Miami's now the clear challenger of Cavs

After ESPN's Brad Daugherty said the Heat were a legit threat to the Cavs, another anaylst gave his thoughts on the Heat's chances in the East. ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler went on the Jorge and Izzy podcast on Monday to say give his thoughts on the Heat.

“For me, Miami is now the clear challenger, the most legitimate challenger, to the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Legler said on Jorge and Izzy Monday. “I think they’ve got a phenomenal starting five. Adding Joe Johnson gives them another playoff-tested guy. He’s a good closer. Whiteside is playing fantastic right now and when you get Deng, and Wade, and Dragic to round out that starting five, it’s about as good as it gets outside Cleveland in the Eastern Conference.

“And then they’ve got some young legs like Winslow and Richardson that have given them the athletic ability and speed that you need to play a team like Cleveland. Right now, yeah, I think Miami edged ahead of Toronto because I think Toronto has a real hard time getting out of the series…”

Despite being the second seed, Toronto was never seen as a threat to Cleveland because of their past first round losses.  So far, they're tied at 1-1 in their series with the Pacers. Miami on the other hand are leading their series. And most people like Legler believe more in Miami because of their veteran experience and depth.

As great as it's sounds, there's still a series to be played and Miami is currently looking to take a 2-0 over