NBA Basketball: What to Expect from the Miami Heat This Season

The Miami Heat are past trying to prove the critics wrong and are going to wreak havoc on the NBA in this shortened season.  The Heat know what they are capable of as a solid unit, and so does everybody else.

The only difference between now and last year is the fact that they are sure of their abilities.  

There is a crop of teams in the NBA that could go to the Finals and win it all, without question.  The Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and even the older, wiser Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs. 

The more you compare those teams to the Heat, it becomes evident and clear as to who really is the top squad in the league. 

With the fast breaks, isolation plays, alley-oop dunks, along with the three ball and the newly-found post-up game from LeBron James, there's really no answer for the Heat—they're virtually unstoppable.

Last year, the Heat played with a timidness, and Erik Spoelstra sometimes coached like he was the assistant while James and Dwyane Wade were the coaches.  Who's going to take this shot?  Who's going to bring the ball up the floor?

This year for the Heat, there is a cohesiveness and an agenda, from the front office to the last guy on the bench.

They went into last year's playoffs playing well as a group, but there was still uncertainty.  From the moment the playoffs began, though, the Heat played with a passion and on a level that made people take notice. 

The Heat got into the Finals against the Mavericks and flamed out after a celebratory moment between James and Wade in Game 2, where they were up by 15. 

This year's Heat team can't be compared to last year's.  This Heat team is battle-tested, assertive and confident in each other.  It all shows, as in interviews now they are calm and collected, not defensive and scripted.  In warm-ups, they are loose and ready, not tight and unsure.

Udonis Haslem is healthy, and active on the boards and defense.  Wade and James will continue to score with ease from all over the court, and Mario Chalmers looks even better and more comfortable than he did in the Finals. 

Chris Bosh should bring the same element that he brought last year, but with a decisiveness that solidifies his roll as a scoring option and rebounder for the Heat, instead of being under the radar. 

No matter what type of roster changes the leagues other 29 teams have made, they should all be prepared for the Heat to dominate the regular season and playoffs.

There's a prediction of the Heat winning 58 games in this 66-game season.  Which is the equivalent of going 72-10 in an 82-game season.  No other team is predicted to, or capable of, winning that many games. 

There are always the surprise teams, but in a shortened season, it's hard to adapt, adjust and develop that chemistry for the back-to-back games and condensed schedule.

The Heat are all on the same page, and no amount of practice can take away what is naturally there for this group right now.

There is a burning desire for this team to be more than great, from the people of the city to the players.  Yes, it was one game, but the Heat showed it all in their Christmas day, Harlem Globetrotter-like domination of the defending champion Mavericks.