As the NBA season comes to a pause for the All-Star break, the Miami Heat sit in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 38-21 record.
Through many ups and downs, this team has displayed perseverance that puts them in a position to be recognized as one of the teams that will compete for a championship in the East this year.
How do they stack up against the other top teams in the East though?
Well, we don’t truly know.
There have not been too many games where the Miami Heat have been competed against other East contenders at their full strength, due to injuries to stars like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, as well as the recovery process of Victor Oladipo.
We will have to see teams face each other at full strength to get a better idea, but we can make judgments based on what’s been seen from other games this year.
Let’s take a pretty good look at each of the other top competitors from around the NBA’s Eastern Conference.