OKC Thunder vs. Miami Heat, 2019-20 team preview
As Dwyane Wade exits Jimmy Butler replaces him as the face of the Miami Heat who enters the season with hopes of a deep playoff run. How will the gritty club matchup versus the OKC Thunder in 2019-20?
The swan song season of Dwyane Wade was a resounding success complete with the coolest pink jerseys in the NBA. Seriously, to witness the former “Flash” exit the game while still clearly having game was a bittersweet experience.
Ironically the jersey swaps that became synonymous with end of game scenarios took a surprising turn as many of the recipients ended up exiting their former clubs almost to a point where players must’ve wondered if they’d been marked for trades.
While Wade exits into the Miami Wade County sunset Pat Riley immediately jumped on replacing his star with a tailormade player in Jimmy Butler. It took a few tries to get the deal done but the Heat got their man.
In addition, the long reported issues between Eric Spoelstra and Hassan Whiteside were addressed when he was jettisoned to Portland making room for Bam Adebayo to be the full-time starter and ascend to the role the Heat envisioned him taking for several seasons now.
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The Heat is still a player short of being contenders and much of the offseason has been spent theorizing if or when Riley will make the move to get his point guard. At the heart of this discussion is OKC Thunder veteran point guard Chris Paul who also suits the Heat culture. For now, the teams remain at an impasse over what each team is willing to include in a trade package.
Regardless, with Jimmy Butler and a host of reliable supplementary teammates, the Heat enters the season poised to earn a playoff berth and the inevitable certainty Riley will eventually make a trade to move them up the East’s ladder.
The Basics:
2018-19 Record: 39-43
Lottery Seed: 13th pick
Head Coach: Eric Spoelstra begins his 12th season as the bench boss.
Points per game: Ranked 26th (105.7) | Opponent points per game: Ranked second (105.9)
Pace: Ranked 23rd (98.2) | Offensive Rating: Ranked 26th (107.3) | Defensive Rating: Ranked 6th (107.6 )
Vegas Odds:
Win-Loss: 43.5 games
Odds to NBA Title: +5654
Odds to Win Conference: +2164
* Odds courtesy of The Action Network.
The OKC Thunder split the regular-season series against Miami. Next up, let’s look at the offseason changes made by the Heat and review what to expect when the team’s tipoff versus each other in their two contests.