NBA Preseason Highlighted Match-ups

The King is back. Lebron James headed into Saturday to take on his former team the Miami Heat. A different scenery then usual as the NBA would take this very influential game global to Rio De Genaro. The heat would have their hands full as they would face a "deep" Cavaliers team after the acquirement of Kevin Love, Lebron James, and Tristan Thompson in the offseason, just to name a few. The heat would be a very good basketball team themselves as they acquired a few young talents during the offseason.

 The heat would hold their own as they would give the Cavaliers a true opponent, sending the game into over time. The Heat would put up a fight forcing the game to go down to the last second, but the Cavaliers would walk away with the win 122-119. 

In other news around the NBA, the reining MVP will be facing some time off. Oklahoma city forward, Kevin Durant fractured a small bone in his foot after expressing concern after practice on sunday. This comes as a huge blow for the reining MVP's team the Oklahoma City Thunder, as he will likely miss 4-6 weeks and might face surgery. This comes after the past two seasons being knocked out of the playoffs as a top contender for the Western Conference due to the health of the team, first beginning with teammate Russell Westbrook, Surge Ibaka, and now Kevin Durant. Durant does not have a history of injuries during his career in the NBA. 

Looking forward, are the Cavaliers shaping up to be the TOP contender in the Eastern Conference? What to think about the health of the Oklahoma City Thunder, can Russell Westbrook carry the load of the heart and sole of the Thunder while he is out or will it be to much to handle? The Cavaliers to this point are trying to figure out the dynamics of their team. Currently there is no need to panic. Although I do not think they are invincible they are a definite contender in the East. If this game has shown anything, it has shown how the Heat are not a "dead" team, they are still a very strong, powerful Eastern Conference team that might surprise the world. The thunder do have reason to be concerned. With Durant missing for an extended amount of time, the task for teammates Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson will increase tremendously. In the end this isn't something the team should pay a whole lot of attention to because it is still the preseason but it is a definite concern heading into the regular season. Yes, Durant will be out for the start of the NBA season but it won't have a huge impact on how they will finish the season.