It's late July -- well after the free agency bonanza early in the month -- so the Worldwide Leader in Sports has started releasing its NBA Summer Forecast. Earlier this week, the ESPN Forecast panel released its projected East standings.
The panel predicted the Heat to finish with the 12th-best record in the East with a 36-46 record. The blurb on Miami notes the departures of Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng and Joe Johnson, but adds, "a youth movement built around Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson could keep Miami in the hunt.