The defending champion Miami Heat had an eventful off season, recruiting even more star players to the unit that won the NBA Championship last year. Pat Riley continues to tweak and fill voids in his attempt to build a repeat championship squad.
They signed Ray Allen, a former NBA champion with the rival Boston Celtics, who will likely become another deadly perimeter shooter for the Heat. They signed two-time All-Star Rashard Lewis to most likely come off the bench.
The goal in Miami is clearly for the team to reloaded their bench and have a stronger supporting cast around James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat are attempting make a third straight trip to the NBA Finals and win their second consecutive title. The variety of moves they made in the off season are the type that can push a championship team to become a dynasty.
Some of the moves maybe risky as Allen is in the twilight of his career and Lewis is often injured. But when you're the defending champions you really can't afford to do it any other way. The team must remain hungry for championship gold and bringing in fresh faces that can contribute right away is the correct path to another title, according to 2K Sports' NBA 2K13.
The new basketball video game has the Heat defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in a six game Finals series to capture theirs third overall NBA championship and second in a row.
The game predicts that the Heat will have five players averaging over 10 points a game. Although the defending NBA MVP, Lebron James will loses the MVP title to upstart Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lebron James is the highest rated current NBA Player in the game with a 98 player rating. Michael Jordan has a 99 player rating.
Here is how the game simulates the Heats season:
Regular Season Record: 58-24 Second best record in the NBA
Top scorers: PF Chris Bosh 16.3 PPG, SG Dwayne Wade 22.4 PPG, SF Lebron James 26.6 PPG
Leading rebounders: PF Udonis Haslem 5.2 RPG, PF Chris Bosh 7.5 RPG, SF Lebron James 8.6 RPG
Assist Leader: SG Dwayne Wade 3.8 APG, SF Lebron James 5.7 APG, PG Mario Chalmers 6.7 APG
Playoff Opponents
Round 1: Toronto Raptors, The Heat win the series 4-1
Round 2: New York Knicks, The Heat win the series 4-2
Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago Bulls, The Heat win the series 4-2
NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers, The Heat win the series 4-3
You check out our review of the game here and read about Jeremy Lin's player rating here.
Check out our other NBA 2K13 team previews:
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs
Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers
Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers
Cleveland Cavaliers
Washington Wizards
Denver Nuggets
Phoenix Suns
Houston Rockets
Orlando Magic
Atlanta Hawks
Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Hornets
Dallas Mavericks
Milwaukee Bucks
Detroit Pistons
Charlotte Bobcats
Toronto Raptors
Indiana Pacers