GLEN Rice spent his first six years in the league with the Miami Heat and cemented himself as one of the best snipers of his time with the franchise.
That's why it's no surprise that the 53-year-old is staying loyal to the team and even picked it as a dark horse for the 2020 NBA Playoffs.
"I'm always going to put my energy into the Miami Heat. That's probably one of the most solid teams defensively out there," he said on Monday.
The Heat wound up at No. 5, set for a collision course against No. 4 Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference first round.
With All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo leading the charge, Rice is confident that Miami can pull off stunners and even make a deep run in the postseason.
"When you talk about championships, defense is a huge part of it and defensively, they're one of the most solid teams there," he said.
But it's not going to be easy.
East's top three teams Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are among the favored teams to come out of the Eastern Conference, while an equally fierce war is expected in the Western Conference side of things.
So much so that Rice also believes that West's top-seed Los Angeles Lakers aren't going to have a cakewalk in their duel against the Portland Trail Blazers.
"I think the Lakers are beatable, especially if they go in there playing like they're playing right now. If Portland continues to play the way they're playing, the Lakers are definitely beatable," he said.
Still, he thinks that LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be able to steer the Lakers to the West Semis no matter how tough the series will be.
"Even though you have one of the best players to ever play the game in LeBron James who can figure it in an instant, it will not be an easy series, it will not be over quickly. There will be an upsets and I see it going to seven, but as much as I like to keep bragging about Damian Lillard, I think the Lakers will overttake them. The Lakers should come out on top."
Rice also picked Houston to go over Oklahoma City in five, Utah to sweep Denver, and the Los Angeles Clippers to dispose Dallas in five games in his other predictions in the West.
Spin fans unite at Spin Viber Community! Join the growing community now! Complete the experience by subscribing in the Spin Chatbot and download the Spin Game Sticker Pack.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
