[insert witty name here]

So here we are. Season number 70 of the NBA. An entirely new landscape of teams has formed this past off season with many key players of franchises packing their bags and heading elsewhere. Whether it be for the chase of that ever elusive NBA Championship ring, or to return home, or to just get PAID, there were a ton of moves this off season. Some worth noting include the highly publicized, and often criticized, Kevin Durant to the Warriors move as well as Dwayne Wade, the face of the Heat franchise, heading back “home” to Chicago. The Heat however weren’t the only team to lose their face as the Lakers finally played a game without Kobe Bryant on the active roster and were able to show off all the young talent that was lurking in his shadow until last night. Some other superstars decided to stay put and managed to gain some talent to surround them including Anthony Davis of the Pelicans, Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City, and Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. Then there’s the young talent teams starting to really make a name for themselves in the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons.

Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh

The first team I care to go into is the Miami Heat. It feels like only yesterday when The Big 3 were the unstoppable force. You could even make the argument that they were the reason why basketball is the way it is now. Fast paced, up tempo, “super teams” that have some growing pains; but when they click, there’s not many other teams that can stop them. The Miami Heat, as we all know by now, made it to 4 straight NBA Finals and managed to win two of the 4. After their 4th appearance, LeBron decided to head back home to Cleveland where his quest to bring a title to that city would begin. So the Big 3 turned into the Bosh and Wade show with some solid additions during the offseason coming into play. Unfortunately for the Heat, but mainly Chris Bosh, health knocked Bosh out of the NBA and his return has been something everyone has been waiting for but probably won’t see for some time. Blood clots showed up during the 2014-15 season and the NBA world watched as the Miami Heat once turned to Wade for answers. Wade had a career season and proved that he was indeed not “an old washed up superstar”. Then came the 2015-16 season where it almost felt like deja-vu. Bosh goes down with blood clots and Wade carries the team as far as he can but they once again fell way short. An offseason surrounded by question marks revealed that Dwayne Wade, Mr. Miami Heat, was leaving the team to return home to the city of Chicago to play for the Bulls. Heat fans were stunned. It wasn’t really a team any Heat fan could have ever predicted. But the more you thought about it, the more sense it made.

Hassan Whiteside

So here the Heat are with their face of the franchise gone and a bunch of new talent surrounding the team. Luckily, during all of this turmoil in the “Post LeBron era”, a star emerged in Hassan Whiteside. A league leader in blocks since entering the league in the 2014-15 season and defensive force who is not to be taken lightly. He’s lost his fellow leader and teammate in Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh has been held off the court due to the severity of his blood clots. The team looks to Whiteside for answers. Since entering the league, his averages have been pretty outstanding. In the 121 games he’s played for the Heat since joining them midway through the 2014 season, he’s averaged 26.45 minutes, 5.4 FG made shooting at a 61% rate, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.15 blocks per game. The Heat took a chance on a player who couldn’t find much success when he first entered the league in 2010-11 playing for Sacramento and it’s paid off big time. The Heat locked him into a long contract this past offseason for 4-years and 98$ million. Although he is worth more, this was the most the Heat could offer at the time of the deal. With Whiteside becoming the new face of the franchise, his supporting cast is a lot of lesser known players in Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, Luke Babbit, Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow, and Derrick Williams. They opened the season on the road against the Orlando Magic and were able to pull out a victory after a strong second half performance. Led by Whitesides’ 18 points and 14 rebounds and Dragic dishing out 6 assists, the Heat were able to start the next chapter in the franchise’s story on a high note in this post-Wade era. Heat fans also were finally able to see why Tyler Johnson was paid all that money in the offseason ($50 million for 4 years) who put up 15 points (on 7 of 11 shooting), 6 rebounds,  3 assists, and 2 steals. Once again, Pat Riley seems to have found something in a relatively unknown player. The Heat have their home opener tonight against the Charlotte Hornets and Kemba Walker. This will be a true test to their defense as Walker has been historically efficient against the Heat

There seems to be a lot of promise in this young squad surrounded by a couple of seasoned veterans. With Pat Riley calling the shots and Erik Spoelstra coaching this team, there is still hope that a championship could get brought back to the great city of Miami. But, as with most great things out there, it will take some time.