The preseason is finally over and regular-season basketball is just a few days away. The Miami Heat are as ready as ever to get the season underway.
They ended up going 5-1 in the preseason and will be hoping to carry that momentum over into the regular season. With the amount of talent around the league, though, that will be no easy task.
Although it can still be argued that the West is better than the East, the East still has some great teams. Miami will aim to be towards the top of them.
That being said, who are Miami’s biggest competitors this year? Who will they be jockeying with in the standings for a top seed in the East all season long?
Teams the Miami Heat will compete with in the standings: Brooklyn Nets
This one is fairly obvious. If the Miami Heat want to be a top team in the Eastern Conference, then they are obviously going to have to deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
Even with the current drama surrounding the team, Brooklyn will be a force to be reckoned with. Their team without Kyrie Irving on it is still one of the best teams in the NBA.
Kevin Durant and James Harden are two of the best players in the entire league. On some lists, both are listed in the top 5 current NBA players.
The Miami Heat are going to have to go through the Nets if they want to snag the one seed. Even if that isn’t the end goal, they will still have to fight with them for playoff positioning down the line.