2017-2018 NBA Previews – Heat Odds
Looking for 2017 Miami Heat Predictions? We’ve got your back. The 2016-17 season was a tale of two campaigns for Miami. The year started out rough, with the squad going 11-30 during the first half of the 82-game slate.
Then, before you knew it, Miami was able to flip the script (literally) by reversing that record to a 30-11 showing and ending the regular season at an even 41-41.
Team Season Preview
Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra
2016-17 Record: 41-41
Miami Heat Odds to NBA Title: +10000
Miami Heat Odds to Win Conference: +2800
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Unfortunately for the Heat, their hot streak to close out the year wasn’t enough to make the postseason. Instead, the Chicago Bulls landed the eighth seed, so Miami will be looking to build upon that late-season success in 2017-18 to make a return to the playoffs.
Miami Heat Strengths:
The Heat have one of the greatest intangibles a team can ask for on their side entering this season.
They have continuity.
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Entering 2017-18, Miami has basically the same squad on board that made a push for the playoffs a year ago. Of course, Miami would have loved to add Blake Griffin or Gordon Hayward—the two big-time free agents linked to them this summer—but not having to worry about chemistry is a huge plus.
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As far as individual talents are concerned, Goran Dragic, despite being on the wrong side of 30, is still a solid, selfless floor general who can create for both others and himself.
Hassan Whiteside is one of the league’s best rebounders and shot-blockers, and even more than that, he’s become a defender who can impact that end of the floor on and off the ball without chasing blocks for the sake of padding stats.
As far as players who broke out last season who could very well take another step, look no further than James Johnson and Dion Waiters. Johnson is a player who can guard multiple positions, and Waiters, who may be close to his ceiling, can provide microwave scoring.
Miami Heat Weaknesses:
Aside from Whiteside (and maybe even Whiteside included depending on how disciplined he is), this team lacks the star power to compete with the NBA’s top-tier franchises. The Association has become a league where a Big Three is a minimum requirement to compete for a championship, and while the Heat have balance and depth, it’s tough to pin down just who their second-best player is.
Additionally, this team has a serious free-throw shooting problem. That may not sound like a monumental problem on the surface, but if you’re going to compete in close games, your star players must be reliable down the stretch.
Another area where this group can improve is pace. There’s no reason it shouldn’t be near the top of the league in this category, and Spoelstra would be smart to push the pace and look to run teams out of the gym.
Miami Heat Betting Prediction: 43-39
The Heat have a number of questions entering this season. For starters, which Miami team we saw last year is the real one: the first-half 11-30 team, or the second-half 30-11 team?
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Although the answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, we’re going to give them the benefit of the doubt knowing that the Eastern Conference drastically worsened this season.
With so many of the 4-8 seeds from last year taking a step back, there’s no reason to believe this group can’t make its return to the postseason.
A 45-win season isn’t out of the running.
2017 NBA Gambling
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