You have to go back 20 years to find a Miami Heat team similar to this one.
This Miami Heat team is capturing the hearts of South Floridians. It plays fast, they have fun and some great personalities and leaders who take accountability in the locker room. It isn’t quite as rambunctious as the video bombing group of two years ago.
It’s something less staged, a bit more organic. Rather than sneaking up behind teammates during post-game interviews, we see smiles and laughs when Goran Dragic misses a dunk (or, later, makes it!).
When Dragic finally dunked, it got me thinking: Have we ever seen a Heat team like this? One that came together, together and made an unexpected late push for the playoffs.
Immediately, I think of one of my favorite Heat teams of all time. The 2003-04 squad otherwise known as Dwyane Wade’s rookie year. Wade, Eddie Jones, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom and Brian Grant. Young bucks Udonis Haslem and Rasual Butler coming off the bench. It had a similar vibe. Over achieving. Nothing to lose. Just having fun.
But what about statistically? Based on any number of advanced statistics, the Heat are one of the best teams in the league since the All-Star break. For the balance of the season, Miami is an average offensive group and one of the top defensive groups in the league.
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I went to basketball-reference.com to see which Heat team is most similar to this one on a purely statistical level.
What we get is the 1995-96 Heat. A team that featured a peak Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway, and role players like Billy Owens, Bimbo Coles, Kevin Willis, Rex Chapman and Keith Askins.
Stylistically the 1995-96 team didn’t play with the same pace as these Heat, but few teams played as fast in the 90s as their modern day counterparts. The league has gotten faster.
Statistically, however, the two teams are close.
1995-96: 1.43 margin of victory, 105.3 points per 100 possessions, 103.8 points allowed per 100 possessions, 50.1% effective field goal percentage.
2015-16: 1.33 margin of victory, 105.5 points per 100 possessions, 104.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, 50.5% effective field goal percentage.
That’s pretty darn close. The similarities are clear in the stats, and a 25-year-old Mourning gave that team a similar presence to what the 26-year-old Hassan Whiteside gives this year’s team. Goran Dragic is Miami’s best point guard since Tim Hardaway ran the the offense back in the 90s as well.
However, that 1995-96 group finished with a record of 42-40, in third place in the Atlantic division and lost in the first round of the playoffs.Hopefully the 2015-16 Heat don’t see an early out like the 1995-96 squad. This year’s Heat have already won 42 games this season, and are on pace to grab one of the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference.