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Miami Heat players, coaches answer the question: Who’s the favorite in West, Lakers or Thunder?

Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh believes the Lakers have moved ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder as the favorites to win the Western Conference this season, calling L.A. the league’s best team “on paper." Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo—a former Laker—disagrees, telling the New York Post’s Marc Berman that the additions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash likely won’t be enough for L.A. to push past OKC.

"We got to get there (the Finals) but I still feel OKC is the team to beat in the West,” McAdoo, whose daughter, Rasheeda, is playing in the U.S. Junior Open in New York, told Berman. “Everyone’s talking about how (the Lakers) got better but I still think (OKC) is the team to beat. They’re still young and got experience of a championship series.”

Dwyane Wade says Kobe Bryant and the new-look Lakers could face an adjustment period. (AP Photo)

Heat guard Dwyane Wade, per the Associated Press, said of the Lakers, "They'll be great, but they have to make it work. Some people figure it out right away, some people take till midseason to figure it out and some take until the next year if they figure it out. Obviously for them, they need to be successful as they want to be, they're going to have to do it right away."

He added "There are a lot of teams anxious and waiting on the season to start, and they're not necessarily concerned whether (the Lakers) are going to figure it out or not. They're worried about themselves, but we understand that they're going to be a very good team, and we're ready for the challenge."

Writes the AP’s Tim Reynolds, “With a scary-good and suddenly likable LeBron James leading the way, the Heat have a bigger target on their backs than perhaps even they realize, and they've got an entire league loading up to take them down. Miami is still the prohibitive favorite to win it all next summer, but not as overwhelmingly as one might think."

"I think, more so than any other time, the league from top to bottom is as good as it's ever been," Wade said. "Even though you have bigger names on certain teams, that doesn't mean that team is necessarily going to win or that that team is better than other teams."

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