The Miami Heat have been one of the more consistent teams in the Eastern Conference over the past few years. Despite this, they have yet to hold up the trophy after the season comes to an end.
Miami has gotten close, reaching the NBA Finals twice since the 2020 year concluded. However, close means nothing when all that matters is winning the NBA Championship.
Led by star forward Jimmy Butler, Miami has been relevant but always falls short. Even last season, Miami was bounced in the first round of the playoffs. This was in part due to an injury that Butler suffered before the series started.
However, the Heat didn’t address much this offseason and will enter the new season with a similar team. This has many people questioning how Miami is doing things in regards to roster construction, including former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy.
Van Gundy slammed the Heat for their lack of win-now approach to the offseason.
“I really don’t understand what’s going on there,” Van Gundy said. “They’re really a win-now team, which I respect, and they haven’t given, put a roster around there that has a chance.”
“I think they got lulled into a false sense of security by the run to the Finals two years ago. And it was a great run, but they didn’t have a great team, and they didn’t have a great year. That’s not a very good roster. To me, that’s a play-in roster again.”
MIAMI, FLORIDA – MAY 21: Jimmy Butler #22 and Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat react during the third quarter against the Boston Celtics in game three of the Eastern Conference Finals at Kaseya Center on May 21, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Miami was called out by a former NBA head coach for their roster decisions.
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Miami made the NBA Finals during the 2022-23 season but failed to significantly upgrade their team. They did acquire guard Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets but even with him, it’s not much of an upgrade for the level of competition that they will have to face.
The East is filled with strong teams this season, including the reigning NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. The Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and others will also give the Heat a run for their money.
But with the same roster in place, the Heat may fall behind the other teams in the conference. They can’t rely on Butler to go into Superman mode every postseason, so something does need to change in Miami.
The team will enter the year looking to get back to the top of the conference but their chances may be slim due to their lack of win-now approach this offseason.
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