As the Eastern Conference gets stronger yearly, the Miami Heat’s chances of slipping this season are higher than in recent years. Any hope they have to be a top seed will depend on the health and availability of their important players.
Eastern Conference Hopes for the Miami Heat
Where Does Miami Stack Up in the East?
For several years, the Heat have prided themselves on being one of the more formidable teams in the NBA, mentally and physically. The back-and-forth battles with their Eastern Conference rivals, the Boston Celtics, in the playoffs and the regular season have only helped position the Heat to keep up and grind out wins and upsets. In the last five years, the Heat have been to the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals on more than one occasion, and they’re always in the mix of things during the season. This is mainly due to their strength and toughness as a team and organization.
However, last season was a rather stale and bitter experience. Injuries struck Miami throughout the regular season. Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Terry Rozier, all vital pieces to Miami’s team, battled through the pains and frustrations of missed time. Butler and Rozier did not play in the opening round loss to Boston. As we look forward to a new season, is it fair to question Miami’s stature in the East? Maybe. The Heat did nothing overly significant this summer via trade or free agency. Their inactivity also left some questions pointing to the offensive woes that plagued them last season. When the season’s final stretch begins to play out, Miami may again find themselves fighting for a seed between sixth and eighth.
Eastern Conference Opponents Are Only Getting Better
Since the early 2000s, the West has mostly taken the prize as the superior conference. This superiority seems to still be the case today, although the East has definitely built itself to be stronger, with teams improving each year. There are about half a dozen teams that might be better than the Heat, and certainly three or four teams that unquestionably are better, at least on paper. The Indiana Pacers were the team Miami kept switching seeds back and forth with in the last few weeks of last season. Indiana eventually avoided the play-in, while the Heat fell into the Play-In Tournament. Since the Tyrese Haliburton trade, Indiana has continued to rise, and they will be even better this year. The same can be said for the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Orlando Magic. All three teams spent time at the top of the East last year, and all made the playoffs.
Then there are the other top teams in the East—the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Philadelphia 76ers. The Bucks are banking on the hope that year two with Damian Lillard will be much better than year one. Philly added what could be the piece that can get Joel Embiid and the 76ers past the second round in Paul George. As for the Celtics, don’t be surprised if they duplicate last season’s success.
Miami’s Hope Is Their Health
Butler remaining in Miami was the best thing for the Heat to have any stock in the upcoming season. Without him, Miami would almost more likely be a bottom-seeded team in the East. As fantastic as Bam Adebayo is, he’s not a player who can carry a team alone. The hope for Miami this season is to stay healthy and avoid missed time from their starters and key players. Otherwise, those hopes will see them right back in a play-in scenario. Miami would then face a much better team in the opening round of the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
Miami has proved they can surprise and upset before though. When it comes to the Heat, you can’t wholly brush them off. There is also hope in that for the fanbase.
