MIAMI — Everywhere you turn these days, there is genuflecting toward the Miami Heat.
Detroit forward Corey Maggette, a 14-year veteran, believes they could win 70 games this season.
"If they're just zoomed in, focused, I think they could," Maggette said.
The NBA general manager survey came out Monday, and it looked to have been put out by the Heat PR staff. Miami was the pick to again win the NBA and Eastern Conference crowns, the latter being in all actuality a unanimous vote. Forward LeBron James was selected to win a second straight and fourth overall MVP.
This is a team that shortly after last season's championship parade signed a pair of guys who have made multiple All-Star appearances in Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. So, with that in mind, LeBron, do the Heat have any weaknesses?
“Yeah," James said. “But we try to hide those. ...Why would I tell you (what Miami's weaknesses are)? I would never tell you that."
Well, the memo about secrecy apparently didn't reach Heat guard Dwyane Wade. In an interview with FOX Sports Florida, he offered some specifics.
Former power forward Chris Bosh might now be playing center for the Heat, giving them a third possible All-Star starter. But it takes just one look at the roster to see the Heat don't have a lot of size. It's been a problem before, and it still could be.
“Yeah, we have weaknesses," said Wade, whose Heat went 46-20 during the 2011-12 lockout-shortened campaign, an equivalent of 57-25 during a normal season. “We're not the biggest team in the league. It's a glaring weakness."
But Wade also sought to put a positive spin on it.
“As well as it's a weakness, it's a strength," Wade said. “And so we got a weakness. We're not going to come out and we're not going to say this big guy is going to get 14 rebounds a game. We have to rebound collectively as a team. So, obviously, that's a weakness for us. But it's also a strength for us because at the other end of the floor, when the ball gets off the rim, we're able to use our speed."
Still, Wade doesn't deny Miami could have trouble at times against teams with a top-notch traditional center. There are the Lakers with Dwight Howard, although the Heat won't have to worry about them until possibly the NBA Finals. In the East, Wade mentioned two outfits.
“It's not too many teams," Wade said of those with a quality traditional center. “Obviously, Philadelphia with Andrew Bynum, he's a big guy. He's one of the best centers in the league. You got the Brooklyn Nets with (Brook) Lopez, one of the best centers in the league.
“There's a few, but it's not that many teams that have big guys. But when you point out a weakness (of the Heat), we have playmakers, we have shooters, we have guys who can take over games. We have everything you need in a sense, but you don't have the ultimate team. Everybody somewhere doesn't have something."
Wade also pointed out another possible trouble spot. Could the Heat have too much overall talent?
“We have a lot of guys that are so used to being kind of the main focus and not a lot of us are going to be the main focus now," Wade said. “So that's a challenge to see how we all can incorporate ourselves within our offense and keep each other happy."
The latest talented guys to be added to the Heat stable are Allen, a 10-time All-Star, and Lewis, a two-time All-Star. Allen is No. 1 in NBA history in 3-pointers made and Lewis is No. 8.
The Heat last season were a mere 20th in the NBA in 3-pointers made and 23rd in attempts, although they did rank tied for ninth in percentage. But so much for that possible weakness.
When the NBA released its survey Monday of all 30 general managers, some of the categories were more lopsided than Nixon vs. McGovern in 1972. In terms of who will win the Eastern Conference and the Southeast Division, the Heat got 96.7 percent of the vote in each category.
Since teams couldn't vote for themselves, that really made it unanimous. The Heat (presumably Pat Riley) voted for Boston to win the East and Atlanta the Southeast, with each getting a leftover 3.3 percent.
In the vote for which team will win the NBA title, the Heat received 70 percent, slightly higher than the 66.7 percent of general managers who believe James will be MVP. The only other teams to get championship votes were the Lakers (23.3 percent) and Oklahoma City (6.7 percent).
Despite all the accolades the Heat are getting, coach Erik Spoelstra does say his team has weaknesses. But Spoelstra, like James, would rather not advertise them.
“Can I prefer not to voice those to all the other teams?" Spoelstra said. “There are things that we work on."
But leave it another player to let it be known about supposed Heat weaknesses. That would forward Shane Battier, who said rebounding could be an issue.
The Heat last season ranked just 21st in the NBA in rebounds, although they were No. 1 in fewest allowed. Regardless, the acquisitions of perimeter guys Allen and Lewis won't help the board work too much.
“When we played well in the past, we rebounded the basketball," Battier said. “When we struggled, we haven't rebounded it. I think we'll get people to miss. We'll be active on defense. Can we finish possessions with defensive rebounds?"
There being some doubt might be one reason Battier doesn't rubber stamp what Maggette, his former Duke teammate, said about the Heat winning 70 games. Wade sure doesn't see it happening.
“We can't," Wade said. “The NBA is too competitive. Teams from top to bottom are too competitive. ...And we got a bull's-eye on our team. ...But tell Corey thank you."
There will be plenty more genuflecting toward the Heat this season. Stay tuned to see if any significant weaknesses surface on their road to a possible second straight title.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
