The signing of Ray Allen definitely points the Miami Heat towards "Winning" in the offseason.

When there isn’t any basketball to watch and analyze, journalists are forced to go to option B, covering the NBA offseason movement.

The last few summers haven’t disappointed at all. LeBron James made the “Decision”. Dwayne Wade stayed in the NBA city that he has developed into a household name. Kevin Durant made post-modern history by not making a skeptical out of his contract extension by simply mentioning it on Twitter.

The summer of 2012 wasn’t as predominantly awesome as 2012 with the resigning of Wade, James taking his talents to South Beach for the first time and Chris Bosh hoping in his carry-on bag, but adding Ray Allen — no matter how old the man is, he will always be able to shoot the rock — never hurt anyone.

If a general manager or franchise owner then throws in a Rashard Lewis to reunite Allen and Lewis from their days in Seattle like the Heat front brass did, I’d say there is no reason at all to say the Heat didn’t win this offseason.

Rashard Lewis leaves a bad situation with the Washington Wizards for a winning one with the Miami Heat.

Let’s face it James, Wade and Bosh are not making small change. With three players making as much money as they are ($52,114,000 of the team’s $82,629,170 payroll for the 2012-13 season), it is almost impossible to build a team around them.

We seen the problems or issues of this very situation last season. Bosh was uncertain with his role and the other two superstars couldn’t beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals by themselves. They needed help.

This past season, they still needed offensive help — Mario Chalmers, Shane Battier and Mike Miller came up huge in the playoffs but struggled to stay consistent in the regular season — but Miami managed to add some defensive stoppers to the team. The aged knees of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Erick Dampier were replaced by a great interior defender in Joel Anthony; although, he was useless on the other side of the ball.

Battier improved defense on the wing and a healthy Udonis Haslem made for mass improvement for upfront depth and rebounding.

On the other hand, the Heat didn’t have much scoring at all.

Now Allen and Lewis add two lethal snipers from the perimeter, who will make any Miami ball carrier’s eyes light up when they see these two on the other end of their pass. Both of these guys can score 15-plus points on any given night. Besides James, Wade and Bosh, Miami hasn’t had anyone else who can fill up the net like these two can.

No one can deny the scoring ability of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James.

Lewis has dropped off from his three consecutive seasons of 20-plus points per game when he was with the Seattle Super Sonics, but his is still a legitimate threat. He isn’t going to be an All-Star on the Heat because that isn’t his role anymore. The Washington Wizards asked him to do too much with a squad with too little. The young players had talent, but no heart, no drive and no discipline what so ever.

There are only a few guys in the NBA I would expect to thrive in this situation — Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and James. If you didn’t notice, these are three of the best players to ever play in the league; far advanced from Lewis’ level of a solid player.

If the Miami Heat won a ring without much offense coming from outside the three superstars, then I don’t see why they couldn’t or shouldn’t repeat with them.

Not only can these guys shoot, but Allen is a clutch shooter who looks a buzzer-beater in the face without blinking and Lewis is a lengthy defender who can handle the ball and grab five or six boards a game.

I have no problem saying the Heat are the biggest winners of the offseason. They got two prime time scores who will help in other areas and will still have one of the best defenses in the league.

Also, who do they have to contend with?

Old Man Winter better known as Steve Nash joined the already aged Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a fossil in Steve Nash for four draft picks, including two first round selections. Nash is great and Kobe Bryant is 1B behind Michael Jordan when it comes to the best guards of all-time, but the Lakers are old and are not going to maintain a high level of play if Pau Gasol loses his edge — like he does midway through every other season — or Bynum does something stupid.

Plus, LA’s bench is still awful.

The New York Knicks signed Jason Kidd, also super old, and Raymond Felton, who is over weight and doesn’t seem to want to be in the NBA at times.

Houston over spent on potential in Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik. If these two don’t pan out, neither do the Rockets.

The Nets made some key moves by resigning Deron Williams and Gerald Wallace while trading for Joe Johnson. I’m a fan of all three of these guys and think them plus Brook Lopez is a solid four. They will be in the playoffs and could even be a contender for a championship.

However, their bench is weak after MarShon Brooks and would get rolled in a seven-game series against the Heat or a Chicago Bulls team with a healthy Derrick Rose, even though they haven’t done anything other than let last years deep roster thin.

Miami has done a great job of not only enticing players to come to South Beach, but to sign on the dotted line as well. The Heat’s ability to get it done in the offseason will only transfer to impressive achievements such as a second consecutive NBA Championship.

In their Olympics opener, team USA convincingly beat France by 27 points, 98-71. The game recap and review below:

Game Recap

1st quarter

USA started the game off well. After losing the opening tip, they forced a turnover, and LeBron James and Tyson Chandler hooked up for a nice alley-oop layup on the other end. USA put their great ball pressure on display, forcing turnovers and tough shots. On the other end, they took advantage of their fastbreak opportunities. At around the 5 minute mark Tony Parker and Ronny Turiaf played the pick and roll to perfection, as Parker got to the basket and converted on an and-one. The pace of the game eventually slowed down, as both teams struggled to convert in their half-court sets. Yannick Bokolo beat the first quarter buzzer from long-range, and cut USA’s lead down to 21-22.

2nd quarter

After shaking off the initial nerves, LeBron James opened up the 2nd quarter with a 3-point shot, to spark an 11-0 run for USA. Half-way through the quarter, Kevin Durant came up with a huge block in the paint, swatting the ball away. Unfortunately for USA, Nicolas Batum caught the ball and was fouled on a three-point shot. With 4:50 left in the quarter, team USA got into the penalty, but France continued shooting poorly from the free-throw line. Towards the end of the quarter James Harden thread the needle to James in the paint, who dunked the ball hard. Overall, USA played a lot better in the 2nd quarter, knocking down shots with consistency, and went into the break with a commanding 52-36 lead.

3rd quarter

Team USA picked up right where they left off, connecting with perimeter shots, and James hitting his trademark turnaround fadeaway jumper. James continued his show, as Deron Williams set him up with a nice lob and he threw it down. France defense was looking crippled for most of the quarter, and they got nothing for free on offense. Team USA finished the quarter with a 78-51 lead.

4th quarter

The 1st overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, Anthony Davis, checked into the game for his first minutes in the olympics. Attack after attack his teammates were looking for Davis with lobs, but he failed to convert a couple of times, until he threw down a lob from Deron Williams. Clearly given up, France settled for shots for the majority of the quarter instead of driving to the basket, and USA could easily defend without fouling. Both teams went deep into their benches to finish the game, which was out of reach for France.

Review

Despite team USA’s bad habit of starting the game slow in the first quarter, the end result was never in doubt after the 2nd quarter, which they won 30-15. Team USA dominated the game on both ends of the floor, displayed their superior bench, and spiced the game up with impressive dunks. They did a great job containing Tony Parker, holding the French guard to a mere 10 points. USA did a better job sharing the ball, adding up to 27 assists collectively, while France only assisted on 10 of their baskets. USA won the rebouding battle by 56-40, grabbing an impressive 18 offensive rebounds.

Kevin Durant lead all scorers with 22 points, and Kevin Love added 14. LeBron James only scored 9 points but lead the team in assists, dishing out 8.

Next in line to take on team USA is Tunisia, who lost to Nigeria earlier today.