Long-time NBA writer Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated has the Boston Celtics finishing as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference this season. If that wasn't outlandish enough, he has the Miami Heat missing the playoffs entirely.
And if that's not the most laughable prediction heading into year one of the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, I'm not sure what is.
Look, it's completely understandable to try to be different. Everyone is picking San Antonio. Everyone is picking Oklahoma City. Everyone is picking New York. So if Mannix is trying to zag with all the zigging, I get it.
Why predicting the Heat to miss the playoffs makes no sense
But to predict that the Heat to miss the playoffs altogether is not just crazy. It's laughably crazy.
It's more than just questioning whether the Heat has a strong enough supporting cast around Giannis and Bam Adebayo. It's predicting that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra won't be able to get the team to mesh. It's predicting that either injuries or incompetence will win out in Miami. It's not just that the Heat won't be good; it's that they will be a disaster.
Because if the Heat does end up missing out on the playoffs entirely during the first year of the Giannis era, that's what it would be. It would be a massive and epic failure.
And maybe this is exactly what Mannix is predicting. It's just not going to happen. Short of a catastrophic injury to Giannis or Bam, the Heat are not missing the playoffs. Even if that's what Mannix is "predicting," that's a pretty irresponsible thing to do.
But this is not surprising by any means. It does seem that, with the exception of a few writers here and there, the Heat has been largely overlooked as a contender in the Eastern Conference. Personally, I do believe that many are making a big mistake.
There are certainly some big questions about the Heat heading into the first season of the Giannis era. There's no denying that. But to predict that the Heat will be an epic failure is just laughable. I'm not denying that there could be some growing pains, but I'm also not in a position to not give Spoelstra, Giannis, and Bam the benefit of the doubt.
Because even the Heat's floor is better than finishing 11th in the conference.
That's why they play the games. In actuality, these predictions may not mean much. Not many will remember them in a few months, but this specific one takes the cake. It's the most laughable prediction of the start of the Giannis era yet.
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