Paul Pierce: It Would Be Difficult For Heats To Make It If They Acquire Blazers Star

The majority of basketball fans and certain pundits are of the opinion that the Miami Heat will be the favourites to win the Eastern Conference if they are able to sign Damian Lillard.

Paul Pierce: It Would Be Difficult For Heats To Make It If they Acquire Blazers Star

Paul Pierce, a member of the Hall of Fame, believes that acquiring Damian Lillard would not improve Miami’s chances of winning an NBA championship from their position in the 2022–23 season, but rather would make them worse. This is despite the Heat reportedly continuing to be in the mix to potentially acquire the star guard in a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Here is what the legendary Boston Celtics player had to say regarding Miami’s chances of winning the title if they sign Lillard.

“You put them together, they won’t make it out of the first round [of the playoffs]. You gotta understand how they got to the championship this year. A lot of this had to do with their depth and guys playing way above their pay grade. … If you get Dame [Lillard], they are gone!”

“If you just add Dame, this team won’t make it out of the first round with them three [Lillard, Butler and Adebayo] with no depth.”

Pierce makes some intriguing comments about the lack of depth that the Heat would almost surely experience in any Lillard deal, but predicting that the Heat won’t advance past the first round is still a wild prediction.

The Heat’s combination of Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Damian Lillard is perhaps the best in the Eastern Conference. However, considering Butler’s injured knees and an 82-game schedule, depth might be a major problem.

Paul Pierce was on the program alongside Tracy McGrady, who found Pierce’s remarks hard to believe:

“They’re gonna have depth! One thing Miami is always gonna have is some depth. Guys that you ain’t heard before. … Did you hear about them [Vincent, Martin and Strus] before?”

However, by potentially dealing for the 32-year-old Lillard, they would be adding a superstar talent to a squad that just made it to the NBA Finals.

Seven-time All-NBA selection Lillard is coming off of his greatest season as a professional, averaging 32.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game.

 

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