Miami Heat Roundtable: It’s time to prove everyone wrong

This week, the AllUCanHeat staff is here to discuss common misconceptions about the Miami Heat.

Alright, what’s one argument about the Miami Heat you constantly find yourself having with people who don’t closely follow the team?

Rich Nurse (@followthepen): One argument that I constantly find myself having with people who do not follow the Miami Heat closely, is that the team actually puts a watchable product on the floor. Over the years, plenty of Heat fans have come with the excitement of Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Bosh and LeBron James and existed with them. So much so, that it goes unnoticed that Miami had two playoffs appearances–and was a game away from a third–in the four years post the Big Three.

Lauren Gewirtz (@laurengewirtz): The argument of why the Heat should want Dwyane Wade to stay, be on the team, etc. There are plenty of people out there who think he is ‘washed’ and wonder why the Heat would want him. This is less of a conversation now because it is clear that he plans on retiring in the somewhat near future, but fans of other teams sometimes do not understand how much he really is the life of the Heat and the City of Miami period.

Rahmeaun Rahming (@Boneman9000): Many of my friends and co-workers tell me the Heat need Wade on the roster to be remotely successful. I’ve always given them pushback since the team was doing well without him before this season’s trade deadline. There as the date of this article, I realize that may actually be true. Before the deadline, Hassan Whiteside was ninth on the team in total minutes and third in usage (minimum 900 minutes played). He would’ve been tenth if Dion Waiters wasn’t shut down for the season. From the deadline to the end of the season, Whiteside stayed at ninth in the minutes played department, even though Wade leap-frogged him. In this half of the season, he improved to second (minimum 400 minutes) on the team in usage, with Wade holding the top spot. That turned into a 15-12 record (meh), and one playoff win. Although this is not impressive, I can appreciate how head coach Erik Spoelstra was able to steal a chunk of Whiteside and Kelly Olynyk’s minutes for the sake of Wade to make a playoff push. In the scenario the Heat were in this summer, with no first round pick, there was no better option, and they needed Wade for every single moment. If you were a general manager and had no draft picks and limited cash, what would you do?

Chase Eyrich (@Ceyrich): “The Heat don’t have anyone.” One of the most annoying arguments you have to have with people who don’t follow the Heat is that they want to know only about All-Stars. In my opinion ,the Heat are one of the few teams that can have a successful season without someone who has consistently been an All-Star. There’s plenty of talent and most importantly a ton of hunger from everyone on the roster.