While the Miami Heat may be without LeBron James moving forward, they did bring in Luol Deng to join forces with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
More from Miami Heat
- Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
- 3 reasons the Blazers should trade Damian Lillard to the Heat and 2 reasons they shouldn’t
- 5 former Heat players to sign on veteran minimum deals, ranked
- NBA Rumors: Damian Lillard’s apology, ex-Heat player’s reflection, Darvin Ham bites a Nugget
- 3 potential James Harden suitors not named the Clippers
That may not make them the favorites in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, though Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders believes the Miami Heat will still be a good team without James on the roster. Are they a championship calibar squad? That’s a much more difficult argument, though a 50-win campaign isn’t out of the question according to Kyler.
"I do… I think they win the Southeast and win 48-50 games.I think everyone forgets how good Chris Bosh was in Toronto. He was the guy that put his game in his pocket to make the Big Three work. He’s going to have a much bigger role and I think you’ll see more of Wade too. I like Luol Deng there and they are really well coached."
While winning 50-games in the deep Western Conference may not get you into the postseason, doing so in the East is likely enough to put you in a top-four seed. That’s obviously guaranteed if you win your division, but even then the East has proven to be more top heavy than deep.
Also working in the favor of the Miami Heat is the expected struggle of the Indiana Pacers, who are likely to fall from grace and open up a spot among the elite in the East.
Outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls, it looks as if the Eastern Conference is open for business.
More on FanSided.com
Golden State Warriors say arena won’t look like toilet
Carmelo Anthony can thrive in triangle offense
Cleveland Cavaliers unlikely to trade for center
Chicago Bulls want big return for Taj Gibson
Could Kevin Garnett be traded to the Cavs?