The Miami Heat’s 2015-2016 season is off to a pretty great start.
Currently 6-3, the Heat will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second time this year tonight, after previously beating them 96-84. And if they come out victorious, they will extend their winning streak to four.
Aside from just their record however, Miami is succeeding in other ways as well.
For one, draft pick Justise Winslow is proving to be exactly the type of player the organization hoped he would develop into.
Chris Bosh’s return also seems to be going smoothly, as he adjusts playing with the likes of Goran Dragic (who he did not have a chance to compete with last season) and Hassan Whiteside.
But there was a setback too; after a bizarre incident that still has yet to yield any real answers, Gerald Green was out of commission for a handful of games, only returning to practice earlier this week. However, he is set to return tonight and will be worked back into whatever rotation head coach Erik Spoelstra feels comfortable with.
And of course, there was also the trade involving Mario Chalmers. Some people celebrated his departure while others mourned it, but in the end everyone can agree on one thing: a Rio-less Heat team will take some getting used to.
When a NBA season is in full swing, the main focus is what happens on the court, night in and night out. But these players have lives off of the court as well.
Recently, the team got together to celebrate Amar’e Stoudemire’s birthday. Among those in attendance were Dwyane Wade, president Pat Riley and owner Micky Arison. And according to sources, everyone pitched in to buy the 33-year-old a gift of a lifetime: a $25,000 watch. Nice.
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The glitz and glamour does not end there though; Wade threw his fourth annual A Night On The Runwade fundraiser on Saturday night, an event benefiting the Wade’s World Foundation, for at-risk youth. There was food from favorites like Shake Shack, mingling, and then a fashion show, which was the highlight of the evening. And of course, the team came out to show their support.
Speaking of showing support, Bosh’s teammates and their significant others are showing his wife Adrienne some love, as she is opening her very own boutique in Miami.
And Dragic has news of his own to celebrate. After an unexpectedly difficult pregnancy that caused his wife, Maja, to give birth in Slovenia, not Miami, the guard is finally reunited with his family. Maja, his 2-year-old Mateo, and his newest bundle of joy, Viktoria, are safe and sound in South Beach, as of Sunday.
On the court, and off, it seems as though the Heat have truly shaken off their 2014-2015 season. And hopefully there is only more success to come.