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Every off season, we hear the same old murmurs from NBA fans that Pat Riley is ‘washed’, ‘passed it’, and so on. Yet here we sit again with Summer League underway, Free Agency open, and the new season around the corner, and the Godfather has managed to build himself another Championship contending team. The Heat targeted All-Star guard Kyle Lowry through the trade deadline, and while a move in March didn’t materialise, Miami remained patient and eventually got their man. With the addition of Lowry, the Heat have added much needed playmaking, scoring and defence at the 1 spot. In the excitement around Lowry’s arrival, we must however doff our collective hat to Heat lifer, Goran Dragić, a man who quite literally gave his all to the Heat Culture; blood, sweat, and even a tooth. A wonderful six year stint in Miami saw Goran as the sole constant in an ever changing and developing roster and starting line-up. His exploits won’t be forgotten and his #7 jersey deserves to be honoured by being raised to the rafters once he hangs up his sneakers.
Riley’s addition of Lowry has more to it than initially meets the eye. While his obvious talent will help Miami on the court, his experience of being a key piece of the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors is an important factor of his acquisition. This isn’t an anomaly either. Riley moved to acquire 2020 NBA Champion Markieff Morris, and 2021 NBA Champion P.J. Tucker. The Heat now have at least one member of each of the last three championship winning teams undoubtedly playing important minutes in the rotation. The additions of Morris and Tucker give the Heat some much needed depth to partner Bam Adebayo in the front-court, and re-signing Dewayne Dedmon adds more rebounding and rim protection to a fairly under-sized squad.
As well as the free agency dealings, managing to re-sign Duncan Robinson and Victor Oladipo were very important moves for the Heat. In Robinson, Miami keeps one of, if not the best, long-range shooters in the game to add valuable spacing and scoring, and in Oladipo, an explosive and defensive guard who is more than capable of dropping 25 on any given night when fully healthy. Managing to retain Tyler Herro shouldn’t be overlooked either. While the youngster gets his fair share of criticism from Heat fans, a full off-season and mentorship from Lowry and Jimmy Butler will hopefully help Herro back to the dizzying heights he reached in his rookie season.
While Miami now have a deep and impressive squad on paper, they will have stiff competition in the East to get back to the NBA Finals. Despite not making many meaningful additions so far in free agency, both the reigning champs Milwaukee Bucks and super-team Brooklyn Nets are riddled with superstars and will surely go deep into the playoffs once again. Looking at the rest of the East, the moves made by the Chicago Bulls front office have rocketed them up into contention among the East’s elite, with Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan headlining what has been a very impressive opening week of free agency for them. Once those two get acclimatised with current stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević, few teams will fancy their chances against the raging Bulls in Chicago. The 76ers, while reportedly trying to ship Ben Simmons, still remain a force spearheaded by Joel Embiid, and a new backcourt of Spencer Dinwiddie and Bradley Beal in Washington will give them a new edge. Trae Young’s Atlanta, Tatum and Brown’s Celtics, and a refreshed Knicks roster fill out the rest of the most notable Eastern contenders in what is now a stacked conference.
However the playoff spots are filled come April 2022, no team will have an easy ride to the Finals. While Milwaukee likely remain favourites, Brooklyn and Miami will be aiming to run them close, and on-paper, probably will. Expect there to be a lot of back and forth between the East’s big hitters, and don’t be surprised by one of the outsiders sitting at the top table come season’s end.
So sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy what will hopefully be an enthralling season. It’s time to ball, y’all.
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