The NBA Season is back! Just like your favorite superhero story, the NBA brings fun, entertainment, and a lot of uncanny subplots to unpack. That’s why NBA.com Philippines decided to preview the new season comic-book style. We pick out fantastic characters that will take the stage and new amazing arcs to watch out for. Bang! Pow! Boom! Let’s go!
What’s their superpower?
The culture of unselfishness, toughness, and no-frills hard work is the Heat’s superpower. It’s really difficult to rattle a team built on this type of solid ground, one that is not easily fazed by all the noise and drama that happens in a season.
The Heat’s roster is a mix of veterans and young players with different sets of skills, bonded together by one winning mindset. It also helps that orchestrating and motivating this roster is one Erik Spoelstra - a superpower all on his own.
What’s their kryptonite?
Losing key pieces Gabe Vincent and Max Strus, then losing out on Damian Lillard, the Heat’s kryptonite right now is in personnel movement.
Sure, Miami’s lineup is 10-, 11-deep in making life difficult for opposing teams, but they haven’t scored a big-named player since Kyle Lowry (sorry, Thomas Bryant).
Who is their biggest hero?
Jimmy Butler is the obvious choice, Media Day hair decisions notwithstanding. The Heat goes where Butler goes, something made super clear in the final seconds of the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.
But for the Heat to finally bring back the Larry O’ Brien trophy to South Beach, a new hero should step in and be bigger than Butler. Bam Adebayo? Tyler Herro? Nikola Jovic? Just any of them having a spectacular postseason to aid Butler should be enough for another successful Miami run.
Who is their biggest villain?
Jimmy Butler is the obvious choice, powerhouse East teams notwithstanding. Despite all the talk on team play, the fate of the Heat still lies in Butler’s hands. If he somehow runs out of gas towards the end of a long season, Miami won’t stand a chance against Boston or Milwaukee.
Both those teams made big moves in the offseason, while Miami is running it back and basically trusting Butler to keep on keeping on. He most likely will because he is him, but back-to-back runs to the finals is going to be hard.
How does their story play out?
Not a lot predicted the Heat to be the last team standing in the East. Yet there they were, toppling the Bucks, Knicks, and Celtics in another inspiring go for the title.
As long as Spo is on the sidelines, counting out the Heat will be a huge mistake. They will always find a way to shock and sneak in, although at this point, anything short of a finals appearance will be a disappointment for Miami.
Expectations are high now, which may or may not work in the favor of these perennial underdogs. Still, wherever they land in the standings come playoff time, expect the Heat to always bring the fight.
