How Will the Lockout Affect the Miami Heat?

There’s good news and bad news here for Heat fans.  David Stern announced Monday night that he would be cancelling the first two weeks of the NBA season after failing to reach a labor agreement with players.  What does this mean for the Miami Heat?

First, the bad news.  Let’s face it: the Miami Heat are still a relatively new team.  They will need as much playing time together as possible before the playoffs to build better team chemistry.  Although they have played an entire season together as the big 3, some key components were missing throughout the regular season.  Udonis Haslem missed the final 69 games of the regular season and wasn’t active until late in the playoffs giving him minimal play time overall with the 3 superstars.  Look for Mike Miller to play a much bigger role next season and his time on the court will be crucial.

There are also questions at the point guard and center positions.  It is almost guaranteed that the Heat will be making moves at these two positions especially with the retirement of Zydrunas Ilgauskas and the expiring contracts of Mario Chalmers, Mike Bibby, Juwan Howard, and Erick Dampier, and Jamaal Magloire.  Who will the Heat retain out of this group?  It is likely that they may sign new players who may even end up on the Heat’s starting lineup which would mean an even great disadvantage to a shortened season.

The good news is that the Miami Heat shouldn’t be as negatively impacted by the lockout as some other teams might be.  The fan excitement in Miami will be almost at a level almost as high, if not higher, as it was at the beginning of last season giving a much needed boost to the team after the prolonged offseason.  The excitement over the NFL after the lockout is evidence of the upcoming enthusiasm at the end of the NBA lockout.

Once the lockout eventually ends, expect a smooth transition for the Miami Heat.  The players have a great relationship with Heat majority owner Micky Arison, CEO Nick Arison, and President of Basketball Operations Pat Riley.  This positive relationship between the players and the front office should bode well for the Heat.  With Dwyane Wade leading the team and especially his relationship with Pat Riley, there should be no rifts between the two sides ensuring that both groups will work together in a productive manner to have a successful season.  This is one advantage that the Heat have over many other teams in the league.

It looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer for some Miami Heat basketball but I assure you, it will be worth the wait.  In the meantime, who do you think is to blame for the NBA lockout?  Let us know in our poll.