Don't Forget the Reign: Examining Last Season's Eastern Conference Champions

Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin after coming up big for the Heat in Game 4 of the 2023 playoffs. Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images.

With the Bucks trading for Damian Lillard, the Celtics revamping with Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, and the Cavaliers finding rhythm within their all-star backcourt, a lot of people are forgetting who ran the table in the Eastern Conference playoffs last year. The Miami Heat may have not been as active as some teams in the 2023 off-season but you better believe that they are going to embrace being underrated as they so often have been.

The amount of transactions the Heat made this off-season can nearly be counted on one hand. They lost Gabe Vincent to the Los Angeles Lakers and signed a couple of veterans including Thomas Bryant and Josh Richardson who returns for his second stint in Miami. They also drafted UCLA star Jaime Jaquez Jr. with the 18th overall pick and scooped up undrafted sharpshooter Cole Swider, who may seem irrelevant on paper but fits the diamond in the rough mold perfectly for the Heat. Tyler Herro also returns to the team after missing the majority of the Heat’s historic playoff run with a broken hand and is coming off a solid season where he averaged 20.1 ppg on 43.9% shooting.

So what can be expected from the Heat this year is simple, barring any significant injuries they will be right near the top of the Eastern Conference. Many NBA analysts have Miami outside the top 4 seeds come playoff time and some even have them returning to the play-in, however, this is nonsense. Expect Jimmy Butler to return to the all-star game after averaging 26.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists in the post-season last year, Bam Adebayo to continue to improve his offensive game while maintaining his defensive dominance, and Tyler Herro to be the scorer the Heat need to propel them to a top seed in the Eastern Conference this year. Oh and don’t forget about Caleb Martin who will be a key contributor after he took a major step forward in the playoffs last season