Where do the Miami Heat rank in the Eastern Conference?
According to ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are the projected favourites to make the NBA finals this season.
The Nets and Lakers have made plenty of great signings and trades throughout the 2021 off-season. From the Lakers trading for Russell Westbrook to the Nets signing key veteran players like Patty Mills, both rosters have made exceptional moves to better their chances at making the NBA finals. However, the Miami Heat, a team that has not received as much credit for their off-season moves, have also done phenomenal roster changes to better their chances at making the Finals. The Heat have added significant role players while also attaining former All-Star and champion Kyle Lowry. With these allocations, where do the Heat rank among other teams in the Eastern Conference?
When looking at the top organizations in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat are viewed as title contenders to start the season. While the 76ers may look significantly worse depending on what trade could happen for Simmons, the Bucks, Nets, and Heat are currently the three teams in the Eastern Conference that have the most excellent chance at making the NBA Finals.
The Heat have a lot of competition to look forward to this season. Even though they have an incredible roster, other teams in the East have arguably better rosters on paper. The Heat’s reality is that they need to overcome the former champions and a superteam before even reaching the NBA Finals! However, the Bucks and Nets have an outlier that the Heat could easily take advantage of.
The Brooklyn Nets have been dealing with a very stressful situation with Kyrie Irving. Due to Irving’s choice of not receiving the vaccine, the Nets have come to a conclusion in which Irving would have to be traded to remain as the clear-cut favourites to win the championship this season. While the Nets have two superstars in Kevin Durant and James Harden, neither player can be entirely relied on for the playoffs due to injuries from Durant and inconsistent offence from Harden. Despite both players being lethal, the Nets, unfortunately, would need a third all-star to superstar player to accommodate an injury or inconsistency from the other stars. The NBA community witnessed this when the Bucks unexpectedly defeated the Brooklyn Nets. Even though Durant was healthy for that series and played every minute he could, Harden was still inconsistent, and Irving was out due to injuries. Brooklyn would have most likely advanced if the Nets had Irving on the roster as they barely won against Durant.
While the Nets have pressure to win the championship this season, the Milwaukee Bucks have nothing else to prove as they were successful in their rebuild with Giannis Antetokounmpo and have won a championship. However, the Bucks’ likelihood of winning back-to-back titles is low as they lost vital rotational players like PJ Tucker during the 2021 off-season. Even though Tucker is only a role player, he is the best at what he does. From elevating a team’s morale to adding needed defensive intensity, Tucker is an impact player that always puts 100% effort no matter the situation. The Bucks lost free agency when they let Tucker join a different organization and a conference rival!
When looking at arguably the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, both teams have gotten significantly worse in their way. The Nets are in a predicament where they may have to trade Irving if he does not take the vaccine. In contrast, the Bucks have lost key rotational players and have gotten significantly worse as an organization. While they are in a better situation than the Nets, they have still gotten worse as an overall roster. The Miami Heat is the only team out of the top three teams listed that have not gotten worse! This is a significant advantage that the Heat have, especially when dissecting who they signed to their roster.
This past off-season, the Miami Heat made a sign and traded with the Toronto Raptors to receive former All-Star and champion Kyle Lowry! In addition to Lowry, the Heat also signed PJ Tucker, a pivotal piece to the Bucks championship success. In other words, general manager Pat Riley managed to sign two players that bring championship experience, needed intensity and leadership to the Heat. If Brooklyn has to trade Irving away, the Heat have made a solid argument in becoming the new favourites in making the NBA Finals. Riley has constructed a roster with literally no weaknesses, from scoring to playmaking to defence to rebounding. Jimmy Butler has managed to lead the Heat to the NBA finals without these allocations to the roster. With the additions of Lowry, Tucker and hopefully a healthy Victor Oladipo, expect the Miami Heat to be the favourites in making the NBA Finals and potentially winning a championship unless Irving receives the vaccine.
