The 2015-2016 Miami Heat: What The Future Holds

The Miami Heat are eight days away from their first game of the season. On Wednesday, October 28 they will face the Charlotte Hornets on their home turf, the AmericanAirlines Arena, at 7:30 PM ET. And although the start of 2015-2016 may only be a week (and a day) away, for Heat Nation, it cannot come soon enough.

Last year hurt. Badly. It ended on as heartbreaking of a note as it started, with very few high points along the way.

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After failing to three-peat, the Heat went into the summer of 2014, somber. They thought they could prove all of the nay-sayers wrong. That after being ridiculed for what seemed like the better part of a year, over promising the organization “not one, not two, not three…” rings once the Big Three got together, they could accomplish the near-impossible. But they did not. And things only went downhill from there.

LeBron James announced he would be heading back home to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers: a move that sent the jaws of the entire league, down to the floor. “The Decision,” the hate that owner Dan Gilbert spewed in an open letter to the King, the culmination of a super team in South Beach…all of it went out of the window. Per usual, James did what he wanted, when he wanted, and that was that.

Miami knew things would be different. They knew they would once again be a laughing stock. That wishes of things such as winning three championships in a row, let alone one, would for now be a pipe dream. And yet, they probably did not think things would be so bad.

The constant minor injuries. Losing Chris Bosh for half of a season over a major one. It was as though the entire season was a bad joke, or a dream that everyone just wanted to wake up from.

The good news is, eventually they did. The summer came, and a revival took place.

Bosh recovered. Dwyane Wade finally re-signed. Goran Dragic came back. Justise Winslow came aboard. All of the stars aligned for the Heat and president Pat Riley was able to make move after move, securing a group that would allow Miami to forget about the past, and look only towards the future.

So what does that future now hold?

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Well, for starters, a bit of an identity crisis.

Yes, some of these guys have played together before. And yes, a good amount of them have years of experience in the league. But team chemistry does not happen overnight. It will take time for everyone to trust one another, and learn the various strengths and weaknesses on the table.

The overall swagger will be different, too. More chill, somehow.

Obviously with personalities like Mario Chalmers and Chris “Birdman” Andersen in the mix, the demeanor will never be low-key, or heaven forbid, boring. But as borderline underdogs, the Heat no longer have to walk around with the same abrasiveness. Last season, there was even a touch of anger that came out every now again. Whether it was Hassan Whiteside reminding the media of how many teams prior passed him up, or Udonis Haslem speaking on the importance of loyalty, there was definitely a sense of resentment in the air.

Will Miami still be confident? Of course. Maybe even a bit cocky at times. But with the mindset of “we have so much to prove” out of the window, they can now get back to the basics of playing successful basketball.

There will also be injuries.

As cringe-worthy as that may seem, the reality is that athletes get hurt. So before a strained calf or sprained wrist sends Heat Nation up in arms, remember that every team deals with a number of health concerns. It is the nature of this business. But it does not mean that this year will be a repeat of 2014-2015.

Otherwise? Expect dunk-contest level antics from Gerald Green. Fast feet on both ends of the floor from Josh Richardson. A storm of three’s from Luol Deng. And probably a plethora of Spoisms (a la “we have to keep the main thing the main thing,”) from head coach Erik Spoelstra.

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