Miami Heat: 5 Things They Can Do To Contend Again- Health Is Wealth
After facing each other in the 2020 NBA Finals, a short 71 day offseason proved to be too much for the Heat and Lakers to handle this season, as both teams were eliminated in the first round.
5. Stay Healthy
Both teams struggled with injuries and COVID-19 protocols all year, leaving their stars sidelined for several games. While it is unlikely that all of these injuries were due to lack of rest, the short offseason may have played a role, as former Miami Heat star LeBron James recently pointed out:
They all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
He would go on to lay out many more great details, including facts about rest and the human body that he has learned across his long, great, illustrious and most importantly here, healthy career. The guy, famously, spends a ton of time and money on taking care of his body, so while there may not be agreeance universally, the man’s opinion has weight on the topic.
He isn’t the end all be all though, so there’s that too. Nevertheless, both teams looked exhausted by the time the playoffs were reached.
Keeping the Heat healthy next year would help the offense gel together better. Injuries are inevitable, but keeping the number of them low would help the Heat stay more organized and maintain an identity throughout the season.
That ideal will be harder for some players to achieve than others. Victor Oladipo is a player that has recently been struggling with staying active and missed in this year’s postseason after only a few regular season appearances for Miami.
As previously mentioned, Dragic has been battling more injuries now than in the past too. However, if the Heat can keep most of their players active for the regular season and heading into next year’s postseason, they can be a tough playoff matchup for any team.
Ensuring that a few of these five things happen will mean a lot towards those chances.