If someone were to merely look at the Miami Heat’s position in the Eastern Conference standings, he or she maybe wouldn’t presume the Heat to be title contenders.
After all, Miami owns a .500 record on the season at 7-7 and is eight games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
However, Heat legend Dwyane Wade thinks that his former team has what it takes to win its fourth title in franchise history. Miami hasn’t won an NBA championship since 2013, when Wade was on the roster and playing with the likes of LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
“When it comes to the Heat, we’re talkin’ about a group of guys who’ve had some success by going to the Finals twice since they’ve been together,” Wade said of the current iteration of the Heat. “Sometimes you gotta quiet the noise. ‘They haven’t done it. Jimmy hasn’t done this. Bam haven’t went to this’ — whatever the noise is, it doesn’t matter. That team got a chance versus any team, any given night, every night. So, I’m proud of that. I’m proud of Pat Riley comin’ in and sayin’, ‘Quiet all the noise — we got to get to it this year.’ As a Miami Heat player, I’m tired of all the noise. We got enough. You got everything you need and you can always ask for more. We can all ask for more. You have enough. Go get it done.”
Perhaps Wade’s connection to the Heat led to his positive take about Miami’s title chances. He maybe had the best Heat career of any player to don a red and black jersey, as he played 15 seasons in Miami and averaged 22.7 points per game with the team.
One advantage that the Heat have over most of the teams in the Eastern Conference is their playoff experience. With a core of Butler, Adebayo and Tyler Herro, Miami has reached three conference finals and two NBA Finals since 2020.
Additionally, the Heat have maybe the best head coach in the NBA in Erik Spoelstra. Miami has been a perennial playoff team under Spoelstra since he began leading the squad from the sidelines in the 2008-09 campaign. Moreover, he’s coached the Heat to a pair of NBA titles and six appearances in the championship series during his tenure.
It also probably makes sense for fans to worry less about the team’s regular-season record and more about how healthy the squad will be heading into the 2025 NBA Playoffs, even if the Heat qualify. This current Heat group has proven that even as a low seed in the Eastern Conference playoff bracket, Miami is capable of making deep runs at full strength.
In the 2023 NBA Playoffs, the Heat reached the NBA Finals as the No. 8 seed in the conference. In order to become just the second No. 8 seed in the history of the NBA to play in the championship series, Miami had to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics in the first three rounds.