NBA: Ranking the teams in the Southeast Division for 2017-18

2. Miami Heat

After the 41-game mark last season, things were not looking good for the Heat. They had just lost to the Milwaukee Bucks and held an 11-30 record.

Fortunately, they turned out to be a gritty team and went on a historic second-half run. They won their next 13 games and finished the year with a 41-41 record.

Unfortunately, that was the classic situation of too little, too late. They missed out on an opportunity at the playoffs due to a tiebreaker with the

Chicago Bulls.

Despite missing out on the playoffs, they hope to carry that momentum into the 2017-18 season. They added

Bam Adebayo

with the 14th pick in the draft, but it’s unclear how much of an impact he will have this year. He sits behind

Hassan Whiteside

and the newly signed Kelly Olynk on the depth chart. Both of those guys are clearly better players and give Miami the best chance to win now.

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They also ended up saying goodbye to one of the best players in franchise history, Chris Bosh. Bosh was never able to overcome the blood clots and Miami made the smart decision based on his long-term health.

With the use of the extra cap space, Pat Riley re-signed Waiters and James Johnson. We’ve long known about the talent Waiters possessed, but it took him a while to put it all together. During his first year at South Beach, he put up 15.8 points per contest while shooting a scorching 39.5 percent from downtown. Johnson also had a career year, averaging 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

All in all, Miami has some really nice options in the backcourt. Goran Dragic, again, appears ready to lead the way. If Justise Winslow can take another step in his third year, the Heat will be able to fire their way into the playoffs.