The Miami Heat have reeled off five wins in their first seven games. Here are a few takeaways from their hot start to the 2019-20 NBA season.
The Miami Heat entered the season having missed the playoffs in two of the past three seasons. Not only that, but the roster was mostly comprised of players who weren’t living up to their contracts.
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Fast forward to the present, and the story is a bit more positive for the team from South Beach. For starters, a couple of recent draft picks are starting to blossom quite nicely.
During the offseason, the Heat dealt Hassan Whiteside and Josh Richardson as part of a four-team deal that netted them Jimmy Butler and Meyers Leonard. Even more important, the Heat have won five of their first seven games, including a 129-100 beatdown against the Houston Rockets — a game in which they led by a 46-14 margin after the first quarter.
This represented the third-largest lead after the first quarter in the NBA’s shot-clock era.
Miami got its three-game Western Conference road swing off to a rough start with a blowout loss at Denver, but are just a half-game off the lead in the East.
So, what exactly has this Heat squad firing on all cylinders? Here’s a look at a few notable takeaways from their hot start to the 2019-20 NBA season.