The Miami Heat had two seasons in one last year. In Part I, they were terrible and went 11-30. In Part II, they ripped the league apart and went 30-11. The sum of that led to a narrow playoff miss, which leads to a simple question: which Heat team from last year is the real Heat team, especially after a summer where they paid up to bring the band back together.
Kelly Cohen, a political reporter in D.C. who moonlights as a Heat fan, and Surya Fernandez from SB Nation's Heat site Hot Hot Hoops join us for this episode. Among the topics discussed:What happened last year to cause that second-half surge? Can Dion Waiters, James Johnson, and several others actually do that again?Are Heat fans feeling good about whiffing on a top free agent and pivoting to bring the gang back together? Kelly and Surya have mixed feelings on that.How good is Hassan Whiteside, really? Where is he in the center hierarchy?We torment our two guests with a difficult version of Max/Play/Trade with Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Rodney McGruder.Where does Erik Spoelstra rank in the coaching hierarchy?Simple question, complex answer: how do Heat fans feel about LeBron James?Which player's jersey should you buy from this year's team?We get to the customary banana boat question, throwing both off guard.Predictions (even if Kelly hates them), best-case scenarios, and more. This is the 14th of Limited Upside's 30 team previews leading up to next season. We're bringing together representatives from all 30 SB Nation team sites and other team-specific experts from the SB Nation/Limited Upside community to gauge the temperature of the fanbase heading into the season.
PREVIOUSLY: Nuggets
NEXT UP: Bulls
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