After an extremely disappointing season last year, the Miami Heat are trying to bounce back and reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.
Luckily for Miami, their main core of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, etc., that reached the finals in 2020 are all still intact.
To improve the Heat’s chances, Pat Riley and company made some impressive offseason moves. First off, they locked up sharpshooter Duncan Robinson to a five-year, $90M deal which, in my opinion, was extremely important.
Even though $90 may seem like a lot, Duncan Robinson is an elite shooter, which is something the modern NBA is based upon. If it had not been for him, Miami would have never reached the finals a few years ago.
Loading up the backcourt
After re-signing Robinson, the Heat made a big splash by acquiring former All-Star Point Guard Kyle Lowry from the Toronto Raptors in a sign-and-trade deal. In exchange for Lowry, the Raptors received Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa.
Lowry had been linked to the Heat in quite some time. In fact, last season, he was reportedly very close to being dealt there at the trade deadline. Instead of having to give up more for Kyle, Miami decided to wait until this offseason to acquire him.
Miami Heat’s main core of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, etc., that reached the NBA Finals in 2020 are all still intact.Even though he is 35 years old, he did average 17.2 points per game last year on 43.6% from the field and nearly 40% from downtown last year. Not to mention his ability to get his teammates involved with 7.3 assists per contest and 5.4 rebounds.
Stats aside, Lowry is a former NBA Champion who fits perfectly into “The Heat Culture” instilled by coach Erik Spoelstra. He is tough as nails and plays great defense, which is exactly what Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo pride themselves on.
Speaking of toughness and defense, Miami was also able to acquire PJ Tucker fresh off an NBA Championship with the Bucks. Tucker is an absolutely perfect fit with this team and will provide great minutes for the Heat all year.
Both Lowry and Tucker’s championship experience will help tremendously this season.
If you are any team going up against their starting lineup of Lowry, Butler, Robinson, Tucker, and Bam, you must be intimated. Yes, they are not the most talented starting lineup in the league, but they will definitely strike fear in their opponents.
Let us not forget Tyler Herro as well, who in my opinion, will come off the bench as their sixth man. This will alleviate some of the pressure Herro was faced with last year, and I expect him to play just as well, if not better than what he was in the bubble.
Going into the year, I have Miami ranked third in the Eastern Conference, just behind the defending champions Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. Even though those two teams have more superstar talent than them, Miami matches up extremely well with both squads, which is why I believe they have a chance of upsetting anyone in the playoffs.
Look out for the Heat to cause some serious havoc this year.
