While I was not among those who picked (either) these teams to be in the NBA Finals this year, it is pretty easy to see why many think both will be there in the end.
The pace is set for the Clippers by the all-universe point guard Chris Paul. He is the motor that keeps Lob City running.
Paul leads the NBA in assists, and is strong early candidate for the MVP race. The primary guys catching dimes from Paul are the high flying frontline of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan:
The Clippers lead the NBA in points per game at the moment with an average of 113.2 a night. The flip side is they are 30th in points allowed giving up 109.6 per contest - which cannot make coach Doc Rivers happy.
J.J. Redick was acquired in the offseason and that move has been among the best moves made in the busy off-season.
Seattle native Jamal Crawford is the key bench player for the Clippers and has been very efficient when on the floor.
The Miami Heat are lead by the face of the NBA - Lebron James. James is the best player in the NBA, and his stat lines attest to that fact. On any given night he can do it all, but to his credit he has worked very intentionally to bring along his teammates and develop them so he doesn't have to shoulder all the burden.
Dwyane Wade was once the leader of the Miami Heat, and he has done a great job adapting to having LeBron James take that role over. Wade has been playing well, though of concern for the Heat has to be the number of minutes he is averaging per game (despite already taking one game off).
Chris Bosh rounds out the "Big 3" for the Heat. Bosh is second in scoring on the team, and he continues to expand his range away from the basket making him a more diverse offensive weapon.
Former Seattle Supersonic Ray Allen is the key man off the bench for the Heat once again this season.