MIAMI -- Before the season started, a poll suggested that the Miami Heat were the overwhelming favourite to win the NBA title, collecting a whopping 76 per cent of ballots cast. Cheap Jerseys From China . The voters werent some know-nothings, either. No, this was a polling of NBA general managers. Things seem quite a bit different now. The Heat dont seem like locks for a third straight title anymore. San Antonio and Indiana are top seeds. Brooklyn, Chicago, the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Houston, Portland and the Heat all figure to have a legitimate chance at being the club to hoist the Larry OBrien Trophy in a couple of months. Usually, the NBA playoffs arent so wide open. Things might change over the next couple of months. "There are 16 teams that have a chance to win it," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, whose team is seeded No. 2 in the West. "If youre in the playoffs, you have a chance. There are some good teams. Any team can beat each other. The West is deep. There are two teams that are really good that didnt make it and had great years. Its definitely open. Theres a lot of good basketball teams that are fighting for the championship." For as good as San Antonio and Indiana were all year -- well, for most of the year in Indianas case, before the Pacers faltered down the stretch -- its never a certainty that the No. 1 seeds reach the NBA Finals. Its happened that way only 11 times in the last 35 years. Then again, the last time that there wasnt either a No. 1 or a No. 2 in the title series was 1978. So while upsets can happen, its not all that common to see bracket craziness -- akin to a No. 7 and No. 8 seeds Connecticut and Kentucky playing for the NCAA title earlier this month -- happening in the same NBA playoff season. "It is going to be tremendous from a fans standpoint, watching," Golden State coach Mark Jackson said. "It going to be a lot of fun." Brooklyns Jason Kidd has plenty of post-season experience as a player. He believes the NBA championship is up for grabs, but also probably knows history doesnt favour his sixth-seeded club. Since 1979, only five teams seeded No. 4 or lower in their conference have reached the finals. But Kidd sees reason for hope. "Its always wide open," said Kidd, the first-year coach of the Nets -- a veteran-laden team put together to win a title this season. "You guys sometimes limit it to just two teams but guys that are playing on a daily basis in the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference feel like theyve got a chance." This year, that doesnt just seem like coach speak. Take the East. On paper, the biggest mismatch is No. 1 Indiana against No. 8 Atlanta, especially because the Hawks are the only sub-.500 team in the playoffs. And just a couple weeks ago, the Hawks went to Indianapolis and absolutely embarrassed the Pacers, running out to a 32-point halftime lead in one of the more stunning games of the entire NBA season. "Theres some good teams out there," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Every team in the playoffs have given us some problems. Weve been able to win against them as well. But its certainly shaped out to be a good conference." No. 5 Washington won the season series over No. 4 Chicago. Out West, the third-seeded Clippers and sixth-seeded Golden State split four meetings. Memphis ousted Oklahoma City a year ago and those clubs meet in the first round. And San Antonios quest to avenge last years loss in the NBA Finals starts against Dallas -- the last team to beat Miami in a seven-game series, winning the title in 2011. So there are some good stories, and theres intrigue with every first-round series. That doesnt mean everyone in the league thinks itll be a year laden with surprises. Philadelphia coach Brett Brown put it simply -- to him, the game changes in the playoffs, period. "The regular season and the playoffs are like two different sports," Brown said. "If you put me in a bubble and you drag me out in May, I can say this is different than the game Im seeing in November. Its just entirely different." Thats why Brown, a former Spurs assistant, thinks theres a very small number of teams capable of winning it all. "To be the last man standing is so ridiculously hard," Brown said. "People have no idea what its like to play in June." NFL Jerseys China . They never thought it would take some blood, too. Kevin Love grabbed his 4,000th career rebound as part of a 19-point, 13-board effort to lead the Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 112-97 on Tuesday night. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . This game was inside. Adrian Peterson was missing. The stage was set for another step toward the playoffs.(SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Knicks hope to get two prominent resources back in the lineup Saturday versus the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks did not have leading scorer Carmelo Anthony (23.4 ppg) in Thursdays 103-97 loss at Chicago because of a sore knee and he is questionable Saturday afternoon. Knicks guard J.R. Smith has missed the last five games with a partially torn left plantar fascia and is also questionable. New York has lost three in a row and 13 of its last 14 games, and couldnt overcome Jimmy Butlers career-high 35 points. Even Bulls guard Derrick Rose missed the contest with an illness Tim Hardaway Jr. picked up the slack with Anthony sidelined and led the Knicks with 23 points. Amare Stoudemire chipped in with 16 points and six rebounds, while Cole Aldrich added 13 points and 10 boards. Chicago is a good team, they understand how to play in these situations and they made more plays down the stretch, said Knicks coach Derek Fisher. The Knicks will try to stop a six-game home losing streak and are 33-11 inside the confines of MSG. Cheap Jerseys. After hosting the Suns, New York will play four of the next five games on the road. Phoenix halted a six-game losing streak with Wednesdays 111-106 triumph against the Charlotte Hornets. Isaiah Thomas scored 23 points off the bench, Goran Dragic added 20 points and eight assists and Gerald Green provided 16 points in a reserve role. Eric Bledsoe recorded 15 points for Phoenix, which shot 52.4 percent and is in the midst of playing three straight and seven of eight games on the road. When youve lost six games in a row and you get down 15 or 18 points, however many we were down, thats an easy time to quit, said Suns coach Jeff Hornacek. But our guys didnt quit, they kept playing and playing. The Suns are 7-7 as the visitor this season. Phoenix and New York will play the first of two meetings this season and are scheduled to meet again March 15 at US Airways Center. The two teams split a pair of games last season. The Knicks will try for their third straight win at home in this series. ' ' '