The Miami Heat's season has been largely up-and-down. The team was projected to finish as a Play-In caliber team in the preseason. After a hot start, the team quickly came back down to Earth around the start of the new year and now, they sit as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference standings with a 35-29 record.
Bleacher Report released an article, providing their updated win-loss predictions for every NBA team. The Heat's original preseason was 42-40. Their prediction from Dec. 1 was 49-33. Their projection post All-Star break was 44-38 and now in early March, they are predicted to finish with a 45-37 record. That is one game ahead from their last prediction.
"Bam Adebayo was spectacular during the Miami Heat's first five games after the All-Star break, averaging 20.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists while hitting 50.6 of his shots overall and 39.3 percent of his treys," the article wrote. "It was still only good enough to earn Miami a 3-2 record during that stretch, with both losses coming by single digits on the road. The Heat have scored the ball well lately and have crept up to No. 16 in offensive efficiency after ranking fourth over the last two weeks. Paired with a defense that has hung in the top 10 (and often top five) all year, that kind of attack will more than get the job done. Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins have both made strong contributions to the offense lately, helping offset three-point shooting slumps from Norman Powell, Pelle Larsson and Jaime Jaquez Jr."
The big plus for Miami has been the return of Tyler Herro, who has scored north of 20 points in five of the eight games he has been back for since late Feb. However, with the addition of Herro, Norman Powell suffered a groin injury that has kept him out the last week. The team's leading scorer is expected to return to the lineup soon. Even with his injury, the team is on a four-game winning streak, which has elevated them to the No. 7 seed. That seed would be the highest seed for the Play-In tournament. If Miami can keep up this streak of wins, they very well could earn themselves a real playoff spot come April.
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