The Miami Heat have a roster riddled with injury-prone players, and not much depth with which to reduce their risk. Will this hurt them next season?
The Miami Heat were bogged down with injuries throughout last season, and the most important players on the roster are known to miss extensive time with injuries over the course of their careers.
Justise Winslow has played just 134 games over the last two seasons, and played 18 games three years ago. Goran Dragic has been durable over his career, but he played only 36 games last season and is 33 years old. Jimmy Butler can get you about 65 games a year, but that’s about it. He just turned 30.
Injuries to any of these three could be catastrophic to the Miami Heat, and not just because of the obvious loss of talent at the top of the roster that comes from losing one of the best players in your rotation.
In addition to the obvious, the Heat are afflicted by a lack of experience outside the top eight or nine players on the roster, and they are restricted in their ability to add more if and when things go badly in the health department.
They are hard capped thanks to the sign-and-trade which brought Jimmy Butler to South Beach, with less than $1 million to spare below the luxury tax apron which acts as the hard cap. They have the league-mandated minimum of 14 players on the roster, which means they are likely set going into the season.
Considering the fact they are entering training camp with the league minimum roster and the lack of flexibility with which to add more players, there likely won’t be cutthroat competition in camp for jobs and livelihoods. Mind you, there will be competition for rotation spots and for status in pecking order, but the lack of blood battles may make for a more staid camp and preseason.
While professional athletes are always out to prove themselves to their maximum capacity, there may be a little something missing for the Miami Heat going into the season as a result of the state of the roster.