NBA Miami Heat

Forging a New Identity a Top Priority For New-Look Miami Heat

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By @MWCompton

Chris Bosh

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Replacing the production and leadership of veterans LeBron James, Ray Allen and Shane Battier will be among the chief challenges facing the Miami Heat this season. While the new-look Heat might have more new faces than familiar ones, head coach Erik Spoelstra is taking the right approach in preaching tenets of toughness as his squad seeks to establish a new identity for the 2014-15 season.

In order to best take advantage of the talent on this year’s squad, Spoelstra spent his summer hatching new and creative schemes tailored to the personnel he expects to go to battle with to start the season. The investment in a fresh philosophy should pay dividends as the Heat will have to rely on toughness over talent to be competitive this season.

While the notable departures in free agency attracted the bulk of the attention in the offseason, the new Big Three — Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem — return. The imagery may have changed but a dedicated work ethic remains among the team’s veteran leadership.

The offense, as expected, will go through Wade, Bosh and Mario Chalmers. No surprises there. New faces, namely Luol Deng, Danny Granger and rookie Shabazz Napier, are also likely to play key roles and must contribute positive minutes if Miami is going to challenge for the Eastern Conference crown this season.

Also expected to make an impact on the floor this year is James Ennis. Drafted by the Heat in 2013, the 6-foot-7 small forward spent last year playing in Australia in the Heat’s development program. Ennis made a promising preseason debut for the Heat in a 98-86 exhibition loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in Louisville, Ky. on Oct. 4, leading Miami with 17 points, six rebounds, one assist and a steal in 23 minutes off the bench.

Granger, a longtime member of the Indiana Pacers, spent the end of last season with the Los Angeles Clippers and admittedly signed with the Heat to play alongside James. Despite James’ departure, Granger is looking to resurrect his career with the Heat after undergoing an ACL reconstruction in 2013.

Granger, who has averaged 17.4 points per game in his career, has started 351 of the 396 games he’s played in, but he will likely have to adapt to being a “sixth man” type player coming off the bench for the Heat. In limited action last year with the Clippers, Granger, who can fire from long range, averaged 8.2 points per game. He contributed 12 points in the preseason opener, going 5-for-8 in 22 minutes.

Napier, who struggled in Summer League with 38 turnovers in nine games, was a proven clutch player at the college level. He thrived in pressure situations and was last year’s Final Four MVP for Connecticut. A dynamic player who can create in isolation or off pick-and-roll situations, Napier must step up in camp and prove to the coaching staff that he deserves minutes. Napier was used sparingly against the Pelicans, playing eight minutes and scoring five points.

With a new cast mixed in with some familiar faces, Miami is likely to rely heavily on ball movement to create scoring opportunities on offense and will most certainly take fewer chances on defense. Rhythm and continuity will be especially important for the Heat this year and will be a focus during the preseason.

It’s clearly a different team in Miami, one not as talented as in recent years. While uncertainty exists, if players take to their roles and perform efficiently together in Spoelstra’s system, there’s no reason that the Heat can’t make up for what they lack in talent with toughness.

Michael Compton is a Jacksonville Jaguars writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter at @MWCompton and connect with him on Google.

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