August 09, 2024
Isaiah J. Downing/USA TODAY Sports
Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have served as the foundation for the Miami Heat's success for five years. Is their run nearing an end?
With much of the Sixers' 2024-25 roster locked in more than a month removed from the start of a franchise-altering free agency, the time has come to evaluate their opposition in the Eastern Conference: of last season's playoff teams in the East, which ones pose the biggest threats to the Sixers, and how do the teams match up with this new-look team?
Up last is a team that has seen its viability as a long-term contender called into question after a challenging summer: the Miami Heat.
Before that, the previous scouting reports on each of the East's playoff contenders:
• Sixers Eastern Conference preview: The Celtics aren't going anywhere
• Sixers Eastern Conference preview: Will the Mikal Bridges trade make the Knicks a championship-caliber team?
• Sixers Eastern Conference Preview: Can Doc Rivers guide the Bucks to a championship?
• Sixers Eastern Conference preview: Will the Cavaliers' bet on talent pay off?
• Sixers Eastern Conference preview: Is the Magic's young core ready to make the leap?
•Sixers Eastern Conference preview: Was the Pacers' playoff run a sign of things to come?
Now on to Miami...
The Heat entered free agency right up against the NBA's punitive second apron, and to avoid incurring the harsh penalties that come with exceeding that threshold, they could spend very little money beyond veteran's minimum contracts. The summer after losing starters Gabe Vincent and Max Strus for financial reasons, the team lost Caleb Martin. Martin, of course, ended up signing a four-year deal to join the Sixers.
Here are the final results of Miami's summer:
Added: Kel'el Ware (No. 15 overall pick in NBA Draft), Pelle Larsson (No. 44 overall pick in NBA Draft), Alec Burks (free agency)
Retained: Haywood Highsmith, Kevin Love, Thomas Bryant
Extended: Bam Adebayo (three years, $156.3 million)
Lost: Caleb Martin, Delon Wright, Jamal Cain
Losing Martin made it essential to retain Highsmith, a viable two-way wing who was once a developmental project in Philadelphia. Love provides some depth at the four and five positions, though the Heat likely hope that the rookie Ware is able to become a part of their rotation at some point.
Adebayo is a pillar of Miami's foundation on both ends of the floor, and the Heat rewarded him with a lucrative three-year extension that cements his place in their organization for the long term. Adebayo, of course, has been the long-time running mate of Jimmy Butler, whose future in Miami now appears far murkier. The Heat appear unwilling to offer Butler the extension he desires, and after brief trade rumors (which included the Sixers' reported interest), Butler reportedly decided that he would play out the final guaranteed season on his current contract before making a decision on his $52.4 million player option following the end of the 2024-25 season.
One thing the Heat always have going for them is that they have perhaps the best head coach in the entire NBA at the helm. Here is what Erik Spoelstra has to work with entering the season:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Terry Rozier | Tyler Herro | Jimmy Butler | Nikola Jović | .Bam Adebayo |
| Alec Burks | Duncan Robinson | Jamie Jacquez Jr. | Haywood Highsmith | Kevin Love |
| Josh Richardson | Pelle Larsson | Kel'el Ware |
When this entire rotation is healthy, it will likely be competitive against most Eastern Conference teams despite being at a clear talent disadvantage. But how often will they be able to maintain good health? As has been the case for a few years now, the Heat have a wide range of outcomes because of the volatility of their core pieces from a durability standpoint.
Butler has only played more than 60 games in one of his last four seasons, Tyler Herro played a career-low 42 games last season and has missed at least 15 games in every season of his NBA career, and Terry Rozier has only logged at least 70 appearances once in the last half-decade.
Jaime Jacquez Jr., who thrived for the Heat as a rookie last year, may be the wild card here: if he can continue his ascension and show flashes of future stardom, the long-term outlook becomes much more promising for Miami.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse has long valued the ability to throw many different looks at an opposing team's best offensive player, and he has that against Butler. Martin, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Kyle Lowry are all more than viable options to guard the six-time All-Star.
The Sixers can choose to focus all of their defensive effort on stymieing Butler if they do not fear Miami's other perimeter creators. That is why it is essential for Miami that Herro and Rozier are both healthy and effective: if they are not, teams will sell out on Butler and not face repercussions for doing so.
Adebayo, meanwhile, is about as good as it gets as an option to defend Joel Embiid, and he is capable of doing so for long stretches without getting into foul trouble. Love can be taken advantage of as a defender, but stretch fives have often given Embiid fits as he desires to remain as close to the basket as possible, making him a viable option at the five against Embiid in a pinch.
The Sixers defeated Miami in a wild Play-In Tournament game in Philadelphia last season -- a clash that will forever be known as The Nico Batum Game -- but that will hardly quell concerns about their ability to step up and defeat Butler, Adebayo, Spoelstra and a battle-tested Heat group in a traditional playoff matchup. Butler suffered a serious injury early in that game last April, and it still took Batum putting on an epic two-way masterclass for the Sixers to escape victorious. Until the Sixers display even a fraction of the mental toughness in critical situations that the Heat have routinely exhibited over the last many years, there will be many who are skeptical that they can topple Miami in a seven-game series. The talent discrepancy, however, is clear -- and it benefits the Sixers.
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