The Miami Heat have started the 2015-16 NBA season 1-0 by defeating the Charlotte Hornets 104-94, but let’s be honest. It’s 1 game and 1 win against (I’ll repeat) the Charlotte Hornets. Should the Heat be excited? Well, here’s the thing. Any team should celebrate any win. So goes the age-old adage that a W is a W. However, this is the Hornets that finished 33-49 last season, leaving them 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Now, you may be wondering why I’m so hard on them after a 10-point victory over the hapless Hornets. I’m not. There were so many things that the Heat could look at as a positive. They shot 60% from three point land led by Gerald Green and Luol Deng. Everyone on the team, except for Josh McRoberts, contributed to the score. They were 95% from free throw land. Erik Spoelstra probably agrees with me. When asked how he felt about the way the team played, his response was simple.
“That was a good start.”
That’s exactly it. It’s the start of what is to be the new Heat way. Something is brewing in Miami that Heat fans probably have forgotten about professional basketball. The Heat have a bench. It seems also incredulous typing those words in the same sentence as the Heat, but it’s true. The pickup of Gerald Green looks to be another genius move by Pat Riley. He’s active and his offensive consistency gives the starters so much more breathing room that no one came close to playing 35 minutes. Chris Bosh topped everyone at 32 minutes.
The main thing we saw were flashes of what’s to be from 1st round draft pick Justise Winslow. Coming out of summer league and preseason there were some questions as to what Winslow could immediately do for the team. He didn’t seem to be settled into either side of the ball in preseason. No one from the Heat organization was being vocal about it, but there had to be some concern. However, Winslow is still young. His tangibles are definitely there, but it was nice to see what Heat fans could expect to see as he continues to grow as a professional. He showed his versatility by shooting the three with ease, then dunking over 3 Hornets players. You can take another look at the spectacular dunk so you can relish the fact of what’s to come.
The Heat follow the Hornets with a tough matchup in Cleveland against LeBron James and the team he’s assembled to help him bring home a championship. This will be the real test to see where they rank in the East right now. You can be sure that LeBron has no interest in dropping 2 games to start the season, so expect the best of King James.