The Miami Heat have been a surprise to everybody, and they’re climbing the pecking order in the NBA. We’ll take a look at the major power rankings’ assessment of this impressive team’s start.
Every team has high hopes to start their season, but almost no team over-realizes those hopes to the extent the Miami Heat have so far. As a result, the Heat have skyrocketed up every projection service’s board (like FiveThirtyEight), and they’ve done the same in the major outlets’ power rankings as well.
In our newest weekly feature, we’ll take stock of those outlets and their evaluation of the Heat. We’ll also take their total rankings and produce an average, just to give a clearer idea of how the group at large estimates them.
If there’s an outlet that we miss that you read regularly and would like to see it included, let us know on Twitter at @AllUCanHeat1.
Let’s get started.
NBA.com: 2nd
It’s amazing, NBA.com’s top three teams are all from the Eastern Conference. The Milwaukee Bucks are first, the Heat are second and the Boston Celtics are third. The Heat moved up from the fifth spot a week ago.
An excerpt from John Schuhmann:
"With the weekend wins (in which they scored more than 114 points per 100 possessions against two top-10 defenses), the Heat are in second place in the East and have the best record (5-2) in games played between the top six."
ESPN.com: 2nd
Much like NBA.com, ESPN has the Bucks and Heat as the top two teams in the NBA. In this case, the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers come third and fourth before the fifth-place Celtics. The Miami Heat moved up from fourth a week ago.
An excerpt from ESPN’s staff:
"In a wide-open Rookie of the Year race, Tyler Herro is making a strong case. And not just in the quality numbers — 13.9 points on quality shooting percentages — but more in the big moments and big shots he keeps producing. He’s shooting almost 60% from 3 in clutch time and is 3-of-3 on go-ahead 3s in the final minute, the most makes in that situation in the league this season."
CBS Sports: 2nd
The Milwaukee Bucks remain the consensus top pick, and the Heat come in second just like they sit in the Eastern Conference standings. CBS goes a bit outside the box this time for third place, picking the Denver Nuggets to complete the top three. The Heat move up from fifth a week ago.
An excerpt from CBS Sports’ Colin Ward-Henninger:
"Jimmy Butler and the Heat passed a series of difficult tests this week, defending their home court with narrow wins over the Jazz, Pacers and 76ers to run their winning streak to five games. These types of nail-biters against quality opponents only further prepare the Heat for their potential playoff battles, and Butler has proven himself to be the leader they expected him to be."
The Athletic: 2nd (paywall)
The Miami Heat make their biggest leap so far in the eyes of The Athletic, jumping all the way from eighth to second over the course of the past week. The Bucks are exactly where you think they are, and the Los Angeles Lakers are in third, followed in fourth by Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks.
An excerpt from Zach Harper:
"At times, it feels like the Miami media and the Miami fan base are overstating just how good this team is and how good it can be. And yet, the Heat have mostly proven them to be right through the first 32 games of the season. This team is excellent and has a 9-6 record against non-losing teams."
Bleacher Report: 5th
Heat fans, consider this your green light to feel aggrieved. Not only did Bleacher Report rank the Miami Heat fifth this week, but they ranked them fifth a week ago as well. I guess wins over the Utah Jazz, Indiana Pacers and Philadelphia 76ers (for the second time in a week) don’t mean much over there, but every team needs its haters.
An excerpt from Grant Hughes:
"The Heat don’t always hit shots or take care of the ball, but hustle remains a constant.Relentlessness determined the result in Friday’s 113-112 win over the Indiana Pacers. During a night on which Miami hammered Indy on the boards 56-34, a pair of offensive rebounds gave Goran Dragic the chance to hit the game-winner with 6.8 seconds remaining.On Saturday, the Heat scrapped, harassed the Philadelphia 76ers with the zone defense that produced a win back on Dec. 18 and got key late threes from Tyler Herro to hand Philly another defeat, this one by a final of 117-116 in overtime."
Average rank: 2.6
The Miami Heat were a Bleacher Report power ranking away from a perfect second place mark behind the mighty Bucks.
Make sure to check back next week for our power rankings breakdown.