GDHQNBA15_2pg-Miami Heat

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EASTERN CONFERENCE SOUTHEAST DIVISION Miami For the first time in five years the Miami Heat are not the prohibitive favorite to win the Eastern Conference, never mind the Southeast Division, something that had been a formality. In Year One of the post-LeBron James Era, it would be easy to write off the Heat and some already have. That’s not necessarily a good idea. While there’s no quantifying how much LeBron meant—and it’s a lot—Miami is anything but an afterthought. There is still a lot of talent in South Beach, including Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, two-thirds of their big three, and most of the team that won back-to-back NBA Championships and four straight Eastern Conference crowns. There also is Pat Riley, who has rebuilt post-superstar departure before and has already made the first steps, bringing in Luol Deng and Josh McRoberts. Most of all, there is a group of motivated pros that has heard all about how they have no chance to win. Defense A trademark of the Miami Heat under Erik Spoelstra has always been defense. During the 2009-10 season the Heat ranked second in the entire NBA in points allowed (94.2 ppg) and field goal percentage (.439), were fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.342) and were just out of the top 10 in turnovers. The 2014-15 Heat have shutdown defenders and are even going to be okay at the 3, where they’ve brought in Deng, a 2011-12 All- Defensive Second-Team Team selection while with the Chicago Bulls, and McRoberts, who was tough on the glass for the Charlotte Bobcats last year — even laying a nasty lick on a certain marquee player on the Heat in their playoff matchup last spring. Chris Andersen has always been tough in the lane. He led the Heat in blocks per game (1.3 bpg, tied for 17th in the NBA) and blocks (97, 18th), and last March 9 tied a franchise record, becoming only the second Heat player ever to come off the bench and block six shots in a game. Longtime power forward Udonis Haslem has become a folk hero among Heat faithful for his 11 years of grit, toughness and determination on defense. Don’t write off Bosh as a defender, as he had three seasons averaging north of 10 rebounds for Toronto, where he averaged 9.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. In the backcourt, Wade ranks sixth all-time amongst guards with 696 career rejections, while point Mario Chalmers is a demon on the ball, leading the Heat and tying for 12th in the League with 1.6 steals per game. Chalmers’ 119 thefts were second on the team— only two behind James’ for the team lead—and the most since his rookie season. He led the team in steals 25 times last season. He even grabbed a career-high nine boards at Brooklyn on March 12. Keep an eye on forward James Ennis and guard Shabazz Napier. Ennis impressed in preseason with his length, tenacity and energy, making five steals in an preseason game against Atlanta, and could be a valuable lockdown defender coming off the bench. Despite not being an otherworldly athlete, Napier is a pesky point guard who uses his quick feet and hands to press opposing point guards on defense. Offense Let’s reminisce one last time at the LeBron-led Heat. Miami was the top-scoring team in the East last season with 102.2 ppg—interestingly, just 12th in the League—and one of only five Eastern Conference teams to hit the century mark (three of those were in the Southeast, with Atlanta and Washington). Now, let’s move on. The Heat have. Knowing they’ll be hard-pressed to match 2013-14’s output with James’ 27.1 points and 6.3 assists gone, they’ll make the best of what they have until they find the right chemistry and combinations. What they have not only isn’t bad, it’s actually pretty good. Wade is still a top-of-the-line scorer, and depending on how long he can go, can still dominate. Last season he averaged 19 points, on .545 shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.46 steals in 32.9 minutes in 54 games. That last point is a potential worry, although not enough of a worry to keep the Heat from re-signing the 32-year-old former NBA Finals MVP to a two-year, $31 million contract on July 15. Chris Bosh Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images


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