The Miami Heat are preparing for the upcoming season, with just days before their opening game on October 29.
Check out the latest news and rumors below.
Wade Won’t Have ‘Maintenance Program’ This Season
With James and Chris Bosh last season, Dwyane Wade was able to be in a so-called “maintenance program” that would allow some rest for his ailing knees. His missed 28 games.
Wade said at the start of training camp that he wants to play 75 games–missing 7–this season.
“Right now the plan is for him to get better, get stronger and to be available, and we’ll adjust as we see fit,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Wade, reported the Miami Herald.
“He has been great with his workload, he has been great with his preparation to be able to handle the workload, and once we get into the games we’ll see if we need to adjust from there.”
Wade himself wasn’t too vocal about what will happen.
“Last year was last year, so we’ll see how this year goes,” he said.
The Heat snagged the No. 2 seed last season despite not going full force during the season. They crushed three opponents in the playoffs before losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA finals.
This season, the Heat will have to battle for a playoff spot. The Bulls and Cavs are expected to be up near the top, along with the Washington Wizards, with the Heat fighting with teams such as the Toronto Raptors for a middle seed–especially the No. 4 seed, which includes homecourt advantage in the first round.
Deng ‘Close’ to Adjusting to New Role
New addition Luol Deng is “not there” yet in adjusting to his new role but is “close.”
“I’m still trying to figure it out. Other guys are in the same boat. Obviously, it’s hard if you haven’t been here but I think the cure is just to play hard. It will come. We see the potential,” he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
“It’s going to be special. It’s going to be exciting.”
The preseason is nearly over and the Heat are preparing for their season opener against the Washington Wizards on October 29.
Deng, who was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the middle of last season, says he’s been learning both the defense and offense in the Heat.
“I think defensively, I’m getting there, getting the rotation,” said Deng, who is projected to start at small forward, replacing LeBron James.
“Every game, I’m getting better at it. I think now it’s just consistency in terms of when to be aggressive, when to conserve more energy on defense. It’s just putting it together. Once you’re past the point of overthinking, you start relaxing and just let your instincts take over.”
Bosh, Wade Look to Step Up
MIAMI—Chris Bosh didn’t want this to happen.
He’s still going to embrace his newfound opportunity.
Make no mistake, the Miami Heat know that they are entering a new world, one that lacks widespread championship expectations and doesn’t feature the player generally considered the best in the game right now. LeBron James is gone, the Big 3 era is finished and the Heat — the franchise that has won the last four Eastern Conference titles — have to prove themselves all over again.
Bring it on, Bosh said.
“When we look back on it, it’ll be a very special team because it was only a short period of time that we all had and it was a great four-year run,” Bosh said. “We’re at the point where we just leave it at that, that was a special team. It was special era, it’s over and we’re looking forward to starting something new.”
With James back in Cleveland, the Heat hopes now hinge on Bosh and Dwyane Wade, both of whom also were free agents this past summer. Wade announced his return to Miami by calling himself a “Heat lifer” in a social-media post, and the team built a marketing campaign around those words.
In short, Miami reminded fans that the team has typically welcomed challenge.
“Everyone in the organization has had enough time to get used to the idea that it’s going to be a different team,” Wade said. “It’s my 12th year here, we’ve had a lot of different teams. … You come to training camp and you don’t really think about the year before or who’s not in here, you just try to focus on the guys who are here.”
There are plenty of new guys, too.
Ray Allen is undecided about where or if he’ll play this season, but he’s no longer with the Heat. Shane Battier retired, Rashard Lewis isn’t back and James Jones followed James to Cleveland.
In their place: Luol Deng, Danny Granger and Josh McRoberts, all three expected to have big roles for Miami as this season goes along. Norris Cole returns and presumably will get starter minutes at point guard, with Mario Chalmers likely to play both guard spots. Up front, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem will help Bosh and McRoberts on the glass, but there’s also likely to be some adjusting as all the new pieces fall into place.
“We have a team that we know is going to compete,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
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Here’s what to know about the Heat this season:
WADE WATCH: Wade’s scoring average has dropped in each of the last five seasons — but then again, so have his field-goal attempts per game. With James gone, it certainly stands to reason that there will be more scoring opportunities for Wade. But he turns 33 this January, has had knee issues for years and has logged more than 32,000 minutes of regular-season and playoff time. How much he has left in the tank is a mystery.
3’S NEEDED: The Heat have embraced the 3-pointer, especially from corners. Who’s going to make them? Five ofMiami’s six most-prolific 3-point shooters from the last four years are gone. Chalmers has made a team-best 498 3’s over the last four years, including playoffs, and Miami will need him to remain a threat.
BOSH’S ROLE: Bosh had 92 double-doubles in his last two seasons in Toronto. He’s had 60, total, in his four regular-seasons with Miami. Moving him away from the rim obviously played a role in his decreased rebound numbers, but he knows he’ll need to get back to some semblance of that former form.
SPOELSTRA’S RECORD: The knock from critics on Spoelstra has been that anyone could have succeeded at the helm of Miami’s talent-rich roster over the last four seasons. But some of Spoelstra’s peers marveled over the job he did under big pressure, and besides, he averaged 45 wins in his first two years on the Miami sideline — without James.
LATE SURGE? The Heat play 23 of their final 36 games in the regular season against franchises that didn’t make the playoffs last season. While the playoff landscape will surely look different in 2015, it still means Miami could be set up to make a late-season charge.
Cavs, Bulls the Expected Frontrunners in East
LeBron James is again surrounded by an All-Star caliber guard, a big man who can score and 3-point sharpshooters.
Sounds familiar.
What’s old is new again for James, who left home for four years, learned plenty and returns eager to ply those lessons. Except this wasn’t college; this was free agency and he chose Miami, where he became a two-time champion. And now he’s back in Cleveland, where his career began and where it will presumably finish, with the four-time MVP driven by a quest to deliver a long-awaited title to his native Northeast Ohio.
In Miami, his star mates were Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. His favorite shooters included Mike Miller and James Jones.
In Cleveland, James’ star associates will be Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. And he’s got Miller and Jones with him again.
Cleveland’s biggest challenge in the Eastern Conference likely will come from the Chicago Bulls, a team that won 48 games year ago despite former MVP Derrick Rose missing basically the entire season.
Washington and Toronto are young teams on the rise, Miami still has plenty of talent and the race for the final playoff spots should have no shortage of contenders.
A look at the East:
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PLAYOFF BOUND
1. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: James has been to the NBA Finals in each of the last four years, and he’s put a supporting cast together in Cleveland that could ensure that streak continues. There’s so many questions about the Cavs, but James alone provides plenty of answers.
2. CHICAGO BULLS: Rose is healthy, Joakim Noah is an elite big man and the Bulls added another 7-footer with championship savvy in Pau Gasol. They could be a size nightmare for plenty of teams, and Rose has to be extremely motivated after dealing with injuries for so long.
3. WASHINGTON WIZARDS: John Wall and (when he comes back) Bradley Beal could be the East’s top backcourt, Paul Pierce makes the Wizards better and smarter, there’s depth and there’s confidence. A year ago, they were a surprise to some. Now, contending is expected.
4. TORONTO RAPTORS: Plenty of other teams in the East are reinventing themselves. Not the Raptors. Toronto’s top seven scorers (in terms of total points) from last season are all back this year, and this team went 22-10 to close out the regular season. Watch them closely.
5. MIAMI HEAT: Motivation might have been in short supply last year. That’s not the case anymore. Beaten by the Spurs in the Finals, then spurned by James in the summer, the Heat have taken plenty of shots in recent months. Time to see what Bosh and Wade will do.
6. CHARLOTTE HORNETS: Lance Stephenson’s arrival makes a team that went to the playoffs last year better, even though the Hornets — Bobcats a year ago — will have to deal with losing Josh McRoberts to Miami. Al Jefferson is one of the East’s best big men.
7. ATLANTA HAWKS: A second year of Mike Budenholzer’s system will help, and having Al Horford back will help even more. The Hawks have a big in Horford, a shooter in Kyle Korver, but it remains to be seen if front-office issues holds this team back.
8. NEW YORK KNICKS: Never doubt the power of the triangle. The Knicks are rebuilding under first-year coach Derek Fisher, but they have a star in Carmelo Anthony and a scheme that may create plenty of headaches.
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IN THE MIX
9. BROOKLYN NETS: Brook Lopez already being hurt, though presumably just minor, is not a good sign.
10. INDIANA PACERS: Losing Paul George to that awful leg injury this summer changes everything.
11. DETROIT PISTONS: Stan Van Gundy starts his building project, and he’s got some talent.
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FACING LONG ODDS
12. BOSTON CELTICS: Even with Rajon Rondo the Celtics don’t seem ready for a leap.
13. ORLANDO MAGIC: The Magic could win more games than the 23 they did last year.
14. MILWAUKEE BUCKS: They’re long, feature rookie of the year candidate Jabari Parker and they should be able to defend well.
15. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: Michael Carter-Williams, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel may be great — someday.
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WHAT TO KNOW
NEW COACHES: The East has five new coaches. Van Gundy (Detroit) has won 64 percent of his games, Fisher (New York) won five rings as a player, Jason Kidd (Milwaukee) was a champion, Lionel Hollins (Brooklyn) went 56-26 in his last season with Memphis and David Blatt (Cleveland) was renown for his work in Israel.
FA’S TO WATCH: Boston’s Rondo and Detroit’s Greg Monroe will likely be the among the biggest-name free agents next summer. They’ll have motivation.
MIAMI’S SHOT: Bosh has waited patiently for his chance to be a first-option again, and Wade has made trying to silence doubters an annual occurrence.
NEW, NEW YORK: The Nets don’t have the enormous expectations and tax bill of a year ago, and the Knicks start their first full season with Phil Jackson calling the shots.
NO MVP … FOR NOW: For the first time since 2008, a season begins with the reigning MVP (Kevin Durant) hailing from the West. Oddsmakers favor James to reclaim it this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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