Predicting the Miami Heat’s 2014-15 Win Total
By Jared Doyle
@outofboundsjay
Steve Mitchell- USA Today Sports
The Miami Heat will be facing a whole different type of Eastern Conference this season, with many teams, including the one that LeBron James returned too, rebuilt and ready to stake their claim for the NBA title. Instead of rebuilding (which many teams do once a player of James’ stature departs), the Heat elected to remain a contender by re-signing Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and numerous other Heat mainstay players this offseason in order to build upon the continuity of the franchise.
What many have failed to realize is although the Heat lost James this summer, they managed to sign a few good players to keep the franchise a competitor. Luol Deng, Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts are just a few of the quality players who signed with the franchise this summer. Also take into account the youth movement that is currently taking hold of the franchise, with young players like Shabazz Napier, Khem Birch, Andre Dawkins and Tyler Johnson all battling for a final roster spot on a team that can still compete on a nightly basis.
Although the initial struggles throughout the preseason have been mildly alarming, the Heat have managed to string together two consecutive wins and with it the consistency that leads to ultimate success in the regular season. Sharing the basketball has become a staple for this franchise now, with the responsibility of scoring becoming evenly balanced throughout the starting lineup and also with the role players.
This upcoming season won’t be the greatest in Heat history, but this franchise is still fielding a team that can compete on a nightly basis. With so many new faces joining the roster, the adjustment period could be a little longer than expected, leading to more overall losses than the season before.
Final Prediction: 48-34
Jared Doyle is a Miami Heat writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @outofboundsjay, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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