The Miami Heat followed up a second-round playoff exit with some substantial roster turnover. The face of the franchise walked away when Dwyane Wade left to sign with the Chicago Bulls and there is some ambiguity about the team’s franchise player, Chris Bosh, as to whether or not he’ll play this season.
The good news is that the Heat have an excellent infrastructure in place with General Manager Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra. They’ll make the necessary moves to compete for a championship, even if that doesn’t happen this year.
Offseason Changes
After watching Miami offer Kevin Durant a maximum deal and signing Hassan Whiteside to max money, Wade felt slighted by the organization’s unwillingness to pay him the money he felt he deserved. After all, he took pay cuts for years when the Heat asked him to in order to acquire other players to help the team. As a result, he decided to take his talents to the Windy City where he will play for his hometown Bulls. Wade signed a two-year, $47.5 million deal that includes a player option. Bosh has said that he wants to play but the Heat will need to figure out if they can get the insurance required for him to suit up. Without those two, the Heat figure to take a huge dive down the standings.
Miami was able to lock up Whiteside and Tyler Johnson to long-term contracts, but they watched veterans Luol Deng and Joe Johnson walk after they signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz respectively. The new faces of the team are Whiteside, Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow, but that’s probably not good enough to get this team into the playoffs.
Strengths
Whiteside is one of the best shot blockers in the NBA and as long as he stays healthy, he can be a force under the basket at both ends of the floor. A healthy Bosh would be the perfect compliment to Whiteside. With those two, the Miami Heat have the makings of an excellent frontcourt – maybe one of the best in the NBA. Without Bosh, this team will have a huge hole at the power forward position.
Meanwhile, Miami is in the midst of somewhat of a youth movement with players like Justice Winslow and Josh Richardson primed to take on more responsibility this season. Johnson is another intriguing guard that is ready to take on a bigger role. The question is who is ready to emerge and who is just a mirage of potential? We haven’t seen enough consistency out of these players to say that they can be much more than roleplayers.
Weaknesses
While the youth and athleticism is in place, the Miami Heat are severely lacking in terms of experience and leadership and that issue could be even worse if they are without Bosh. Miami is lacking the veteran star that can be the go-to player in clutch situations and it will be interesting to see who takes on that role with Wade out of town. The Miami Heat are also lacking in terms of three-point shooting, which is an issue dating back to last season. Miami could use a talented pure scorer that can help stretch the floor for athletic players like Winslow and Richardson and that is one area that will be a major weakness this season.
Outlook
The Miami Heat have some intriguing young talent in place with Whiteside, Winslow, Richardson and Johnson, but a team that recorded 48 wins a year ago will have a tough time repeating without veterans like Wade, Deng, Johnson and possibly Bosh. Miami will be that much better with Bosh in the lineup but there is no word on whether he will play and it’s highly unlikely he will be in the lineup for a full 82 games. The Heat are coming off a rocky offseason in which they lost the face of their franchise so some regression should be expected this season. Look for them to miss the playoffs in 2016 as they move into a phase of rebuilding.
Prediction: 4th in Southeast Division; 11th in Eastern Conference
