| Miami Heat 2005/2006 Preview Authored by Andrew Friedman - November 2, 2005 - 12:10 pm
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17 months ago the Miami Heat was on the brink of becoming a bona fide playoff contender. Pat Riley and the Heat front office were convinced the Heat could do even better than that. Though improved, the Heat was still discounted by many, considering the loss of three starters and the addition of 10 new players again, including Shaquille O’Neal.
Five months ago, Miami was one Wade rib strain from the Finals, and perhaps, the team’s first NBA Championship. Pat Riley and the Heat front office, once again, had higher aspirations. However, there are still many nonbelievers who are citing the loss of a couple of important pieces from last season’s team and the addition of 8 new players, including Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, James Posey and Gary Payton.
Each of these three teams has several common threads: Each changed over half the roster. Each left fans wanting and expecting more. Each is (or was) the subject of widespread criticism for offseason decisions, particularly for altering the direction the team was in before the moves.
History proves, however, that the Heat front office knows what it is doing. As opposed to altering the direction of the team, Miami has proven it is merely enhancing it. For those who aren’t picking Miami as the Eastern Conference favorites for the 2005/2006 season have failed to acknowledge history.
In each of these three seasons, Miami had very disappointing starts.
Recall:
2003/2004: Riley gave Lamar Odom a huge $65 million deal before this season. Critics shot down the move, saying a troubled player like Odom isn’t worth such a lucrative deal. Miami started 0-7, then 5-15. By the end of the season, Coach Stan Van Gundy made the proper adjustments and helped lead the team to a 42-40 record in his first season as an NBA Head Coach. Miami was the fourth seeded team in the Eastern Conference that season.
2004/2005: Riley gave up Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant for Shaquille O’Neal before this season. At this point Odom proved he was a legitimate force, worthy of being traded for the most dominant player in the league. Critics shot down the move, saying Miami gave up too much and hurt the future of a young, talented team. Miami started with a mediocre 11-7. Stan Van Gundy made the proper adjustments and helped lead the team to a conference best 59-23 record.
The bottom-line is when a team adds as many as eight new players, it is impossible to make all of the adjustments instantly, from both a player and a coach’s perspective, in taking the team to the peak of its potential. Such a feat could take until the All-Star break. Criticize Miami’s moves all you want now, but they have no warrant until at least February.
Now let’s break down the new-look Heat. When healthy, the starting lineup should be Jason Williams, Dwyane Wade, James Posey, Udonis Haslem and Shaquille O’Neal. The regular bench rotation should be Gary Payton, Antoine Walker, Alonzo Mourning and either Shandon Anderson or Jason Kapono, depending on whether the Heat needs defense or offense from the bench.
Both inside offense and inside defense should be good as usual, with either O’Neal or Mourning hanging out around the painted area for virtually the entire game. Udonis Haslem and Antoine Walker aren’t too shabby when it comes to defense. Both have the ability to give even the premier forwards fits. All four power players must make sure to rebound the ball, especially defensively to prevent other teams from having multiple opportunities to score on single possessions. This has been a problem, albeit a minor one.
The real problems are on the perimeter, both offensively and defensively. Jason Williams, Antoine Walker and James Posey will need to raise their percentages from long range. They will have several open shots here, but that doesn’t make them any easier at first, believe it or not. Ask Eddie Jones, who needed much of the first half of the season to adapt to a new role as well as having so many open three-point shots. It takes time to get used to.
Dwyane Wade, so long as he has the ball in his hands, should continue to improve upon what he has done the past two seasons. A key to success will be figuring out how to mesh Wade with Jason Williams, who also likes to handle the ball. The Wade/Williams tandem has a lot of potential, especially on fast breaks. Having future Hall-of-Fame guard Gary Payton should give the Heat a bout of confidence as well when he is in the game. Even when he isn’t, he will be busy helping Williams, Wade and Dorell Wright.
Defensively, Miami has a lot of talent on the perimeter between James Posey, Gary Payton, Dwyane Wade and Shandon Anderson. For them, it is only a matter of time before they acclimate themselves to the new players and new defensive sets. When Miami played the Hornets in preseason, none of these players were available and New Orleans’ outside game looked dominant against Miami. Neither Jason Kapono nor Jason Williams are known for their defense, and having them on the floor could prove to be a liability at times if a defensive stop is needed.
Similar to the last two seasons, Miami has made a lot of changes. As was the case with last season’s team, this team is good enough to win the NBA championship and should win it. Besides Miami’s perimeter game and the obvious need for time to work out chemistry issues, the Heat’s weaknesses also include free throw shooting and the threat of injuries, the main reason Miami did not make it to the Finals five months ago.
Other notes:
1. Several NBA analysts claim either Detroit or Indiana to be the top team in the Eastern Conference. Both teams are excellent, but perhaps these analysts underestimate the losses of Larry Brown and Elden Campbell from Detroit (yeah, that’s right, I said Elden Campbell), and Reggie Miller from Indiana. All three of these losses are significant and whether they were properly replaced this offseason remains to be seen.
2. Don’t forget about the midlevel exception Miami is holding onto. It could come in handy later this season. |
