BDL 25: Just how *excellent* are these Miami Heat, anyhow?

The NBA offseason has brought many changes to rosters, coaching staffs, and the list of championship contenders. As we draw closer to opening night, it’s time to move our focus from the potential impact of each offseason event and onto the broader issues that figure to define this season. The BDL 25 takes stock of, uh, 25 key storylines to get you up to speed on where the most fascinating teams, players, and people stand on the brink of 2015-16.

Asked how competitive Miami could be this season, Heat president Pat Riley told ESPN Radio, “I think this team has all of the elements of a championship team.”

My first thought: Typical Riles bravado, believing a team that missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years can already vie for a title sans LeBron James. Even Riley conceded, “I had five guys off the street, I would say we could win a championship.”

On second thought, maybe he’s right. Beyond LeBron’s Cavaliers, there’s no clear-cut No. 2 team in the East, so the door is wide open. Maybe the real question is whether Miami can salsa through unscathed by injuries that derailed their 2014-15 season.

I don’t know if Riley owns Marty McFly’s DeLorean or Bill and Ted’s excellent phone booth, but let’s assume he has both. He should pack his hair gel and travel back to various points over the past five years, when the current Miami vice squad of Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Amar’e Stoudemire and Chris Bosh were all still All-Star-caliber players. Otherwise, he’s left with a core of veterans with 137,176 combined minutes on their treads, who will average 32 years of age by the time the playoffs roll around. And that doesn’t include a 35-year-old Udonis Haslem and 37-year-old Chris Andersen.

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Dragic is the youngest, healthiest and, somewhat remarkably, the most recent All-NBA selection among them. Following his trade from Phoenix, though, he struggled somewhat to find his place on a Heat team that finished sub-.500 with him in the lineup. The absence of Bosh, whose blood clots in his lungs cut his season short, Wade’s chronic knee problems and a woefully shallow bench didn’t help matters.

Mr. brightside, Hassan Whiteside. (Getty Images)

That isn’t to say Miami is without young talent, beyond the shores of South Beach. Hassan Whiteside’s overnight transformation from D-League zero to NBA hero was a breath of fresh air last season, even if his maturation isn’t complete, and Duke star Justise Winslow somehow fell into their lap at No. 10 in the draft this past June.

Likewise, Josh McRoberts’ return from a torn right meniscus — along with Mario Chalmers’ move to a backup role and the offseason acquisitions of Stoudemire and Gerald Green — should bolster a bench that ranked 28th in scoring last season.

When healthy, that’s a formidable roster. But health is a tall order with this lot, considering Bosh, Wade, Whiteside, Stoudemire, Deng, Andersen, McRoberts and Haslem all missed double-digit games last season. So, does Miami have the tools to be a champion? Well, technically, they’ve got a lot of checkmarks in their favor.

— A wildly talented point guard? Check.
— A franchise cornerstone two-guard? Check.
— An established veteran and rising star sharing wing duties? Check and check.
— A perennial All-Star power forward? Check.
— A rim-protecting big man in the middle? Check.
— Veteran ball-handling, wing, swing and big depth? Kinda.

It’s up to Erik Spoelstra to fuse those elements into a contender. He has experience in this regard, steering a star-studded system to four straight finals and two titles, but even the Heatles took two years to win a ring — and that team had a dude named LeBron. It’ll be interesting to see how ball-dominant guards Dragic and Wade share duties in the backcourt; whether Bosh and McRoberts return to pre-injury form; if Whiteside was a flash in the pan; how much Stoudemire and Deng have left in the tank; and how quickly Winslow develops. So, yeah, question marks abound.

If Riley is setting his championship expectations based on his team’s chance to be one of the final four teams left standing, then maybe it’s not just bravado. “I think this team has the opportunity and the possibilities of being a contender,” he added. “That’s where you start with a team like this.” True enough, but the odds of Miami unseating Cleveland in the East and knocking whoever emerges from the West to win the title this year are about as good as Riley firing up that time machine.

The Heat's ascension to excellency would blow a lot of dudes' minds.