NBA Power Rankings: Lakers are champions; Nets look to crash the East

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Miami Heat Bam Adebayo (Photo by Kim Klement – Pool/Getty Images) /

5. Miami Heat

Even though the Miami Heat lost a few of their pieces from an NBA Finals run, the team did a great job in replacing them during the draft and free agency. With the core still intact, the Heat will once again be a dark horse contender in the Eastern Conference this season. Their ceiling on the 2020-21 season will be determined by the leaps that Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro make this season.

If the Heat continues to develop its young players, and if Jimmy Butler continues to play at a high level, there’s a very good chance that we could see an even better Miami Heat team this season than we saw in the NBA’s restart bubble.

Plus, this is also a team that you’ll need to keep an eye on when it comes to the trade market. If any disgruntled stars become available at any point this season, the Heat will be a contender to possibly make some upgrades ahead of the trade deadline.