Miami Heat: 30 Teams in 30 Days

2008 Statistics

Finished 43-39

Postseason

First Round: Lost to Atlanta Hawks 4-3

Key Additions

Quentin Richardson via trade, Patrick Beverly via draft

Key Losses

Jamario Moon via free agency, Mark Blount via trade

Dwyane Wade is used to being the leader of the Miami Heat, but he is not used to carrying an entire team of rookies and aging veterans on his back to the playoffs.

He does not want to get used to it.

Wade demanded a move be made; to assure a chance at the championship in the coming years, and a sidekick to help him ease the load. They tried for Carlos Boozer: it failed for at least this off season.

They tried for Lamar Odom: it failed. With minimal offseason moves being made, Wade leaving the team in 2010 could be a reality that Pat Riley and the organization are going to have to face.

Wade has no problem leading the league in scoring and being one of the top shot blockers in the league as a guard. But willing your team to victory on a nightly basis takes a lot out of a man. You can tell by some of his games late in the regular season—and postseason—that Dwyane was physically and emotionally tired.

Wade had the best year of his career last year when he led the league in scoring and became the best shot-blocker under 6'4". Wade averaged a career high 30 points, seven assists, five rebounds, two steals, and a block per game.

Wade also played in a career-high 79 games, which means a lot for the Heat as his downfall since his inception into the league has been fighting with injuries. He finished third in both MVP and defensive player of the year voting.

For the Heat to be successful this year, and get a legitimate spot in the playoffs, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers need to emerge as superstars. Beasley was selected at No. 2 in last year's draft and is expected to become one of the premiere scorers and rebounders of the league. He averaged 14 points and five rebounds last year coming off the bench.

B-Easy did show flashes of what's to come, including a game six performance where he had 22 points and 15 rebounds. His shooting touch is consistent at times and could come easily to Beasley—who could string a number of jump shots together. He does have the ability to drive as well, but did not use it to his advantage as much as he should have.

With every rookie comes rookie mistakes, and even Michael Beasley had some. His defense was poor as he got beat off the dribble too many times, and his ability to move without the ball was minimal. He appeared lost at times when he didn't have the ball in his possession.

He has the potential to become one of the next great talents of this league, with the possibility to start at the small forward spot this year, he will be able to prove it.

When Mario Chalmers was taken in the second round, not many people anticipated the impact that he would make for this team. Chalmers averaged 10 points, five assists, and two steals per game last year. He led all rookies in steals, including a nine-steal performance early in the 2008-'09 season.

His range was exceptional as he was able to shoot from all sides of the court and come up in the clutch a number of times as well. His on-the-ball defense could use some work, but his ability to clog up lanes was a huge part of his defensive game.

Backup guard Daequan Cook had the season of his life last year when he won the three-point contest in the All-Star game and averaged nine points, making two three-pointers a game. Cook was inconsistent in the second half of the season though, as he couldn't knock down three's as easily as he did in the first half.

Cook is only going into his third season and is a big spark off the bench with the quick threes he brings.

The center position is one of the weakest positions for the Heat as they have little depth to work with. Jermaine O'Neal is the starter and his age really started to show last year. He was injured a number of times and could not compete with the top centers of the league.

O'Neal averaged 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks last year. The second and third string centers are Jamaal Magloire and Joel Anthony. Magloire has had better years and is used as a defensive enforcer, while Anthony is utilized mostly for his shot blocking ability.

The Heat need a more reliable, young post presence if they really want to succeed in this league. Having two aging veterans, and a young center who can't score, is not going to help. The Heat will need to test the market in 2010 and contest for free agents such as Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire to become a contender once again.

If they utilized a combination of Wade and one of the premiere, young centers of this league then a second championship could be in order for this team.

The Heat's offseason moves were minimal, as most of it was built on trying to steal Lamar Odom away from the Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat lost out on him and walked away with nothing other than heartbreak, and ended up losing one of their most athletic players in Jamario Moon.

Moon was big off the bench and even though he only averaged seven points, the way he scored ignited the team and the home crowd. The team built off the momentum.

Just yesterday, the Heat were finally able to make a move by trading for Quentin Richardson. This will be Richardson's fourth team of the summer and if he stays, will get significant minutes off the bench as a reliable member of the supporting cast. Quentin averaged 10 points last year as a member of the New York Knicks.

The Heat know what championship glory feels like and they are not the type of team that is ok with being a middle-of-the-pack, just happy-to-be-there kind of team. They want to become a contender and with Dwyane Wade leading this team, anything is possible.

Projected Starting Lineup

PG—Mario Chalmers

SG—Dwyane Wade

SF—Michael Beasley

PF—Udonis Haslem

C—Jermaine O'Neal

This is part 15 of a 30-day series of 2009-10 season previews of each NBA team. My profile will contain every other team that has been previewed before.