As much as they're being overlooked in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat could very well emerge as a surprise team next season. But not everyone has that same belief in this roster. In fact, one ESPN analyst absolutely eviscerated the Heat on a recent podcast.
Longtime NBA analyst Tim Legler clearly isn't a fan of the Heat's roster, and that's putting it nicely. In his words, he doesn't believe the Heat are going to play a relevant role in the Eastern Conference this season and went so far as to say that Miami "bores" him as a team.
Considering the team is going to emerge "improved" from last season, and the fact that the East is overall at a worse position, these are pretty strong statements.
If the Heat isn't able to finish this upcoming season at .500 or better, something when terribly wrong for the team.
Fair expectations for the Heat
Legler aside, I do believe the Heat are being aggressively overlooked despite their strong moves during the offseason. In an Eastern Conference that doesn't have one great team, this could be the year where an unproven squad like the Heat could make some noise.
With arguably the best active head coach in basketball and a good roster, it would be foolish to count the Heat out before the season even begins. Nevertheless, that's exactly what Legler has done.
While I understand the Heat doesn't have the great players that some of the other Eastern Conference elites do, this isn't one of the worst rosters on paper. It's not great, but it's still good.
The Heat have three fringe-All-Star players with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Norman Powell. They also have a flurry of young players (Nikola Jovic, Kel'el Ware, and Pelle Larsson) who could end up taking a huge leap in their development this season.
Not to mention the intriguing other supporting players on their roster, such as Kasparas Jakucionis, Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Haywood Highsmith.
Where the Heat stack up in the Eastern Conference?
If things fall the right way for the Heat this season, there's a reasonable chance they could win 50-plus games and end up with a top 5 seed heading into the NBA Playoffs. On paper, there are maybe two teams clearly better than Miami? After that, it's pretty much a crapshoot in the Eastern Conference.
Sure, Legler may believe that the Heat are boring and may not factor much in the Eastern Conference, but that's just not the reality of their expectations. The Heat are being slept on, and Legler is just the latest example of that.