Preview: Miami Heat

Preview: Miami Heat

Season

Preview: Miami Heat

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STAYING: Chris Andersen, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Goran Dragic, Luol Deng, James Ennis, Udonis Haslem, Tyler Johnson, Josh McRoberts, Dwyane Wade and Hassan Whiteside.

ADDED: Keith Benson (Kalev/Cramo), Gerald Green (Phoenix), Corey Hawkins (California-Davis), Josh Richardson (Tennessee), Amare Stoudemire (Dallas), Greg Whittington (Georgetown) and Justise Winslow (Duke).

GONE: Michael Beasley (Free Agent), Zoran Dragic (Khimki Moscow) and Shabazz Napier (Orlando).

STRENGTHS: It’s not 2010-14, but Miami’s current Big Three remains pretty spectacular … At age 33, Dwyane Wade continues to be an elite shooting guard and a legit franchise player … If fully recovered, Chris Bosh‘s combination of skill, mobility and size make him one of the top offensive power forwards in the game … Goran Dragic is an All-Star caliber point guard in the Eastern Conference … What a backcourt in terms of drive-and-finish skills along with Wade … Hassan Whiteside has been incredibly productive in limited playing time with terrific rebounding and shot blocking … If he’s able to sustain that performance for longer stretches, he becomes a top NBA center … Amare Stoudemire and Gerald Green give the team very good offensive firepower off the bench … It will be interesting to see if rookie Justise Winslow was indeed a draft steal.

WEAKNESSES: The Top 2 players on the team have an awful lot of mileage … Wade has long struggled to stay injury-free and Bosh comes off a period of inactivity due to a serious health matter … Overall, it’s a pretty old team … Very weak three-point shooting … Miami ranked dead-last in the NBA in rebounding last season … Backup point guard position is an issue with Mario Chalmers visibly regressing … Ball movement and pace need to improve … Not the strongest home-court advantage around.

PREDICTION: 2nd in the Southeast Division / 6th in the Eastern Conference.

SALARIES: 

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