Podcast: At the 30-game mark, the Heat is on pace for 60 wins. Is it an attainable goal?
It has only been a week, but the Miami Heat’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Dec. 16 — its first loss to a sub-.500 team — already feels like a distant memory. The Heat wrapped up the three-game road trip with an impressive win against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, then returned to Miami to rattle off two more wins against the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz.
The defensive issues are gone. Jimmy Butler’s criticisms of the team apparently resonated. The 30-game mark is here and, after its latest three-game winning streak, the Heat is on a 60-win pace.
Miami, of course, hasn’t achieved this feat since the penultimate Big 3 season in 2013. With one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league, it feels strangely possible and the latest episode of the Heat Check podcast is dedicated to figuring out whether it truly is realistic for Miami (22-8) to win 60 games for just the third time in its history.
David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Heat beat writer for the Miami Herald, both see it as attainable, although neither is quite willing to predict it. The Heat right now has a top-10 offense and top-15 defense, and the possibility of actually getting into the realm of 60 wins largely hinges upon getting into the top 10 in both. Of course, there are real reasons to think this itself is possible. There’s a more compelling case for 60 wins than you might think.
We also hit on some potentially returning Miami players — one of whom seems more likely to actually get back on the court than the other.
Justise Winslow was active for the Heat’s 107-104 win against the Jazz on Monday. Could he return Monday? Chiang gives the latest on the point forward’s back injury.
We also had to get some Dion Waiters talk. The wing’s latest suspension is over, but ESPN reports people around the league think Waiters might never play again. We’re not quite so sure, even if it seems unlikely Waiters will ever suit up again for the Heat.
Finally, we wrap up with some praise of Miami’s first- and second-year players because guard Kendrick Nunn, wing Tyler Herro and swingman Duncan Robinson are really the reason the Heat has been able to survive Waiters’ disappearance this year.
