The Miami Heat have gotten the most out of their roster in recent years, and they kept the team mostly intact as they look to make another surprise run to the NBA Finals as they did in 2019/20 and 2022/23.
Like many teams projected to be in and around the playoff picture, the Heat have a large group of versatile, starter-caliber players surrounding a few stars.
Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler are their stars while Tyler Herro is a borderline star, and they're complemented by high-level role players including Jaime Jaquez Jr., Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, Kevin Love, Haywood Highsmith, Josh Richardson and rookie Kel'el Ware.
Butler, Herro, Rozier and Jaquez can all serve as both the primary ball-handler or in an off-ball role, which makes things much easier on head coach Erik Spoelstra.
Plus, the entire team defends hard: Miami finished fifth in defensive rating (112.2 points allowed per 100 possessions), fifth in opponent three-point percentage (35.3), third in opponent points per game (108.4), and second in defensive rebounding percentage (78.1).
With Butler and Adebayo each in their prime and Jaquez and Herro ready to take steps forward, could Miami be a surprise contender in the Eastern Conference once again?
To Win NBA Championship +4000
To Win Eastern Conference +2200
To Win Southeast Division +150
To Win NBA Cup +4000
To Make the Playoffs -350
To Miss the Playoffs +260
Over 44.5 Regular Season Wins -110
Under 44.5 Regular Season Wins -110
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Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.