Coming off a season in which the Miami Heat had the best record in the NBA, a 27-game win streak, another MVP for LeBron James, and of course a second straight NBA Championship, can the team actually get even better this off-season? Filling one major need would help their chances of a three-peat immensely.
Miami Heat (66-16 last year)
2012-13 Season Summary:
It was certainly a grind in the playoffs but much to the chagrin of most NBA fans, the Miami Heat made a dramatic comeback in the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs to repeat as NBA champions. It was well deserved though after an incredible regular season which included an incredible 27-game win streak.
During the runs, LeBron James continued to cement his legacy as one of the best players in league history by winning his fourth regular season MVP and second straight NBA Finals MVP. He pretty much did it all; played every position and led the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. LeBron also improved in what was considered his biggest weakness; his outside shooting, to the point where he connected more than 40% of his triple tries for the first time in his career.
His “Big 3” partners in crime, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh chipped in as well but the Heat truly became LeBron’s team. This was especially the case in the playoffs when Wade had his struggles and Bosh was almost a non-factor at times like in Game 7 against the Spurs when he didn’t score a single point. Both Wade and Bosh did have their moments though and were integral to the team’s second consecutive title.
The rest of the roster was filled with role players who succeeded in doing their jobs. Ray Allen, Mike Miller, and Mario Chalmers knocked down shot as did Shane Battier who also did the dirty work on the defensive end. Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen provided some needed rebounding inside to make up for a lack of a true big man on the roster. In other words, the pieces once again came together around the Big 3 just as management hoped they would when they went all-in with the trio three years ago.
2013-14 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Udonis Haslem/Joel Anthony
PF: Chris Bosh/Shane Battier/Rashard Lewis
SF: LeBron James/Mike Miller/James Jones
SG: Dwyane Wade/^Ray Allen
PG: Mario Chalmers/Norris Cole
NBA Free Agents:
^SG-Ray Allen (PO)
C-Chris Andersen (UFA)
PF-Juwan Howard (UFA)
2012-13 Team Salary: approximately $85.6 million
Team Needs:
1. True Big: The glaring weakness for this Miami Heat team was their lack of a true big man inside who could bang with some of the more physical low post players in the NBA. Bosh lacks the physicality, Haslem doesn’t have the size, and the Birdman tried his best to fill that void. With Andersen a free agent this summer, Miami needs to either re-sign him or look elsewhere with their mid-level exception to bring in a true center who can do a better job of patrolling the paint on the defensive end.
2. Convince Ray to Stay: Ray Allen has a player option for next season that would earn him about $3.2 million. The only way I could see Ray Ray opting out would be in the hopes of getting a bigger payday from Miami, not because he wants to test free agency. His ability to shoot the ball was obviously vital to the Heat’s title run and they need him back next year.
3. Lay Groundwork for Next Summer: The 2014 off-season will be very interesting for the Heat as LeBron, Wade, and Bosh will all have the option to opt out of their contract. While Miami is probably praying that Bosh opts out of his deal, they need to start planning ahead for LeBron and Wade by getting them inked to extensions before either even flirts with the idea of testing the free agent market.
OTHER NBA TEAM NEEDS PAGES:
Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Blazers
Sacramento Kings
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
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David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.