By virtue of keeping its team together, and stars moving out West, the Miami Heat should move up in the Eastern Conference standings this season.
After missing out on Gordon Hayward, the Miami Heat’s off-season was focused on bringing back a group that played at a 60-win pace during the second half of last season. Miami finished the season 41-41, missing the playoffs by one game due to a tiebreaker with the Chicago Bulls.
However, Chicago traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota and Indiana, another playoff team, shipped Paul George to Oklahoma City. With those stars going to the Western Conference, there’s room for teams to rise in the East.
By re-signing James Johnson and Dion Waiters, and adding Kelly Olynyk and Bam Adebayo, the Heat have solidified a team that should make a run at the playoffs. Pat Riley believes they could be a top-four team in the East. Per the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson:
"“Yes,” he said. “I think they should be competing for that, thinking in those terms. Cleveland has got some issues right now. They don’t from a talent standpoint but it seems as though they have some issues surrounding a lot of things. But I still look at them as a top team. I look at Boston as a team that could become monstrous. I still think they have another play or two that could be really big because of the assets they have and what could happen next year in free agency also. Washington proved they’re really a great team. Toronto even though they signed back both Kyle and Serge and gave away Carroll and Cory Joseph got back CJ Miles. So, there are other teams in the conference but we feel good. If you go into the season healthy, in shape and you’re feeling good and there’s been sort of a commitment to one another the sky’s the limit. You got to go for it….A lot of times with all this going on, we forget that we have one of the best point guards in the NBA and one of the top centers in the NBA in Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside.”"
Looking at the Heat’s roster, they seem to trail only the Cavaliers, Celtics, Raptors and Wizards in terms of talent. Depending on the leap its players make, the Bucks could factor into that group as well.
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Miami also has one of the best coaches in the league in Erik Spoelstra, which will factor into their regular-season success and could help them challenge Toronto and Washington.