Miami Heat Roundtable: Predicting final 23 games, overall record, and seeding

Miami Heat Roundtable: Predicting Last 23, Final Record, & Seed – Eric’s Take

The new-look Miami Heat enter the stretch run with a 32-27 record, currently a seven-seed in the East.

Eric’s Take – (@FrittsWrites)

Looking at the remaining strength of schedule and Miami doesn’t have the easiest road. It’s not the hardest but it is top ten.

The Heat’s new look is mainly due to the buyout addition, Kevin Love. Love wasn’t playing much in Cleveland this year, but last season was a great contributor off the bench.

He completely switched his attitude around and finished second in the 6th Man Of The Year voting to Tyler Herro. It’s hard to tell, as he’s only played 821 minutes this year, but Love really could be a great late-season addition.

He could be coming in cold but we know he immediately went to work in the gym after signing in Miami. But even in best case scenario, how much will that give this Heat team?

Is one player really going to make that big of a deal? Yes, but mainly because this Heat team is struggling so much on offense.

They are 25th in points per possession, and 27th in effective field goal percentage per Cleaning the Glass. That’s rough.

Defensively, it’s the opposite. They are fifth in points per possession and fourth in adjusted defensive rating per multiple sources.

There was some criticism about Love’s defensive ability or lack thereof. But sacrificing a little defense on the wings makes sense if he can help bring the offense, at least, to average.

Love is a shooter, something this group desperately needs. Not to mention the intangibles, he’s a great teammate and has real playoff experience.

He’s been to the finals four times and has one ring. And with that, here’s the prediction.

Record Prediction Across Final 23 Games: 14-9

Predicted Final Record And Finish In Eastern Conference: 46-36 And 6th

And no, that doesn’t sound amazing—but if they don’t make the Love move it’s probably 11-12.