How does the Miami Heat’s recent winning streak impact how they will go about rebuilding? The All U Can Heat staff weighs in.
Welcome to another Miami Heat round table. On today’s agenda, the All U Can Heat staff takes a look at if the Heat’s win streak is a good or bad thing in the longterm, if Dion Waiters is a building block and how the team should go about rebuilding.
Is this win streak: (A.) a miracle or (B.) a curse?
Allana Tachauer (@AllanaTachauer): It’s (c) destiny. Look, this is Miami Heat basketball we’re talking about. Heat Nation should have never given up hope in the first place. Yes, it was rough adjusting to having lost Dwyane Wade and knowing Chris Bosh would never return. And sure, the team had a plethora of injuries to deal with. But the potential was always there. Now, their real talent is just finally shining through.
Frank Urbina (@frankurbina_): B. The Heat went from a 55 percent chance of landing a top three pick in the draft a few weeks ago, to a 4 percent chance as of today (via Tankathon). The winning streak has been fun, but could ultimately prove costly. Unless, that is, Pat Riley wants to build the future of the franchise around Dion Waiters and a 31-year old Goran Dragic. I would feel better about the win streak if Justise Winslow and/or Josh Richardson had a hand in it. Sadly, neither has played in weeks.
Ivan Mora (@moraivan): I have to agree with Allana. I wouldn’t call it a miracle or a curse. I have always felt that Miami was never a team whose strategy was to tank. They’re better than that. They have the talent, they just needed to adjust and overcome all these injuries. I think Miami is and always has been a playoff contender. They just needed to adjust and overcome these injuries. Riley has a talent for finding and building role players and if this win streak is any testament to that, we are in for a run ride.
Simon Smith (@SimonABenedict): Neither. The team was clearly underperforming with an 11-30 record. But this has obviously been a very pleasant surprise. It appears that after such an upheaval of the roster over the offseason, the players have familiarized themselves with each other, and are bearing the fruits for their persistence.
Rich Nurse (@followthepen): The winning streak is both a miracle and a curse. Let’s face it, no one would have ever imagined that the fourth worst scoring team in the league would suddenly go on a run where they averaged 107 points per game–up from their normal 99.9. The curse comes in because the streak leaves the Heat in no man’s land, possibly not good enough to make the playoffs–in the end–but too good to capitalize with a top pick.
Malcolm Haynes(@realMGHaynes): It’s (a) a miracle. At 11-30, the Heat should have lost easily to the Warriors, Rockets, and Hawks. The Heat now own one of the longest win streaks by a sub .500 team ever. Nine consecutive wins is the third best winning streak this season in the NBA. It will end eventually, but for now, we ought to revel in the miracle.
Michael Brock (@mbrock03): Neither. It’s a curse to anyone envisioning Lonzo Ball or Markelle Fultz in a Heat uniform next year. But frankly, the Heat roster isn’t that bad. At least not 11-30 bad. They are also not nine game streak good either, but the strong play shows that the many new acquisitions are finally gelling. It also displays the culture that Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra have built in Miami that shouldn’t be overlooked by free agents.