals.
An older Miami with an older Dwyane Wade. Of course, Greg Oden will be putting up 25/12 by the playoffs, so that will change things for the Heat.
The west may be stronger overall, but beating LeBron is still a much greater task than the Thunder, Spurs, or Rockets.
That makes me sick to the stomach thinking about. Blazers in finals to get beat up by our previous # 1 pick.
If Wade or Bosh gets injured Miami will be much easier to beat. They've both had injury issues in the past two title runs. Not that Bosh is terribly great but their alternative big men options really suck. Even if Miami is healthy Indy has a great chance with their big men though. Its going to be so tough in the west to win 3 playoff series against quality teams. If the west wasn’t so deep I could see an argument for us; LeBron is on a hell of a run he is playing better basketball than Jordan ever played. He is nearly on pace to shoot 60/50/90. Jordan never had that kind of efficiency and never helped teammates like LeBron.
I'd say that if it came down to the Blazers beating the Spurs in a seven game series or Indy getting past the (healthy) Heat I'd give a slight edge to the Blazers, but I'd only put the odds of the Blazers being in the WCF at about 5-10% right now.