Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Inside
Analyst Reggie Miller says Heat could compete for fourth in East.
MIAMI — Wednesday night’s game against the Washington Wizards at AmericanAirlines Arena was relatively meaningless, merely the fifth of six exhibitions for the Miami Heat.
But based on the perspective of TNT analyst Reggie Miller, the Hall of Fame 3-point specialist, the stakes for the Heat against the Wizards could be significant this season.
“To me,” Miller said of the Heat on a Wednesday conference call, “they’re on the fringe of that fourth seed. They’re the second-best team in the Southeast Division, obviously behind Washington. To me, you’ve got Cleveland, Boston, Toronto and then you have to start thinking about Miami and if they can have an 82-game schedule like the second half of last year.
“Health is going to play a major role in that. The young players are going to have to develop, like Justise Winslow. But they have the pieces there to be one of those teams on a nightly basis to be a very competitive team.”
Like many, Miller said it comes down to whether the Heat can come close to their 30-11 run over the second half of last season.
“The question will be: Can their second half last year, where they played phenomenal, just missing the playoffs, can that expand to 82 games,” Miller said. “You’ve got, obviously, a centerpiece in [Hassan] Whiteside, who’s an unbelievable talent. Dion Waiters is going to have to stay healthy. He kind of evolved into their go-to guy, a voice on this team. But he’s got to stay healthy. You rewarded Josh Richardson with a nice four-year contract, a guy that really came out of nowhere out of Tennessee and became a pretty steady player for Erik Spoelstra. Tyler Johnson, another unknown, who given the minutes outperformed what everyone said about him.”
Fellow TNT analyst Chris Webber, the former NBA forward, stopped short of the comparisons to the Wizards.
“I would not put them up there with Washington yet, because they still have to prove themselves, and Washington still has to prove themselves consistently,” Webber said of the Heat. “But they’re a team that if they made the playoffs, you sure wouldn’t want to play them in the playoffs, because as the season goes on they play better.”
Soccer stance
Among those hit hard by the United States’ elimination in World Cup qualifying was Richardson, arguably the most passionate soccer follower in the Heat locker room.
It is the first time the United States has missed the World Cup since 1986.
“They’ve never missed it since I’ve been alive,” Richardson, 24, said. “But I still love soccer, so I’ll still watch.”
Richardson Saturday in Orlando took a photo alongside U.S. Men’s National Team striker Christian Pulisic following the Heat’s preseason loss to the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center. Richardson then arrived to his locker Wednesday to find a souvenir soccer ball from his attendance this summer at the South Florida version of El Classico at Hard Rock Stadium.
Richardson said he now would split his World Cup allegiances between Belgium and Germany. He otherwise considers himself a fan of Arsenal of the Premier League. Why Arsenal? “I never really watched a lot of soccer when I was younger, but in college my teammates would play a lot of FIFA and I started playing that,” he said.
Asked what his plans would be if Miami finally gets an MLS team, Richardson said, without hesitation, “season tickets.”