2009-2010 Miami Heat Preview

2008 Record: 43-39, 3rd in Eastern Conf. Southeast Division, lost in First Round
Head Coach: Erik Spoelstra, 2nd season
Key Additions: None
Key Losses: F Jamario Moon
1st Round Draft Picks: None
2nd Round Draft Picks: G Patrick Beverley, F Robert Dozier

2008-'09 Heat Review:

The good news? The Miami Heat returned to the postseason after a miserable 2008 season. The bad news? Rookie coach Erik Spoelstra's club couldn't hold on to a 2-1 series lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, bowing to an athletic but inconsistent Atlanta team in seven games. Dwyane Wade was nothing short of sensational in South Florida, as he returned from an injury-hampered 2008 campaign to carry the Heat on his very broad shoulders. With precious little help from his post players, Wade was still able to partner with wing Michael Beasley and backcourt mate Mario Chalmers, leading Miami into early May when many other teams began to make summer vacation plans. The loss to Atlanta--made possible by a discouraging Game 4 setback on home court--will linger through the offseason, but then again, a first-round exit sure beats the 15-67 trail of tears that defined Pat Riley's final season on an NBA sideline.

2009-'10 Heat Preview:

It feels a lot like New York in South Florida. Much as the Knicks are waiting for this upcoming season to end and then make a move in the 2010 free agent market, the Heat seem to be doing the same thing. Wade didn't get Lamar Odom in the summer of 2009, so Pat Riley--now calling the shots from the front office--will have to bide his time and wait for next summer to make noise on the open market. With little activity in the realm of dealmaking, the Heat will try to get to the second round of the playoffs and win the one game that eluded them in last year's 4-3 first-round loss to Atlanta. If Miami is to reach the East semis, Beasley will have to elevate his game after a poor playoff showing in 2009. Just as importantly, Jermaine O'Neal--now training with Tim Grover, the man who devised Michael Jordan's workout regimen in the early 1990s--will have to justify an offseason defined by sweat and sacrifice. If Beasley and O'Neal perform up to their capabilities, the Heat should win a playoff series... and then wait to give their superstar a supreme sidekick in the summer of 2010.

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By Matthew Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

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