The Miami Heat are hoping to contend for an NBA Championship after an eventful summer improving the roster. A massive trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo showed that the Heat are no longer a secondary team. Pat Riley added Giannis and other veterans to boost their chances of a title run over the next few seasons. Expectations are high starting this year with the Eastern Conference wide open.
The annual NBA General Manager survey saw the Heat getting the least respect among the East contenders. GMs cumulatively had the following Eastern Conference pecking order:
Heat
The 8th seed ranking comes from each GM ranking their top four East teams and finding the averages of those. Miami received mostly fourth place votes with a couple of General Managers voting for third place. The Heat’s duo of Giannis and Bam Adebayo is not impressing the league enough to forecast instant success.
Teams below Miami like the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic didn’t receive any votes, but they are considered threats for the top six seeds. The East has a deeper league than ever before with teams all having playoff hopes. Pat Riley will have a tough task proving the league’s decision makers wrong with his personnel changes.
Why General Managers Don’t Trust Miami Heat
A belief exists that Miami will be too dependent on Giannis after such a major trade changed up the roster. The Heat traded Tyler Herro and three other trusted rotation players for Antetokounmpo and veteran reserve Bobby Portis.
Trust is not there yet for Miami’s supporting staff to fully back up Giannis. Riley signed both Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway to improve the three-point shooting and provide more veteran leadership. However, most GMs don’t believe that’s enough to outdo the other teams.
Some of this goes to the other East teams having more depth or more time together. New York is coming off an epic title run with Jalen Brunson leading the way. LeBron James and Jaylen Brown both joining the 76ers provides more help than Miami just landing Giannis and a couple of role players.
How Miami Heat Can Prove NBA Wrong
Everyone in the rotation must be their best version for Miami to have a great season. Point guard Davion Mitchell has talked bluntly about having Defensive Player of the Year goals to show how much he wants to improve.
Thompson, Hardaway, Portis, and Andrew Wiggins all having experience of winning big games throughout their lengthy careers. The veteran leadership must help the younger and unproven names fulfill their highest potential starting this season.
Pelle Larsson and Nikola Jovic are two talented younger pieces who can take steps forward to help the Heat’s depth. All these variables matter, but it does all come back down to Antetokounmpo and his ability to lead.
Giannis must return to form as an MVP candidate to bolster Miami’s chances of challenging the top East teams. More trades could come at the deadline if things aren’t going well for the Heat given Riley’s track record.
Miami Heat Get Disrespected Via NBA GM Poll East Predictions