Roundtable predictions: Will the Miami Heat make the playoffs?
Will the Miami Heat make the playoffs? Will Justise Winslow shoot better than 33 percent? Who will lead the Heat in scoring? Will Hassan Whiteside be an All-Star? Will Goran Dragic finish the season on the team? The All U Can Heat staff weighs in.
Will the Miami Heat make the playoffs, and what will their final record be?
Ehsan Kassim (@Ehsan_Kassim): The Heat will go 35-47 this season, missing the playoffs by at least 5-6 games (41-41 will probably be the 8th seed). They will however be competitive most of the season, giving fits to opponents because of that defense. With the team looking like a longshot at the trade deadline in February, they will ultimately become sellers, including dealing Goran Dragic (more on that below).
Chris Posada (@CPoTweetsStuff): Assuming no Dragic deal, I’ll go 43-39. If he’s dealt, then it’ll likely 32-50. If there’s one thing an Erik Spolestra team will do well is play defense. That’ll be where it begins for them, and they have plenty to be encouraged about on that end of the court. As for the offense, I think the pieces on this team fits better than last year’s group, so it’ll really matter how well the kids improve. Dragic and Whiteside should carry the load, so Winslow/Richardson/Tyler Johnson won’t have a lot of pressure on their shoulders to have to do all the work.
Simon Smith (@SimonABenedict): The Heat will make the playoffs with a 47-35 record. This may sound high, but I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see this number higher. The Heat finished last season with a 19-10 record in the absence of Chris Bosh. That is a 54-win pace. Whilst Dwyane Wade has also departed, he possessed the fifth highest usage rate in the league last season and would have certainly held the team back from their current approach – running, speading the floor and shooting from deep. With potentially two first-time all-stars on the roster, the Heat could definitely surprise a lot of people this season.
Allana Tachauer (@AllanaTachauer): I refuse to give a final record prediction, because I’m terrible at these things and know it’ll then come back to bite me. The Heat will absolutely make the playoffs though. First off, it’s the East. Second, the team is sadly already used to playing without Bosh. Losing Wade will certainly be an adjustment, but with Dragic and Whiteside leading a solid group of young talent…I think people will be pleasantly surprised by just how resilient Miami can be.
Cory Sanning (@SanningNBA): The Heat will go 40-42 and miss the playoffs by a very narrow margin. While I fully expect them to take strides and be competitive this year, the postseason just seems a bit out of reach for a team that just lost nearly 40% of its total offense. Not to mention the void of veteran leadership across the board can not to be immediately replaced. Niether can a certain name. (cough…Dwyane Wade…cough)
Kristopher Keaton (@kmkeaton2): I think 41-41 seems more than fair. I’m not the biggest believer in Goran Dragic, but maybe being the primary ball-handler will benefit him this year. Also, relying on Hassan Whiteside to be the guy scares me immensely. Seeing Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson blossom will be nice to watch, though. Outside of that, everything seems pretty average at best for this season.
Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg): As excited as I am for this team, it’s not about winning this season. The No. 1 priority for the Heat is developing this young core, and that means letting them make mistakes. Over 82 games, they’ll make plenty. They’ll win 35 games and miss the playoffs, but that’s fine! We’ll be even more optimistic about the Heat this time next year, with another lottery pick on the roster.