Miami Heat: Southeast Division Preview

Nov 14, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) protects the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) during the first half at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

BASKETBALL IS BACK, Y’ALL!

It’s a new season for Miami Heat fans, as we can finally wash off the months-old bile and vomit that was last season. Hope springs eternal! With a new season comes new expectations, and possibly new over-reactions. Is this the year Dwyane Wade plays 75 games? Is Hassan Whiteside some freak hybrid of Hakeen Olajuwon and David Robinson that was created in “Jurassic World”? Can Tyler Johnson really supplant Mario Chalmers as the best player on the Heat?

Sports!

However, we need to tap the brakes a little, as we still need to go over what we learned last season, which is the less said about the 2014-15 Heat, the better.

For the rest of the Southeast Division, we saw the Atlanta Hawks catch everyone off-guard and soar to 60 wins and become the “Spurs East” of the conference. The Washington Wizards continue to make progress as a team to look out for in the East. The Charlotte Hornets took a step back, as banking on Lance Stephenson wasn’t a gamble that paid off for Michael Jordan. And the Orlando Magic continued being the Orlando Magic.

But it’s time to look forward. The Southeast has produced a top-two seed in each of the last six seasons, so there’s a good chance whomever wins the division will look pretty good at the top of the conference standings. All five teams have gone through some sort of makeover, whether it be a coaching change (Magic); some roster changes (Hornets, Wizards); a big roster loss (Hawks); or complete face-lift (Heat), so there are still some questions to be asked.

So without further ado, let’s take a peek at the Southeast Division, by looking at where they’ve been and where they could be headed, and all the things that could effect the way they get there.

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