Record predictions for every NBA team

Miami Heat (Projected Record: 42-40)

Miami is just solid all the way around. They don’t have a true superstar, but much like the pre-2017 summer Celtics, these Heat have a ton of depth (and now, also, Kelly Olynyk!). With depth like that and a lack of glaring holes, it becomes easier to stack up the regular season wins.

The Heat are lead by Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic from a projected RPM perspective and likewise in expected minutes played. Dragic is not a top 10 point guard but he’s solidly average for a starter, and Whiteside is somewhere in the top 10 centers in the league. Surrounding those two with guys like Olynyk, Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson, James Johnson, and Dion Waiters (useful role players) gets you to a solid place. Miami’s upside to beat this projection lies in Justise Winslow (projected RPM: -1.3 ) making a bigger than projected leap forward and becoming the star that some people envisioned when they first saw him.

An additional bright spot for Heat fans is that my rookie projections viewed their first round draft pick, Bam Adebayo quite favorably. It’s an open question how much he’ll play given Whiteside’s presence and the unlikelihood of their being able to play well together, but the talent looks to be there, which should be heartening.