Heat see chance to move up
Opportunity is there for stable Miami roster to climb in the East.
MIAMI — An opportunity.
That’s all the ragtag roster that was last season’s Heat team wanted. And it’s what this season’s Heat roster has earned.
The names haven’t changed much over this stretch, with 11 players returning from the 2016-17 roster that fell just one game short of making the playoffs. But this season’s Heat team has bigger dreams and higher expectations than last year’s, thanks to roster continuity and a weakened Eastern Conference.
And those dreams and expectations are getting bigger as each day passes.
The 2017-18 NBA season is a few days old and injuries already have altered the land-
scape of the league. In the East, it’s the Gordon Hayward injury that has some teams in the conference wondering if they’re now better than the Celtics.
Yes, the Heat are one of those teams and it’s not an irrational thought.
Miami entered the season with NBA analysts like TNT’s Reggie Miller saying the Heat are “on the fringe of that fourth seed” behind Cleveland, Boston and Toronto. Others had the Heat competing with the Bucks for the fifth seed in the East with the Cavaliers, Celtics, Raptors and Wizards in front of them.
“I think everybody sees an opportunity,” Heat president Pat Riley said before the start of training camp. “I know we see an opportunity, because there isn’t a Golden State in our conference, or a
San Antonio or maybe a Houston or whoever might be more consistent. There are opportunities for us. And we’re going to take advantage of that.”
The opportunity to finish as one of the East’s top four teams is very real, with Boston now starting 19-year-old rookie Jayson Tatum and relying on Terry Rozier and Shane Larkin to play big minutes off its bench. But don’t get it twisted; the Celtics are still talented with Kyrie Irving and Al Horford leading the way and Jaylen Brown emerging as a very capable and reliable player.
The point is, the opportunity is there.
“Absolutely, man. We take that serious,” Heat guard Wayne Ellington said after Saturday’s 112108 win over the Pacers when asked about the goal of finishing as one of the top four teams in the East.
“We take that very serious. We know the type of work we put in this offseason, everybody. We’re coming together. Obviously, we’re going to continue to get better and better as the season goes on. But those are real goals that we have and we’re serious about that.”
The Cavaliers are now the clear-cut No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference after Hayward’s injury. Then, there’s a pretty big gap until you get to the next tier of teams that includes the Wizards, Raptors and Celtics.
That’s where the Heat enter the picture. Miami, Milwaukee and Charlotte are in that third tier, and the gap between these three and that second tier isn’t as big as you would think with Washington still looking to get past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1979 and Toronto making it past the second round of the playoffs once in franchise history.
The Eastern Conference took a big step back this offseason when Indiana traded four-time All-Star Paul George to Oklahoma City, Chicago traded threetime All-Star Jimmy Butler to Minnesota and Paul Millsap left the Hawks to sign with the Nuggets in free agency. Those moves took the Pacers, Bulls and Hawks out of the playoff picture after they all advanced to the playoffs last season, and gave non-playoff teams such as the Heat, Hornets, Pistons and 76ers some playoff hope.
Now, the Hayward injury has the Heat thinking about more than just making the playoffs. They want one of the top four seeds in the conference.
The opportunity is there and within reach. That’s all the Heat can ask for.