Miami Heat: A 2019-20 NBA regular season preview and primer

The Miami Heat are getting set to kick off their 2019-20 regular season. Here are all the things we’ve done here at AUCH to get us familiar and ready for the year.

I. Introduction- Welcome to the Culture…the #HeatCulture

The Miami Heat had a very successful offseason by all standards. They were able to land a superstar in Jimmy Butler, although it took being able to let go of one of the organization’s pillars over the last few seasons in Josh Richardson.

On top of acquiring Butler, the team managed to rid themselves of a certain center who is not to be named. “Rid” may seem like a strong word here, but after all of the noise he had made over the last few seasons, it was simply time for a change on both sides.

That wasn’t a total waste on the part of the Miami Heat though. As a part of that deal that eventually sent the former number 21 of the Miami Heat to the Portland Trail Blazers, they were able to land a more skilled seven-footer in Meyers Leonard.

The Miami Heat also had a very strong NBA draft. They were not only able to land Tyler Herro in the first round with the 13th overall pick, but they were also able to nab KZ Okpala in the second round essentially.

While Herro looks like he could be a starter from day one, they definitely didn’t miss on him based on the goods he’s shown throughout the NBA Summer League and short preseason thus far. While Okpala is a bit more on the developmental side when it comes to some of his actual basketball skills, his raw athleticism, defensive capabilities, and motor should afford him the opportunity to help the big club out at some point this season as well.

Coach Erik Spoelstra received an extension from the club. This extension is one that should see him at the helm for at least the next five seasons, including this one that is upcoming.

After acquiring Jimmy Butler and in accordance with the apparent word given to Butler by the Heat’s front office as they attempted to woo him into signing, they were hot on the trails of another superstar type player to pair alongside the enigmatic wingman.

After striking out on Russell Westbrook, they turned a minimal focus to the forgotten man in that deal. This was Chris Paul, but after details of what it might take to land him from the Oklahoma City Thunder started to emerge, the Miami Heat seemingly fell back in their pursuit of CP3. They then appeared to turn their attention to the Washington Wizard’s Bradley Beal, but nothing has emerged as of yet.

As that was a quick synopsis of the offseason, we now find ourselves at the beginning of the preseason. The Miami Heat have looked good across two preseason games at the time of the production of this piece. We will include those recaps and game thoughts here as well and continue to try and update them as we move through the remainder of the preseason.

While the above-linked story will explain why Dwyane Wade is the greatest Miami Heat player of all time, there will be text links to bring you back to the top of the primer at the bottom of each slide. We will be diving into player profiles, goals, predictions, and relevant pieces about this upcoming season.

We will also revisit relevant storylines, analysis, commentary pieces, and pieces that reflect on major moments, storylines, or developments during the Heats offseason, leading into this preseason and regular season, as well as those that may become a reality at some point during the regular season. Here is a season preview to get you started.

Here are a table of contents for easy access to particular sections of the primer.

I. Introduction- Welcome to the Culture…the #HeatCulture

II. What THEY think of the Miami Heat

III. What WE think of the Heat

IV. The Legends’ of Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra

V. Jimmy Butler

VI. Justise Winslow

VII. Bam Adebayo

VIII. Goran Dragic and James Johnson

IX. Udonis Haslem and Derrick Jones Jr.

X. Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk

XI. Tyler Herro and KZ Okpala