***Our Annual - Predict The Heat 2025-2026 Regular Season***

[unowen85]

1) How many wins will the Heat have in the 2025-2026 season?

45 wins

2) Will we make the playoffs this year? If yes - what seed will we be?

Yes, 6th seed

3) Who will be our top 5 leading scorers, and what will their PPG be?

Herro 24, Powell 18, Bam 15, Jovic 13, Wiggins 10

4) Who will be our best overall new addition (new to the regular rotation)?

Powell

5) Who will be our best overall young/inexperienced player?

Jovic if he still applies as young/inexperienced player. If not, Pelle.

6) Which player will make the biggest improvement from last year?

Jovic


7) Who will be the biggest disappointment?

Wiggins

8) What trades will we end up doing during the year (or even before the season starts)?

Dealing Wiggins and Rozier for another All Star level talent.

9) What will be the biggest surprise of the season? (positive or negative or both)

The Wiggins and Rozier trade.

10) What will our board posters write about Spo once this season is over?

Spo deserves Coach of the Year.

11) Predict a nice/interesting statistical nugget you can see happening with the team or a player.

Herro leads the team in triple doubles.

12) Predict the weirdest moment of the season.

Wiggins getting benched and pouting.

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

Lane comes back. Hopefully that dude ain’t dead.

14) What will you consider a success/failure this year?

Success is sixth seed, and having a good 6/7 game series. Failure is losing in play in and not making playoffs.

15) What will be the biggest factor to impact our success or failure this year?

Bam rebounding from last year and being a better team captain.

16) What are your picks for Eastern champions, Western champions - and finally NBA Champions?

Cavs vs Thunder. Thunder win again.

17) If you had to sum up your vision for the team going forward (next 3-5 years) in a couple of sentences - what would it be?

Quick rebuild getting another All Star caliber player this year and we make Finals next season.

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?[/quote]

First round lose to Knicks in 7.

[SA37]

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

Lane comes back. Hopefully that dude ain’t dead.

That'd be something!!

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?

First round lose to Knicks in 7.

Not again

[eddieheatfan]

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

Lane comes back. Hopefully that dude ain’t dead.

That'd be something!!

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?

First round lose to Knicks in 7.

Not again

i think the wildest claim here is that the heat will win 46 games without a proper and anchored star

[SA37]

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

Lane comes back. Hopefully that dude ain’t dead.

That'd be something!!

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?

First round lose to Knicks in 7.

Not again

i think the wildest claim here is that the heat will win 46 games without a proper and anchored star

I predicted 46-36 because the East is just so weak. Barring injuries, Miami should finish ahead of everyone except the Cavs, NY, and Orlando. If Philly gets healthy, they should finish ahead of Miami. Then Miami has a reasonable chance of finishing ahead of Atlanta, Detroit, and Milwaukee.

So, I can see Miami finishing as high as 4th or as low as 8th. Last year, Indiana was 4th with 50 wins and Miami 10th with 37 wins, and I think that'll be the range again. I read Miami was 14-28 in close games, so if Miami goes .500 there, they get to 44 wins. Not unreasonable to think Miami can do that +2 games with Powell on board, the potential improvement of some/all the young guys, and a full camp with Mitchell and Wiggins.

[Caneman786]

...

Gotta revise this. Changed the answers to Question 1, Question 2, Question 3, and Question 18

1. How many wins will the Heat have in the 2025-2026 season?

____46 wins

2. Will we make the playoffs this year? If yes - what seed will we be?

____Yes, we will be the 5th seed.

3. Who will be our top 5 leading scorers, and what will their PPG be?

____Tyler Herro (24 PPG), Bam Adebayo (23 PPG), Norman Powell (20 PPG), Andrew Wiggins (18 PPG), Terry Rozier (15 PPG)

4. Who will be our best overall new addition (new to the regular rotation)?

____Norman Powell

5. Who will be our best overall young/inexperienced player?

____Kel'el Ware

6. Which player will make the biggest improvement from last year?

____Terry Rozier

7. Who will be the biggest disappointment?

____Nikola Jovic

8. What trades will we end up doing during the year (or even before the season starts)?

____Trade away Andrew Wiggins?

9. What will be the biggest surprise of the season? (positive or negative or both)

____Terry Rozier bounceback year

10. What will our board posters write about Spo once this season is over?

____Mixed bag, as always. I'm not familiar with this board.

11. Predict a nice/interesting statistical nugget you can see happening with the team or a player.

____Our team will be one of the best free throw shooting teams in the league (by free throw percentage), maybe #1.

12. Predict the weirdest moment of the season.

____Random ten-game win streak.

13. Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

____Not aware of a single poster

14. What will you consider a success/failure this year?

____Success - Trade away Andrew Wiggins, secure a first-round pick. Failure - Not being in a good position to sign free agents.

15. What will be the biggest factor to impact our success or failure this year?

____If Andrew Wiggins can play well enough to get value.

16. What are your picks for Eastern champions, Western champions - and finally NBA Champions?

____Eastern champions - Cleveland Cavaliers
____Western champions - Los Angeles Clippers
____NBA Champions - LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

17. If you had to sum up your vision for the team going forward (next 3-5 years) in a couple of sentences - what would it be?

____Make cap space to sign a big free agent. Secure some first round picks. Get the good role players and sign them on good deals to prepare.

18. Bonus playoff post mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and / OR how will our season end?

____1st round win against the Indiana Pacers in 7 games.
____2nd round exit against the New York Knicks in 6 games

[contract]

Only 10 days left to get your predictions in.

[SA37]

Only 10 days left to get your predictions in.

Everyone's afraid to make any predictions because: how do you make a reasonable prediction when you have a coach who can watch Ware go for 30 and 15 and be like, "his +/- was garbage" and watch him be sent to the G-league for a month in favor of Vlad Goldin

[MartyConlonJr]

1) How many wins will the Heat have in the 2025-2026 season?

45

2) Will we make the playoffs this year? If yes - what seed will we be?

6

3) Who will be our top 5 leading scorers, and what will their PPG be?

Norman Powell 21.2 ppg
Tyler Herro 21.0 ppg
Bam Adebayo 19.0 ppg
Andrew Wiggins 16.9 ppg
Nikola Jovic 12.8 ppg

4) Who will be our best overall new addition (new to the regular rotation)?

Norman Powell.

5) Who will be our best overall young/inexperienced player?

Nikola Jovic if he counts as inexperienced.

6) Which player will make the biggest improvement from last year?

Nikola Jovic.

7) Who will be the biggest disappointment?

Kelel Ware.

8) What trades will we end up doing during the year (or even before the season starts)?

Terry Rozier moved with us taking on an extra year of another player(s) for some marginal protected first.

9) What will be the biggest surprise of the season? (positive or negative or both)

We don't trade Wiggins.

10) What will our board posters write about Spo once this season is over?

He is revitalised.

11) Predict a nice/interesting statistical nugget you can see happening with the team or a player.

Nikola Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr and Bam all average 4+ assists

12) Predict the weirdest moment of the season.

Terry Rozier 30 point game on 8 threes made out of nowhere.

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

N/A

14) What will you consider a success/failure this year?

2nd round.

15) What will be the biggest factor to impact our success or failure this year?

Herro won't quite get cooking at any stage due to his early injury, has lost muscle by sitting and needed that for his hot start like last season pre All Star selection.

16) What are your picks for Eastern champions, Western champions - and finally NBA Champions?

West: I liked Clippers offseason before the Ballmer thing happened. If they don't conclude investigation during season, them, else OKC.
East: Knicks.
Nba Champion: Knicks.

17) If you had to sum up your vision for the team going forward (next 3-5 years) in a couple of sentences - what would it be?

Prove it this year, or trade everyone except Bam at the deadline, moving any expirings for 2 year contracts + assets, tank 26-27 and reload with max space and a top pick.

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?[/quote]

1st round loss to Orlando.

[RexBoyWonder]

1) How many wins will the Heat have in the 2025-2026 season?

33

2) Will we make the playoffs this year? If yes - what seed will we be?

no

3) Who will be our top 5 leading scorers, and what will their PPG be?
Powell
Herro
Bam
Jovic
Ware

4) Who will be our best overall new addition (new to the regular rotation)?

Powel

5) Who will be our best overall young/inexperienced player?

Ware

6) Which player will make the biggest improvement from last year?

jovic

7) Who will be the biggest disappointment?

Bam and Herro

8) What trades will we end up doing during the year (or even before the season starts)?

nothing

9) What will be the biggest surprise of the season? (positive or negative or both)

We're be awful even when healthy

10) What will our board posters write about Spo once this season is over?

He lost his edge

11) Predict a nice/interesting statistical nugget you can see happening with the team or a player.

Ware becomes a double double machine

12) Predict the weirdest moment of the season.

Spo runs a lineup with 3 PGs and a small front court

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

Iggie comes back from the dead

14) What will you consider a success/failure this year?

Second round in playoffs or top 5 pick in the draft

15) What will be the biggest factor to impact our success or failure this year?

We're done regardless

16) What are your picks for Eastern champions, Western champions - and finally NBA Champions?

Nuggets vs Cavs, Jokic wins

17) If you had to sum up your vision for the team going forward (next 3-5 years) in a couple of sentences - what would it be?

Add a top 5 pick this year, sell off the older guys, rebuild with top picks.

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?

Won't make it

I'm down bad fam

[RexBoyWonder]

Last day to post your prediction!

Gloomy as it might be

[contract]

The list so far:

Hoops3355 - 48
SA37 - 46
Caneman786 - 46
wade44 - 45
contract - 45
unowen85 - 45
MartyConlonJr - 45
gom - 43
SerialChiller - 42
HeatFanLifer - 40
al bondiga - 39
eddieheatfan - 34 ... suicide watch
RexBoyWonder - 33 ... will not be underbid!

551 / 13 predictions = 42.38 average wins predicted

[SA37]

The list so far:

Hoops3355 - 48
SA37 - 46
Caneman786 - 46
wade44 - 45
contract - 45
unowen85 - 45
MartyConlonJr - 45
gom - 43
SerialChiller - 42
HeatFanLifer - 40
al bondiga - 39
eddieheatfan - 34 ... suicide watch
RexBoyWonder - 33 ... will not be underbid!

551 / 13 predictions = 42.38 average wins predicted

@ bolded


Also, I didn't realize I was amongst the most bullish here. We'll see. Miami has a rough first ~1/4 of the season.

[contract]

I can't remember entering the season without multiple 50+ win predictions.

In 2025, 46 wins makes you a wild eyed optimist.

[Kulture]

1) How many wins will the Heat have in the 2025-2026 season? 41

2) Will we make the playoffs this year? If yes - what seed will we be? play in and make it as 8th seed

3) Who will be our top 5 leading scorers, and what will their PPG be? Herro 23 Bam 21 Powell 18

4) Who will be our best overall new addition (new to the regular rotation)? Powell

5) Who will be our best overall young/inexperienced player? Ware statistically. I don't know about the advanced stats though. Could be Jovic on that part

6) Which player will make the biggest improvement from last year? Ware will have the biggest jump statwise cuz he's 7 foot. Question is whether he is Whiteside a numbers guy. Or he actually makes an impact

7) Who will be the biggest disappointment? Pat Riley is already the biggest disappointment

8) What trades will we end up doing during the year (or even before the season starts)? nada 0 zilch. If they were smart Wiggins and Powell trades for picks on deadline

9) What will be the biggest surprise of the season? (positive or negative or both) nothing really. It will go as it always has. Midness

10) What will our board posters write about Spo once this season is over? Fire Spo, Retire Riley

11) Predict a nice/interesting statistical nugget you can see happening with the team or a player. Bam will come close to 20/10 season

12) Predict the weirdest moment of the season. 10 game loosing streak followed by 10 game winning streak

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

14) What will you consider a success/failure this year? making the playoffs will be a failure. Being in the lottery will be success. They need to be bad for the long term good

15) What will be the biggest factor to impact our success or failure this year? The roster

16) What are your picks for Eastern champions, Western champions - and finally NBA Champions? Knicks, OKC, OKC

17) If you had to sum up your vision for the team going forward (next 3-5 years) in a couple of sentences - what would it be? Sell everyone over 25 and rebuild

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end? Cavs circling back to give Heat another 4 game ass whooping

[HeatFanLifer]

I got a conundrum cuz I initially said 40 wins and 9th seed, but after seeing the team play in preseason I was thinking they will be sixth seed simply due to Spo outworking most coaches night in and out. Given that Herro is out till December though and the team did not improve much during the preseason, I am sticking with my initial projection of 40 wins. We may yet see this team go 1-12 to start the season before surging back to somewhat respectable near .500 in the standings. Hope I am wrong.

7) Who will be the biggest disappointment?
Wiggins is going to be the wild card of all of this. If he shows himself to be the biggest improvement, this team will compete. I think he is going to be a bust though and thus the biggest disappointment. Hoping he’s not, but no evidence so far to indicate otherwise.

[SA37]

I got a conundrum cuz I initially said 40 wins and 9th seed, but after seeing the team play in preseason I was thinking they will be sixth seed simply due to Spo outworking most coaches night in and out. Given that Herro is out till December though and the team did not improve much during the preseason, I am sticking with my initial projection of 40 wins. We may yet see this team go 1-12 to start the season before surging back to somewhat respectable near .500 in the standings. Hope I am wrong.

7) Who will be the biggest disappointment?
Wiggins is going to be the wild card of all of this. If he shows himself to be the biggest improvement, this team will compete. I think he is going to be a bust though and thus the biggest disappointment. Hoping he’s not, but no evidence so far to indicate otherwise.

@Wiggins: I think he is going to be disappointingly and frustratingly steady. He'll just float in this middle ground where he's not good enough for all-star consideration, but he is so much better than anyone who could play in his place. He'll have a run of games where he gets 20-30 and you think he's starting to find his groove, and then he'll just be nonchalant and have a run of games where he gets ~15 and you wonder what happened.

That's my expectation anyway.

Perhaps the best scenario would be one where Miami is ~38 games in (this would be roughly mid January) and sitting at ~12-26 and Wiggins plays well enough to get 2 teams to haggle with Miami to trade for him and Miami can't really justify keeping him for a playoff run and the trade deadline is looming.

Miami might be able to get Kuminga or some other asset and then see how it goes.

[Hallstar]

1) How many wins will the Heat have in the 2025-2026 season?
- 45

2) Will we make the playoffs this year? If yes - what seed will we be?
- yes (5th seed)

3) Who will be our top 5 leading scorers, and what will their PPG be?
- Herro(25), Norm(21), Bam 19, Wiggins (16), NIko (15)

4) Who will be our best overall new addition (new to the regular rotation)?
- Norm

5) Who will be our best overall young/inexperienced player?
- NIko

6) Which player will make the biggest improvement from last year?
-Niko

7) Who will be the biggest disappointment?
- Wiggins seems the easy pick, so I'll say Fontechio (don't trust his shooting)

8) What trades will we end up doing during the year (or even before the season starts)?
-Wiggins for a big and picks

9) What will be the biggest surprise of the season? (positive or negative or both)
-Kasparas will crack the rotation late

10) What will our board posters write about Spo once this season is over?
-

11) Predict a nice/interesting statistical nugget you can see happening with the team or a player.
- Herro will approach 50/40/90 splits; A Jovic a triple double

12) Predict the weirdest moment of the season.
- Dru Smith blacks out shooting a game something like 7/11 from 3

13) Predict a RealGM Heat-board development you expect to see with a long time poster/s.

14) What will you consider a success/failure this year?
- Success, 2nd round, failure another play in

15) What will be the biggest factor to impact our success or failure this year?
-Herro health, and Jovic/Ware leap

16) What are your picks for Eastern champions, Western champions - and finally NBA Champions?
EC- Knicks , West- Rockets - Rockets (champs)

17) If you had to sum up your vision for the team going forward (next 3-5 years) in a couple of sentences - what would it be?
- Establishing a core

18) Bonus playoffpost mortem question - How far will we get in the playoffs and/OR how will our season end?
Beat the Magic in a 4/5 matchup, lose in 2nd round. A 2nd round win would be ecstatic

[contract]

The list so far:

Hoops3355 - 48
SA37 - 46
Caneman786 - 46
tobin - 46 ... https://youtu.be/gIcJy5T9odg
wade44 - 45
contract - 45
unowen85 - 45
MartyConlonJr - 45
Hallstar - 45
gom - 43
SerialChiller - 42
Kulture - 41
HeatFanLifer - 40
al bondiga - 39
eddieheatfan - 34 ... suicide watch
RexBoyWonder - 33 ... will not be underbid!

683 / 16 predictions = 42.69 average wins predicted

Less than 3 more hours to get your predictions in!

[Slot Machine]

35 wins, no playoffs. This season will be painful to watch.

Predicting Thunder/Knicks finals with Thunder winning again.

[MartyConlonJr]

I hate my own prediction because I've just wacked it straight in the middle of two scenarios.

Part of me looks at last seasons 37 wins with 22 games of blown 10+ point leads, 21 blown 4th quarter leads and all the Jimmy turmoil and sabotage, and relying on Rozier breaking out of a funk that never came, and replace that with Wiggins and Powell, and I can see 50+ and HC advantage.

Then I think of Riley's press conference where he said we've only tanked twice, and we would have never said we were tanking, but we were, and I feel like he winked at me. Part of me feels like this is the tank year. Herro is out, the cap space is prepared, and there is a bunch of franchise talent in this draft.

I couldn't pick a lane though, and I've gone middling treadmill :/