The NBA released full season schedules on Monday. Here are six dates that at least two players will be marking and so should the Miami Heat.
Heading into the 2019-20 NBA season, the Miami Heat will have a new look. Unlike last season, they will now open the season with a star player in his prime on their roster. This player is Jimmy Butler.
On top of the Jimmy Butler acquisition, the Miami Heat were also able to land Meyers Leonard from the Portland Trail Blazers. Leonard is a floor-spacing big who should be able to help the Heat in a few areas. While his size should allow him to fit right in on defense, especially with rebounding and rim protection, he also displayed how much of a scoring and shooting threat he can be on offense during last year’s playoffs.
When looking at these two new acquisitions for the Miami Heat though, they weren’t just free-agent pickups, they definitely came at a cost. There is a catch though, one came at a great cost while the other seemed like a bonus, considering what went into that transaction.
The one that was the “great cost” was the situation in which the Miami Heat had to send Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers as apart of the Jimmy Butler deal. The one that “seemed like a bonus” was receiving Meyers Leonard as apart of the deal that sent Hassan Whiteside to the Portland Trail Blazers, he who is rarely to be named for his potshots on the way out of the door.
With the full NBA regular-season schedules being released on Monday though, that does bring up a few interesting points and corresponding dates. Both these players have had at least a few things to say since leaving Miami, which makes these dates even that much more interesting.
Josh Richardson & the Philadelphia 76ers
The Miami Heat face off against the Sixers on four occasions in this upcoming season. They split a pair of meetings both at home and away.
Since leaving the Heat, Richardson has had some pretty interesting things to say. Here is a quote from the former Miami swingman in a piece for nbcsports.com written by Paul Hudrick:
"It sounds like Richardson, acquired in the sign-and-trade deal involving Jimmy Butler, is looking forward to taking on his former team.“Honestly, when I come back here, I want to kill the Heat,” Richardson said. “I want to beat them by 20. That’s just how I’m built. If I was on the Heat, I would want to beat Philly by 50 because that’s just how the rivalry, how are teams went.”"
Pretty intense words from the former Heat player. It doesn’t surprise though due to how Richardson is put together from a competitive perspective. Here are the exact dates.
- Saturday, November 23rd at Philadelphia, 7:30 PM ET
- Wednesday, December 18th at Philadelphia, 7:30 PM ET
- Saturday, December 28th in Miami, 8:00 PM ET
- Monday, February 3rd in Miami, 7:30 PM ET
These are dates to look forward to not only to see if Richardson can make his wishes a reality but also due to the nature of this developing rivalry between the Sixers and the Miami Heat. It is also worth noting because of the Jimmy Butler element. Either way, they should be riveting games to behold.
Hassan Whiteside & the Portland Trail Blazers
As pleasing as it would be to not give he who is rarely to be named any more publicity, notoriety, or real estate in our collective fan memory banks, the matchups between his new team and the Miami Heat should be must-watch television. This is not only because he had a ton to say about how the team and rotations were being handled while he was a part of the team, but because he had even more to say upon being shipped off.
The notorious “we got shooters” post he made on social media rang bells like Quasimodo. The current members of the Miami Heat, who were his teammates that obviously left him feeling like he didn’t “have shooters” while in Miami, should feel compelled to be at their best when they see their former cohort turned nemesis. Here are the dates for these games.
- Sunday, January 5th in Miami, 6:00 PM ET
- Sunday, February 9th at Portland, 9:00 PM ET
With the potential brimming from this team this season, every game on the schedule is a big and important game. The aforementioned games against former members of the Miami Heat though, mean a little bit more. This is especially after getting a glimpse into how they currently feel about the situation, but no matter the circumstances, the Miami Heat faithful should be chomping at the bit to see exactly what we can make of this season.