Once again, ESPN is predicting mediocrity for the Miami Heat ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season. As would come as a surprise to no one, they're projected to finish, you guessed it, as a Play-In Tournament team in the Eastern Conference. At this point, the disrespect is not entirely shocking, but it's certainly a bit much.
If you want to criticize the Heat for trading Jimmy Butler, fine. If you want to nitpick them for not going harder after Kevin Durant, that's not surprising either. However, to continue to discount this roster (and the upgrade they made this offseason) time and time again, even before training camp begins, is where lines are being crossed.
To a certain extent, sure. I don't think anyone expects the Heat to be competing for a championship this season. However, let's also not act like this team is going to be bad. They're not. And compared to the rest of the Eastern Conference, there's a way you can sell the Heat on being a lot better than most expect, especially with ESPN penciling them in as the 9th seed in the conference.
The East is not that overwhelming
The biggest issue I have with this specific prediction is, the East is not that daunting. And while the Heat admittedly don't have a championship-contending roster at the moment, it's also difficult to pinpoint which teams will clearly be better than them.
The Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks will almost certainly be better than the Heat. No surprises there. But aside from that, the rest of the East is pretty much a crapshoot.
The Orlando Magic should be better, especially after the addition of Desmond Bane, but even that's not a guarantee. The same should be said about the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, and Detroit Pistons.
Who knows how much of a step back the Boston Celtics are going to take, and the Philadelphia 76ers are still one of the bigger question marks in the league. And yet, everyone sure seems to be willing to trust all of those situations more than the Heat's.
The addition of Norman Powell continues to be overlooked
Mind you, this is a Heat team that has a solid cast of players, led by Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. Plus, the addition of Norman Powell, who is coming off an All-Star level campaign. The Heat also has a few other dark-horse young players who could end up taking another step forward in their individual development.
Still, ESPN will continue to taunt the unproven Hawks and Pistons over the Heat. I just don't see it, and neither should anyone inside that Heat locker room.
Miami continues to be disrespected and, at this point, it's becoming personal. At least that's how every last player on this team's roster should feel. With a huge chip on their shoulder, the Heat should use this motivation to prove everyone wrong.