The Miami Heat began their 2015 season defeating the Charlotte Hornets by a score of 104-94 on Wednesday, Oct. 28.
After a slow start, Miami took control with a 26-6 run in the second quarter and never looked back. The Heat held their advantage for the remainder of the game after six lead changes in the first half. Defensively, Miami struggled to contain Charlotte’s star center Al Jefferson, who scored 17 points in the first quarter alone. However, Miami’s centers Hassan Whiteside and Udonis Haslem held Jefferson to 0 points for the rest of the game. Whiteside struggled on the offensive end, scoring only four points, going 2-4 from the field.
Miami was led by its usual stars, shooting guard Dwyane Wade and power forward Chris Bosh. Wade scored 20 points and dished out five assists, and converted on all six of his free throw attempts to seal the game late, while his partner in crime Chris Bosh scored a game-high of 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. It was an impressive performance by Bosh after missing the latter part of last season due to a blood clot issue, which nearly took his life. Ultimately it was good performance for Bosh in his return.
“It was a great season setter for Bosh, he showed why he is highly paid and has been an all-star for the majority of his career. It’s remarkable to come back to his level of his performance after that life-threatening incident,” said junior Ryan Grippando.
Newcomer small forward Gerald Green provided a spark off the bench, scoring 19 points and hitting 5-8 from beyond the three-point line. The Heat got a good all-around performance from their starters and bench, which is what they are looking for to succeed.
“It was a great way to start the season. Miami showed their capabilities that makes them one of the more interesting teams in the NBA to watch,” said junior Mitchell Hurtado.
Moving forward, Miami is expected to be one of the more competitive teams in the Eastern Conference. After making key additions and coming into the season completely healthy, the Heat looks to make some noise. The team added Green, all-star power forward A’mare Stoudemire, and swingman Justise Winslow through the draft. These additions to roster should give the Heat an extra element they lacked last year when trying to make a run late in the season.
“The Heat have an incredibly deep lineup, if they can get everyone to excel in their roles, they can do some real damage come playoff time,” said junior Antonio Mauri.
Along with these additions, Miami is finally healthy after a rocky season last year that experienced many setbacks. The Heat get back Bosh, along with Josh McRoberts who missed the entirety of last season due to a torn ACL. Miami will now have mid-season additions Hassan Whiteside and Goran Dragic for training camp and a full season, so, the chemistry will be better and they will be able to play in sync.
With all of these factors, Miami has the pieces in place to finish second in the Eastern Conference throughout the regular season and make a deep run in the playoffs.
