Will the end of last season carry over? Miami Heat fans sure hope so
Miami finished last year 30-11, then brought the band back together in the summer. Does that excite Heat fans? Let’s find out.
The Miami Heat had two seasons in one last year. In Part I, they were terrible and went 11-30. In Part II, they ripped the league apart and went 30-11. The sum of that led to a narrow playoff miss, which leads to a simple question: which Heat team from last year is the real Heat team, especially after a summer where they paid up to bring the band back together.
Kelly Cohen, a political reporter in D.C. who moonlights as a Heat fan, and Surya Fernandez, from SB Nation’s Heat site Hot Hot Hoops, join us for this episode. Among the topics discussed:
- What happened last year to cause that second-half surge? Can Dion Waiters, James Johnson, and several others actually do that again?
- Are Heat fans feeling good about whiffing on a top free agent and pivoting to bring the gang back together? Kelly and Surya have mixed feelings on that.
- How good is Hassan Whiteside, really? Where is he in the center hierarchy?
- We torment our two guests with a difficult version of Max/Play/Trade with Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, and Rodney McGruder.
- Where does Erik Spoelstra rank in the coaching hierarchy?
- Simple question, complex answer: how do Heat fans feel about LeBron James?
- Which player’s jersey should you buy from this year’s team?
- We get to the customary banana boat question, throwing both off guard.
- Predictions (even if Kelly hates them), best-case scenarios, and more.
This podcast was part of the Limited Upside podcast’s 2017-18 offseason series previewing all 30 NBA teams with members of SB Nation’s team communities and other friends of the show. We’ve spent the last two-and-a-half months gauging the temperature of every fan base heading into what should be a terrific NBA season. There’s no better way to understand what makes NBA fans in each market tick.
We began these in August and counted down worst-to-first leading up to the season. Here’s how to listen to them all:
- Nets with Kristian Winfield and Nets Daily’s Anthony Puccio
- Lakers with Zito Madu and Silver Screen and Roll’s Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen
- Suns with Bright Side of the Sun’s Dave King and Evan Sidery
- 76ers with Tyler Tynes and Liberty Ballers’ Kyle Neubeck
- Knicks with Kristian Winfield and Posting and Toasting’s Seth Rosenthal
- Magic with Orlando Pinstriped Post’s Zach Oliver and Cory Hutson
- Kings with Kenny Carraway and Sactown Royalty’s Tony Xypteras
- Mavs with Tim Cato and Mavs Moneyball’s Kirk Henderson
- Wolves with Canis Hooups’ Eric Goldman and John Meyer
- Pelicans with The Bird Writes’ Oleh Kosel and Travis Tate
- Hornets with James Dator and At the Hive’s Nicklaus Denning
- Pistons with John Ketchum, Kofie Yeboah and Detroit Bad Boys’ Lazarus Jackson
- Nuggets with Denver Stiffs’ Adam Mares
- Heat with Kelly Cohen and Hot Hot Hoops’ Surya Fernandez
- Bulls with Ricky O’Donnell and Blog a Bull’s Jason Patt
- Pacers with Whitney Medworth and Indy Cornrows’ Caitlin Cooper
- Blazers with Blazers Edge’s Brian Freeman and Peter Sampson
- Bucks with Kevin McCauley and Brew Hoop’s Mitchell Maurer
- Hawks with Harry Lyles Jr. and Peachtree Hoops’ Brad Rowland
- Grizzlies with Grizzly Bear Blues’ Joe Mullinax
- Thunder with Eddie Maisonet and Welcome to Loud City’s Joshua Broom
- Thunder addendum! Carmelo Anthony trade emergency pod with Eddie Maisonet
- Wizards with Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp and Bullets Forever’s Michael Sykes
- Jazz with SLC Dunk’s Mychal Lowman and James Hansen.
- Raptors with Raptors HQ’s Daniel Reynolds and freelance writer Seerat Sohi
- Cavaliers with Fear the Sword’s Chris Manning and MMA Fighting’s Eric Jackman
- Clippers with Clips Nation’s Lucas Hann and former L.A. video coordinator Mo Dakhil
- Celtics with Paul Flannery and Celtics Blog’s Nick Gelso
- Rockets with The Dream Shake’s Ethan Rothstein and Jeremy Brener
- Spurs with Pounding the Rock’s J.R. Wilco and Bruno Passos
- Warriors with Golden State of Mind’s Bram Kincheloe
