The Miami Heat officially begin their playoff journey on Sunday as they face Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. Jimmy Butler and Co. have serious title aspirations after a 53-29 regular season and clearly, this roster was built to contend for a championship.

Speaking at the pre-playoff pressers on Friday, Butler got brutally honest on the Heat's chances in the postseason. Via Sports Illustrated:

“I know that we all want to win a championship. That’s our goal,” Butler said. “That’s why coach Pat [Riley] put this roster together, [Erik Spoelstra] has been coaching and leading us the way that he has all year long. Kyle [Lowry] has been telling us how to make it happen along with [Markieff Morris], along with [P.J. Tucker], along with [Udonis Haslem]. The champions that we do have on the Heat. We got a great leadership and we got to find a way to get 16 [wins]. “That’s been on all of our minds all year long. That’s the reason that we play the game. I think we’ve been a great team all year long. But now is the time we talk about. When we have this team meeting, a lot of championship talks are going to happen. But I really, really, really think we got a good shot at this thing.”

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Jimmy Buckets has a good point. The mix of experience and young talent on the roster is unmatched. Bringing in proven vets like Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker has done wonders for the Heat and we must remember, Miami already got on the doorstep of winning a title in 2020, only to fall short. They're hungry as ever.

Also, defense wins championships. Miami locks down on a consistent basis while also possessing tremendous depth and a bench star in Tyler Herro, who will surely be a key part of their run.

No one is really picking the Heat as a favorite to come out of the East, but this squad cannot be taken for granted.