The Miami Heat lost LeBron James in free agency this summer, but Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Mario Chalmers are confident that the team can still compete for a championship without him and this comes as the eastern conference could be very tough, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards and NY Knicks all looking like solid teams.
The Heat come into the season as a different team than last year, as they have new players like Josh McRoberts, Danny Granger and Deng in the mix. They are also different because James is not there and that means the offense will be running in a new way and that could be big for Wade as he gets farther along in his career. While Wade doesn't have the burst he once had, he now can go back to his old game from before James was there and that also could open things up for Bosh as well.
Bosh used to be a 20 and 10 player with Toronto and while he may not revert back to that right away, there is a good chance that he will be more productive. The signing of Deng was huge for the Heat, as he was one of the best names on the market past James this summer. Deng will not be able to do everything that James did, like lead the team in scoring, assists and rebounds, but he is an all-around player and he surely can help make his loss easier.
The Heat come into the season after getting handled by the Spurs in the NBA finals and one of the main reasons why they lost was due to depth. The team has rectified that a bit by bringing in new players and they also traded for Shabazz Napier during the NBA draft. James leaving is a huge loss, but it could open up the offense and it also gives Wade and Bosh a chance to contribute more. Deng is going to be a great fit and while the team is 0-2 in the preseason, they have the chance to get things going when LeBron James and the Cavs matchup with the team in Rio on Saturday.
