Subscribe
Follow Us
It's hard to argue that anyone in the Eastern Conference is better than the Heat right now.
There's a solid case to be made that the Philadelphia Sixers, Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks will give them a tough series, and there's even a potential that any of those teams could knock them out. The Miami Heat, on the other hand, might be able to easily defeat these teams in a series, as we saw two seasons ago when they took over in the playoffs.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets are just a few of the teams in the Eastern Conference with numerous question marks. We can look at all of these teams and say that they have a lot of questions, but you can't say the same about the Miami Heat. Philadelphia is renowned for failing to advance past the second round of the playoffs, and with James Harden, Joel Embiid, and Doc Rivers on the roster, it's a nightmare waiting to happen if their playoff woes continue, as they have throughout their careers.
Brooklyn's squad is also riddled with uncertainties, as they are unsure if Kevin Durant will return as healthy as he was before his injury, and they must also consider the fact that Ben Simmons has struggled in recent playoffs, among other things. Milwaukee is clearly one of the top teams in the NBA when they are at their best, but the biggest issue is whether they will be at their best this season. They did a fantastic job against the Miami Heat a year ago, but then the Heat were able to beat the Bucks rather handily this season despite missing the majority of their lineup.
Do the Heat have what it takes? Let’s take a look at if the Heat are pretenders or contenders.
Winning an NBA title is never easy. As we have seen with the past 20 champions, every team is going to need something significant to go their way. Whether that is an unfortunate injury to someone, or having guys on the roster step up more than they ever have. There is a reason why winning a championship is so hard, and a reason why we have seen crazy upsets in the past. If a team is going to win a title, they’re going to need everyone on their roster to be playing the best basketball they possibly can, and even sometimes that isn’t enough to get the job done. Matchups are always something that is going to play a major factor, and some teams just know how to get the job done against certain teams when it matters most.
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Are The Heat Pretenders Or Contenders?
Contenders
2. Best defense
If the Miami Heat stay healthy, they'll have one of the most fearsome defenses in recent memory. Opponents will never want to play against them; Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, and PJ Tucker are all high-level defenders.
Some teams mock the Heat because they were successful in the bubble two seasons ago and then couldn't replicate that the following year, but the fact remains that no Eastern Conference team wants to face them in the playoffs because of their defense. Good luck to the Heats' opponents if they can keep defending at this level for the rest of the season.
Miami does an excellent job of planning against opposing teams' best players, which will make it much more difficult than it already is with their outstanding defenders.
They not only have outstanding individual defenders, but they also defend as a team at a very high level.
Article Continues Below
1. Multiple players can take over at any moment
One criticism about the Miami Heat is that they lack that one player who can completely take over a game. Jimmy Butler has demonstrated his ability to play at a high level and take control of a game at any time, but can he do it every night? There are worries about his ability to take over a game, unlike Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid. We've definitely seen him do it before, but he isn't always that guy.
The Miami Heat will have a lot of success because they have multiple players that can score the ball on their roster. Although it is debatable whether they have a single player capable of taking over a game, there is little doubt that this squad can have multiple guys score 20 points or more every night.
Pretenders
2. Health
The Miami Heat's biggest worry is whether they'll be able to stay healthy. Unfortunately, they have several players on their roster who have struggled with injuries for much of their careers, but it appears like they may be all healthy now, which is wonderful news for Miami.
They should be able to find a lot of success if they can just keep guys like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo on the court for every game in the playoffs. Even if one of them is injured, they will still be an extremely difficult team to beat.
1. Is Jimmy capable of taking over a game?
Despite the fact that the Miami Heat have numerous players who can take over a game at any time, there are still some doubts about Jimmy Butler's ability to do so. Even if Jimmy Butler is a fantastic player, it'll be difficult to claim that he can take over a game in the same manner as other stars in the Eastern Conference.
They do, however, have a number of scoring options, so Jimmy may not be required to be this guy.
