Miami Heat assistant coach Caron Butler cautioned folks who are “kicking dirt” on the team ahead of the 2024-25 season.
After reaching the 2023 NBA Finals, the Heat didn’t put together nearly as magical of a run in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. In fact, Miami didn’t win a single playoff series and won only one game during its best-of-seven series against the Boston Celtics. It’s a reality that may be contributing to folks overlooking the team ahead of the 2024-25 season.
But the Heat were greatly hampered by injuries during their short tenure in last season’s playoffs. Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson were all sidelined for the entirety of the series against Boston due to injuries.
On the bright side, however, Rozier recently gave a positive update on his neck injury that has been plaguing him since last season.
“Where I’m at right now is just about fully, fully, fully cleared to play 5-on-5,” Rozier said during a conference call with local reporters on Wednesday. “But I am doing every on-court activity, playing a little bit of 3-on-3. So I figure in the next couple weeks, I’ll be graduating to 5-on-5. I feel great.”
Plus, one can make a real claim that Miami’s current roster (when healthy) is more talented than the group that reached the NBA Finals in 2023.
Tyler Herro missed an overwhelming majority of the Heat’s stint in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, and he is one of the better scorers the Heat have. He averaged 20.8 points per game during the 2023-24 regular season, which was tied with Jimmy Butler for the highest scoring average of any player on Miami.
In addition, Rozier didn’t suit up at all during the Heat’s 2023 NBA Finals run, but that’s because he was a member of the Charlotte Hornets at the time. He didn’t join the Heat until partway through the 2023-24 regular season, when the Hornets dealt him to Miami.
If the Heat reach the 2025 NBA Playoffs with a healthy roster, Miami is a team that nobody in the Eastern Conference should want to face off against. But that remains a big if, so here’s to hoping that the Heat will have better injury luck than they did a season ago.