NBA: 5 Championship contenders being criminally overlooked as threats

Miami Heat

It’s easy to see why many may be down on the Miami Heat. Missing out on Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal in the same offseason is a difficult pill to swallow. Even though they didn’t make the big splash addition that most hoped they would make, they still improved the roster to a certain extent. Many are going to say that they’re going to be worse because of the losses of Max Strus and Gabe Vincent. While those are key losses, they weren’t huge parts of the team. At best, they were maybe the team’s fifth and sixth-best players on the Heat last season.

The additions of Josh Richardson, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Thomas Bryant should help replenish some of the depth they lost with Strus and Vincent. At least in my opinion, the biggest questions surrounding the Heat involve health.

If the Heat can stay healthy heading into the playoffs, this is still a team that no one is going to want to face in a seven-game series. Plus, there’s also a chance the Heat looks to make an in-season upgrade via trade before the playoffs.