The Miami Heat are hoping that a new roster will yield some better results than the last few years. In each of the last three seasons, the Heat have been relegated to the play-in. They have been stuck in the middle, so they made a big change.

Miami decided to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. In the trade, Antetokounmpo cost them a lot of their depth, which could hurt them down the stretch. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why the Heat are predicted to be a play-in team again this season.

Heat Predicted to be a Play-In Team Again This Year

David Aldridge of The Athletic predicts that Miami will be a play-in team again this year. His case is centered around the fact that Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo will have to carry too high a load on offense.

“But … how do the Freak and Bam both get going offensively every night? Each could have huge games because of the other’s presence, but where does Erik Spoelstra find the spacing to make them both dangerous in the half-court? Miami’s rarely been a pace-and-space team since the Heatles days, and they’ll have to find ways to get Klay Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr. open looks. The Play-In is likely; top six will be a harder lift,” Aldridge writes.

Adebayo did score 83 points in a game last season, so his ceiling offensively is high. However, having both Antetokounmpo and Adebayo be on every night will be tough. Antetokounmpo has injury concerns as well. Last year, he played just 36 games.

Adebayo has some history of being a competent 3-point shooter. He shot 35.7 percent from deep in back-to-back seasons before regressing a bit last season. A jump in his efficiency from deep will be necessary for the Heat to make it into the top six with Antetokounmpo on the roster.

Miami Has a Tough Road to Make the Playoffs

Perhaps the biggest obstacle to making the top six is the rest of the East. The entire conference got much better in the offseason. Indiana, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta, and Toronto all got better. The Knicks are the defending champs and didn’t lose much, either.

Detroit stayed the same and were the number-one seed last season. Boston got a little worse, but they should still be a top-six team. The competition has never been fiercer for a playoff spot in the East. It’s going to be tough for Miami to get chemistry that will make them better than a lot of these teams.

Last season, the Heat were 18th in effective field goal percentage. That number could go up with more shots at the rim with Antetokounmpo in the lineup, but their 3-point attempts might go down. Role players will be counted on heavily in order for this team to make a postseason run.