A couple of months removed from their NBA Finals run, the Miami Heat look to repeat as Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat did not have much to do heading into the offseason.
Key additions: Maurice Harkless, Avery Bradley, Precious Achiuwa
The Heat were able to pull Bradley away from the Lakers, after talking to him last season. Bradley played a key role for the Lakers before the Bubble, which he opted out of.
All three of these players could play big roles for the Heat this next season. Achiuwa was the Heat’s first-round selection in the draft, he has a lot of comparisons to Bam Adebayo and can learn from him. He most likely may be the backup Power Forward.
Maurice Harkless has been with many teams over the past two years. But he had his best years with the Portland Trail Blazers. Coming into the NBA his rookie season, Harkless had a lot of potential, but he has turned into a 3 and D player. Beyond that, Harkless is a chemistry guy and he will reunite with Meyers Leonard.
Key Losses: Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill, Derrick Jones Jr., James Johnson,
Crowder will be missed the most out of these four. He provided a 3 and D presence that a lot of teams love, and hes actually good at it. With the Heat, Crowder provided 11.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.
The others will be missed depth wise. But, Bradley and Harkless can replace Crowder on defense and provide more scoring.
The Heat also lost the reigning NBA Dunk Champion Derrick Jones Jr.
Projected Starting Rotation: Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Meyers Leonard, Bam Adebayo
With the emergence of Herro in the playoffs, he will replace Duncan Robinson in the starting rotation. After not playing at all during the bubble, Leonard will rejoin the starting rotation for the regular season.
Season Outlook:
Can the Miami Heat repeat the success they had last season? Can they repeat what they did in the bubble? How good will Jimmy Butler be this season?
The Miami Heat will take a step forward this season, Adebayo and Butler will lead the team to a better season than the Heat had last year. Tyler Herro will also become the third scorer this season.
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