Are The Los Angeles Lakers Closer To A Championship Than The Miami Heat?

The Athletic ranked the Los Angeles Lakers one spot above the Miami Heat in their power rankings

Although the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers both made the conference finals last year, they should be in different tiers of contenders.

According to The Athletic’s power rankings heading into next season, the Lakers and Heat are the two teams on the "brink of contention." The Heat are listed at No. 7 while the Lakers are No. 6.

Last season, Miami became the second No. 8 seed in history to make the NBA Finals before losing to the Denver Nuggets in five games. The Lakers entered the postseason as the No. 7 seed but were later swept by the Nuggets.

In the 2020 Finals, the Lakers defeated the Heat in six games. Despite that, much has changed so far this offseason.

This summer, the Heat are heavily rumored to acquire superstar guard Damian Lillard from the Portland Trailblazers. This alone should place them above the Lakers. In addition to the potential blockbuster trade, they were able to retain Kevin Love along with signing Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant.

During the offseason, Los Angeles retained many of their key free agents, including Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura. They also added free agents Gabe Vincent, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish, and Jaxson Hayes.

However, their inconsistency in the postseason is a problem they have not yet proven they can solve. They missed the playoffs in 2022.

Injury concerns surrounding their two superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, also set them back. The Heat’s stars, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, do not have a history of injuries.

The Heat clearly are closer to a championship than the Lakers. 

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Anthony Pasciolla is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at anthonypasciolla36@gmail.com or follow him on Tik Tok @anthonysports_