In the coming weeks, I'm going to try (emphasis on try) and analyze our competitors in the Southeast Division and take a look at what makes them dangerous in the coming season, and what helps us sleep easier at night. This is kind of like the community projections except that:
A) No predictions on records will be made.
B) This series will be conducted in bullet point form as opposed to paragraph form.
C) These only pertain to the Southeast Division.
D) These will generally be much more poorly written than the Community Projections.
But other than that, they're kind of the same...but not really.
Why I'm scared:
The Heat's top draft pick, sporting the always in style Fresh Prince look.
- Dwyane Wade is back. I'm not just talking about recovering from injury, either. I mean, Dwyane Wade is back. If you saw his performance at the Olympics, then you know what I'm talking about. I know there's some weaknesses on that team, but guys like him can cover a multitude of weaknesses.
- I know that there were differing views on Michael Beasley going into the draft, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to produce. How he's going to produce and in what ways are up for debate, but he can't be any worse than Luke Jackson.
- Not only is Wade back, but he's back and he's angry. Lovely.
- I'm not sure if the Heat plan on using Marion as a small forward or a power forward, an offensive focal point or a defensive stopper, as a cornerstone for their franchise or trade bait. And quite frankly, not knowing how the Matrix is going to be used this year scares me.
Why I'm not scared:
- Of the 13 players on the Heat's roster, 6 of them have one year or less playing experience. That scares me down the road, but not so much right now.
- The Fringe Festival!
- Miami's new coach, Eric Spoelsta, is younger than Alonzo Mourning. I mean, Zo is a classy enough guy that it shouldn't be a problem, but it's got to be a little awkward at least, right?
- Super Mario has been on the hunt for mushrooms, and I'm not talking about the 1 UP kind.
- The inevitable "Nobody likes me" poutfest from Shawn Marion.
- We all know that if D-Wade falls down seven times, he'll stand up eight times. But if he's reaching for a steal...
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Right now, I see the Heat finishing in the 7-10 range in the East. They've got three very talented players, but too many holes to make a serious run right now. Of course, people had similar criticisms of Boston last year, and we saw what happened there. Granted, there's significant talent gap between Boston's Big 3 and Miami's Big 3, but if this team can come together like Boston did, they could return to the elite a lot quicker than anyone is expecting.