Miami Heat: 3 reasons why the 2018-19 team will surprise the league

The Miami Heat will have some surprises for the league this season.

It’s officially August, meaning that the NBA season is just over two months away.

Although this offseason has been fairly quiet for the Heat, that does not mean that there will not be any newness to this upcoming season. Not making any large moves has kept the Heat on the down low in terms of expectations.

However, we know things are going on behind the scenes.

As president Pat Riley put it last week in a press conference, “All of our guys are working their a** off.”

When he says ‘all,’ Heat fans have the option of buying into it or not.

Hassan Whiteside‘s efforts have been up for debate over the past year, but the organization is still trusting that he will get back to what they know he can be.

"“I’m convinced and I’m confident that if he just comes and plays every night as hard as he can play and do what he does best, which is rebound the ball and block shots and be a rim protector, go rim to rim, be a hard pick-and-roll player, defend, all of those things, and if he does it with a pure heart…I think he’ll have a great year,” said Riley."

Outside of return, there are a few young players that the team signed, including Derrick Jones Jr. and Yante Maten.

Jones Jr. put on a show in Summer League, giving Heat fans something to look forward to in this otherwise bleak offseason. Maten is a 6-foot-9 power forward out of Georgia and adds to what appears to be the mission of the Heat: signing and investing in young players that they have seen potential from.

The core of this team is staying together but has a lot to prove.

Here are three reasons why the 2018-19 team will surprise the league.