It is widely-regarded that the Miami Heat have one of the top starting fives in the entire NBA.
Sports Illustrated’s annual “Top 100 Players” list has further solidified that belief. Each player of the Heat’s starting lineup was ranked in the top 100 list, with all five players being ranked between the No. 22 and No. 69 spots.
Chris Bosh was the highest-ranking Heat member at No. 22, with Dwyane Wade following at No. 30. Goran Dragic was slotted at No. 42, with Luol Deng at No. 56 and Hassan Whiteside at No. 69.
Bosh dropped down just four spots in comparison to his ranking from last year, while Wade fell 10 spots down after coming in at No. 20 in last year’s list. The ranking of Bosh ahead of Wade is a bit surprising considering the veteran shooting guard averaged more points per game than the power forward (21.5 to 21.1), played in more games (62 to 44) and even shot a higher field goal percentage (47 percent to 46 percent).
Wade was third among all Eastern Conference players in scoring last year. SI had the following to say about No. 3’s play last season:
“With Dwyane Wade comes the inevitability that he will miss some games due to injury and others for the sake of preventative maintenance. His return validates the trouble. Wade is still creating like a star in the downturn of his career, culling 24.3 points and 5.5 assists per 36 minutes from Miami’s glacially paced offense. Not bad at all for a player who seemed to wither near the end of the 2014 Finals.”
It is interesting to note that in regards to Whiteside, he was the only player on the entire list to earn less than $1 million last season. The young center has also played the least amount of career games in the NBA of anyone on the top 100 list.
Heat Nation should get their first peak at the new-look starting five when Miami opens their preseason schedule versus the Charlotte Hornets on October 4.
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