The post-LeBron era begins in Miami on Wednesday when the Heat welcome the Washington Wizards to town to open the season. With James gone, the Heat are a longshot to reach the NBA Finals for a fifth straight year. They might not even be the favorite to win the division over the Wizards, who are coming off their first trip to the postseason since 2008 and knocked off Chicago in the first round of the playoffs.
Washington made a big jump last season, but the Wizards start the new campaign far from full strength. Most notably, star guard Bradley Beal is out with a broken wrist and key reserve Martell Webster is recovering from back surgery, meaning journeyman Garrett Temple will start at guard. While Miami won't have the same star power it featured during the "Big Three" years, the bench should be an asset with veterans Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger joining promising rookies Shabazz Napier and Andre Dawkins, though McRoberts is questionable for the opener with a toe injury.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN (Washington), Sun Sports (Miami)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (2013-14: 44-38): Washington will count on point guard John Wall (19.3 points, 8.8 assists in 2013-14) and big man Marcin Gortat (13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds) to build off last year's strong campaigns, and it added aging star Paul Pierce to bolster the offense. The Wizards also are looking for growth from swingman Otto Porter, who averaged a team-best 13 points in the preseason, and fellow second-year man Glen Rice, who was named MVP of the NBA Summer League. Rice (ankle) and forward Kris Humphries (hand) are questionable with injuries and big men Nene and DeJuan Blair are suspended for the opener, leaving Washington with a thin bench.
ABOUT THE HEAT (2013-14: 54-28): Miami will look for newcomer Luol Deng to pick up some of the slack left by James' return to Cleveland, but the focus of the offense also will shift back toward Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. "I've worked on my game a lot more in preparation for a lot more touches and I'm very confident," Bosh told the Heat's website. "I have no problem with scoring the basketball. It's just getting my teammates involved, making sure I keep those guys happy, too." Both Bosh and fellow big man Shawne Williams can shoot from the outside and should be able to stretch the defense to open up the lane for the likes of Wade and Deng.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Heat are 106-52 against Southeast Division opponents since the league realigned the divisions before the 2004-05 season.
2. The Wizards have not started the season with a victory since beating Dallas on opening night in 2009.
3. The Southeast Division rivals split four meetings last season, with the home team prevailing in each.