USA TODAY International Edition
Miami brings Heat on a loaded East
Expectations are malleable. They mean different things to different entities. Goals for the Kings are not the same as goals for the Lakers. And they change year to year.
But for the Heat, expectations rarely change. Their goal is to win an NBA title every season, even when it looks like they don’t have a championship roster.
That’s the environment the Heat, who tip off their 2020- 21 season Wednesday, have fostered under President Pat Riley.
And it extends beyond Riley up to ownership ( Mickey Arison). It flows down to the talented front office. ( General manager Andy Elisburg and vice president of basketball operations Adam Simon are underrated only outside of the NBA.)
And it reaches the coaching staff led by Erik Spoelstra, who has been one of the league’s best coaches for a decade, and the players who have bought into the regimented program.
And after last season’s ride to Eastern Conference champions and a spot in the NBA Finals, the Heat head into the 2020- 21 season with heightened expectations.
“It is not easy in this league to try to do what we’re trying to accomplish,” Spoelstra said. “Competition is fierce. That’s the way it should be.
“But we’re very grateful that we’re able to bring the majority of our group back.”
With a core of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, Andre Iguodala, Duncan Robinson, Kendrick Nunn and newcomers Avery Bradley, ( Maurice) Moe Harkless and rookie Precious Achiuwa, Miami believes it can capitalize on a realistic chance to reach the Finals again.
The Heat have more competition in the East this season than last, especially with the return of healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the Nets.
Even though Gordon Hayward left the Celtics, the Eastern Conference finalists remain a contender with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown while hoping Kemba Walker’s knee stays healthy all season.
The Raptors under Nick Nurse, the 2019- 20 NBA Coach of the Year, also bring a competitive roster featuring
Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet.
Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo, the league MVP the past two seasons, leads a Bucks squad that has won more regular- season games in 2018- 19 and 2019- 20 than any other team in the league. But they haven’t been able to convert that into an East title. They desperately want to do that this season.
The Pacers are still good with Victor Oladipo, the 76ers added Doc Rivers as coach and shooters around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, and the Wizards acquired Russell Westbrook to pair with Bradley Beal.
The East is tough.
“Look, I’m really grateful that we have these guys back because I have that same feeling that this is a veteran group, and I know to win and try to accomplish what we’re accomplishing, you typically need a veteran group or group that really has been tested together,” Spoelstra said. “We feel like we’ve had that. We’re going to go through the entire process to see how many different levels we can get to. We know we’re going to have to be better. The competition in the East is as fierce as it should be, and I think that’s what brings out the most out of competitors.”
The Heat are built for that. Beyond talent, they are physically and mentally strong, emblematic of the franchise’s culture and their leader, All- Star Butler.
Butler is an unusual superstar. He is capable of scoring 40 in a playoff game, as he did against Milwaukee in the conference semifinals. He can get a tripledouble, as he did twice against the Lakers in the Finals. But Butler doesn’t need to do either for the Heat to win – he had just 14 points in a conference finals victory against Boston.
Butler has said over and over he doesn’t care how many points, rebounds or assists he accumulates as long as Miami wins.
“Everybody remembers winning – that’s it,” Butler said during the Finals. “They don’t care how many points you score, they only care if you won or lost. For us we’re all about winning. We are. I say it all the time, but I mean it. The guys that we have, the group that Coach Pat and Coach Spo put together it’s always to win, nothing else. So I hope the next game I score zero and y’all talk all you want to talk and we win so I come up here and say the same thing.”
He relishes in the success of his teammates.
Point taken, but the Heat need his 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and six assists per game, and he has surrounding talent who ease the load.
Center- forward Adebayo, 23, emerged as an All- Star last season – a versatile two- way player who averaged 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 55.7% from the field. While Butler anchors Miami’s perimeter defense, Adebayo holds down the paint.
His ability to defend, rebound and facilitate the offense with his passing and scoring makes him one of the league’s most unique and talented players.
Just before the start of training camp, the Heat signed Adebayo to a max salary rookie contract extension – a five- year deal worth $ 163 million with the possibility of the amount expanding to $ 195 million if he reaches specified criteria such as All- NBA honors.
“I definitely want to be – long time down the road when my career ends – whenever somebody mentions a topfive center or top- five power forward, they always got to mention my name,” Adebayo said. “That’s how I want to be remembered. Keep changing basketball …
“Now it’s my time to figure out how we can win, how we can get to that level – where we can raise that trophy. That’s my goal. That’s the responsibility that I have, and I’m going to figure that out one way or another.”
Alongside Butler and Adebayo, the Heat have shooting with Herro and Robinson, one of the league’s best young 3point specialists. Herro, entering his second year in the NBA, is more than a shooter. He can drive and score with creative shot- making. Both need to become more consistent, but the ability is evident.
“I feel like I’m better than I was in the bubble already,” said Herro, who had a career- high 37 points in Game 4 of the conference finals against Boston.
The addition of Bradley and Harkless adds to a deep team, giving Spoelstra options to play big or small, slow or fast.
It makes the Heat title contenders again.
“This is a quicker turnaround than it typically would be,” Spoelstra said. “Continuity, in theory, should help. But, more importantly is the guys feel connected with a common purpose and have some corporate knowledge and also feel continuity and camaraderie that’s already been built over several months and through the fire of the playoffs. That stuff tends to matter.”