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Mar 8, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra talks to center Kel'el Ware (7) and forward Andrew Wiggins (22) against the Chicago Bulls during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Can the Miami Heat become a dark horse in the East?

Originally posted on Miami Heat on SI | By Bryan Townes | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 8:51 PM ET

While many people already attributed the majority of the Miami Heat’s postseason success in this decade to Jimmy Butler, many more have leaned towards this opinion following two first-round exits without him.

As the Heat may be more underrated than ever before, how will they respond? While their recent moves haven’t been aiming to land a big star, they have brought back most of their key players. This is in addition to acquiring two players projected to have an immediate impact for the Heat, Norman Powell and Simone Fontecchio. Bleacher Report summarized the Heat’s successful offseason moves in one word: “Opportunistic.”

“They couldn't compete in a bidding war for Kevin Durant, but the Heat exit the offseason with Norman Powell, Simone Fontecchio, intriguing rookie Kasparas Jakucionis, and a re-signed Davion Mitchell,” the article wrote. “Fontecchio replaces Duncan Robinson for $10 million less, and all it cost to bring in Powell was Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson—a pittance for a fringe All-Star last season. Miami didn't shoot for the stars, but it hit all of its more realistic targets, taking advantage of smaller opportunities wherever they arose.”

The most overlooked aspect of the Heat acquiring Powell has been additional flexibility for their young core. Multiple players from their future core have been elevated to campaigns with higher expectations for the upcoming season, such as Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Simultaneously, the rest of their young core has been given more leeway to develop. This season will be pivotal in determining how the Heat chooses to use their future assets.

Davion Mitchell explains why he's a Miami Heat perfect fit

While the Miami Heat lost out on arguably the most impactful player responsible for most of their success in this decade by the trade deadline, they acquired multiple key players for the next phase of their franchise.

One of those players, Davion Mitchell, sat down with Couper Moorhead and explained why his great fit with the Heat playstyle has led to the best stretch of games for his career.

“My agent always asked me, ‘Where would you want to go if you could choose,’ and I would always say Miami because of the way they play,” Mitchell said. “Everyone plays exactly like how I play, extremely hard, and you don’t really care who’s scoring points like that. You’re just going to play hard and try to win games, and you play the right way. I’m like, I’m going to fit here so easily. I knew as soon as I got traded, I was going to fit easily.”

Before the Heat traded for him, the best guard defender on the roster was Dru Smith. Following his season-ending injury, the only other perimeter defenders were Haywood Highsmith and Pelle Larsson. Mitchell provided instant value and looked like a definitely gritty player that Heat Culture always pushes for. Outside of his defensive advantages, Mitchell shockingly became one of the best perimeter shooters for the Heat at 44.7 percent from three-point range.