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In betting circles, Miami has been projected to win anywhere between 37 to 45 games, due to the uncertainty of health when it comes to Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts, and etc.
NBA general managers view the team as one that will make a leap from last year, but not quite the leap us Heat fans project. Here's the breakdown from a new survey on NBA.com:
Eastern Conference: Fourth
| 1 | Cleveland |
| 2 | Chicago |
| 3 | Atlanta |
| 4 | Miami |
| 5 | Washington |
| 6 | Toronto |
| 7 | Milwaukee |
When it came to specific positions, no Heat player was mentioned in the top five. Miami was also not mentioned for any off-season prizes but Ama're Stoudemire did receive a few votes as "Most Underrated Player Acquisition"
The Heat once again ranked fourth, this time in "Team that will improve the most in 2015-16"
| 1 | Oklahoma City |
| 2 | Milwaukee |
| 3 | New Orleans |
| 4 | Miami |
| 5 | Indiana |
When it comes to Rookies, Justise Winslow didn't receive any votes for "Rookie of the Year" or "Which Rookie will be the best player in five years" but he did get the most votes in "Biggest steal of the Draft." Projected by most to be selected fourth overall, Winslow slid six spots to Miami instead.
| 1 | Justise Winslow |
| 2 | Bobby Portis |
| 3 | Emmanuel Mudiay |
| 4 | Myles Turner |
On the international votes, Goran Dragic was selected fifth as the "Best International player in the NBA"
| 1 | Marc Gasol |
| 2 | Pau Gasol |
| 3 | Dirk Nowitzki |
| 4 | Tony Parker |
| 5 | Goran Dragic |
Coach Erik Spoelstra, who didn't get any votes for "Best Coach in the NBA" still landed a few votes for "Best manager/motivator of people" as well as "Head coach that makes the best in-game adjustments."
When it comes to defense, Hassan Whiteside received no votes in any category. I have a feeling he's made the same observation and is using the lack of votes as motivation for his run at Defensive Player of the Year.
See the entire list here -> http://www.nba.com/news/features/john_schuhmann/nba-com-2015-16-gm-survey/index.html#predictions
So what do you think of Miami's place in this list? Comment below!!
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