Miami Heat 2014-15 Season Preview: Life After LeBron James

Oct 18, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard

Dwyane Wade

(3) and power forward

Chris Bosh

(1) walk onto the court during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center. The Heat won 111-108 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Continuing our NBA Preview series, we take a closer look at the Miami Heat’s life without LeBron James

More from Miami Heat

2013-14 Miami Heat record: 54-28

2013-14 Miami Heat MVP: LeBron James

Three things I think I know about the Miami Heat…

The Miami Heat will only go as far as Dwyane Wade’s health will take them
James Ennis will be a household name in the NBA by the end of the season
Chris Bosh will prove that he can still carry a team statistically

Key Additions:

Luol Deng (free agency)

James Ennis (free agency)

Josh McRoberts (free agency)

Danny Granger (free agency)

Shabazz Napier (draft)

Key Losses:

LeBron James (free agency)

Ray Allen (retirement/free agency)

The Miami Heat will be a playoff team if…

Dwyane Wade can play at a high level for the majority of the season. Also, if Chris Bosh can prove he can resort to his Toronto Raptor days. The Heat will also need one of Norris Cole, Mario Chalmers or Shabazz Napier to emerge as a consistent contributor for the team. With the loss of LeBron James, no one player is going to compensate for his 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists. Miami is going to need consistency from Luol Deng, Bosh, Wade and a fourth player on a consistent basis – along with great team defense – in order to survive in the new-look, much more balanced Eastern Conference.

Team Strengths:

Coaching – With so much turnover from last season, there isn’t one area to pinpoint this team’s strength. The one constant on this team compared to last season is probably their head coach. But even then, their coaching staff got a facelift beyond Eric Spoelstra. However, coach Spo has been good enough during his young career to be recognized as this team’s strength. He’s passed the tests and made it through (most) of the battles. He’s proven.

Although, he could be on the verge of tackling his greatest challenge yet as a head coach with this year’s Miami Heat team.

Team Weaknesses:

Uncertainty – Obviously, this team is going to be a whole lot different than it looked — and performed — last season. The thing about this team, though, is that we really don’t know what they’ll look like this season. They could look like “sneaky” NBA Championship contenders, or they could look like a washed up group of Champions. I don’t think anyone would be surprised either way.

Eventually, the Miami Heat will probably land somewhere between those two extremities when it’s all said and done this year.

2014-15 Miami Heat MVP will be…

Chris Bosh

Season Defining Question:

Will Dwyane Wade hold up for an entire season?

Best Case Scenario:

50-32

Worst Case Scenario:

35-47

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