The Miami Heat are coming into the 2023/24 NBA season off the backs of a pretty rough summer. They spent most of their time and resources chasing a Damian Lillard trade that saw them let go of crucial rotational players like Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. Those losses, along with Lillard joining Milwaukee, made an anonymous NBA executive seriously question Miami’s chances of success, according to CBS Sports.
“I think it is closed for Philly. So there should be that fear. And I’m not a Miami believer, either. So I think they’re cooked. But I don’t think they have that fear, because I’m not sure they’re honest about themselves.”
The Heat go into every season with a desire to win a title. Most teams pretend to be contenders even when they know they cannot contend, but the Heat are different. They could struggle to be .500 on a season but still go into the playoffs thinking they can win it all, as was evident last year.
The East didn’t break easily for them, they beat the two best teams in the Conference to earn their spot there. Can they repeat it again by replacing their rotation with young players many haven’t heard from before? We’ll have to see when the league starts.
The Miami Heat Not Satisfied Without The NBA Title
The Miami Heat will not take the congratulatory backtaps people have been giving them for making the Finals as the eighth seed. As far as the Heat are concerned, their season was a failure because they couldn’t hold the title aloft at the end of it. Jimmy Butler echoed a very similar sentiment in a recent interview, claiming his only goal since he entered the NBA is to bring a championship to the team he’s playing g for.
“I don’t give a damn. We didn’t win. As we start off this new season, it’s the same goal as always since I’ve entered this league, and that’s to get my team to a championship. Last year was last year; we’re past that.”
Unless the Heat roster is patched slightly, I don’t envision how the Heat compete for a title. Even if role players like Cole Swider end up being highly valuable and start averaging 12 to 15 points, the Heat will have offensive concerns that will bog them down for most of the season.
Pat Riley’s inaction this summer may be what costs them ultimately. If the only goal is to win a title, Riley definitely should’ve made moves to ensure that the win-now window is maximized.
Jimmy Butler Joked About Damian Lillard Joining The Bucks
After the trade was announced, Jimmy Butler started jokingly speaking about the NBA needing to investigate the Bucks and Blazers for tampering. It was an open secret that Miami wanted Dame and Dame wanted Miami, so it’d be hard for people to not talk about it. While Dame has discussed it from his front, even Butler decided to discuss it in a recent interview.
“I’m happy for both of those guys. I’m more pissed off that he went to Milwaukee, because he went to Adrian Griffin’s team, and everybody knows I don’t like Adrian Griffin at all since my Chicago days. But I’m happy for Milwaukee. They got better, so he gives us the opportunity to be better.”
Butler seems positive heading into next season, but what music awaits him is something none of us can say. Hopefully, the lack of depth on this roster forces Butler to impact the game more scoring-wise.
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