No one expected the Miami Heat to be where they are now but that didn't stop this gritty Heat squad from shocking the world and proving everyone wrong. The Heat now finds themselves four wins away from bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy back to South Beach. Even if Miami has a gargantuan task ahead of them in the name of LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, one can argue that the Heat have already accomplished more than what they wanted and a potential win over the Lakers will just be nothing but gravy.
After multiple championships in the past decade, it seemed as though the heyday of Erik Spoelstra and the Heat have passed as they looked to rebuild after the LeBron James and Dwyane Wade era. The organization went through a lot of personnel changes after being in and out of playoff contention over the past few years. This year was supposed to be another one of those rebuild years for the Heat.
Miami missed the playoffs last year which forced the front office to finally shake things up and disassemble their young core. They let go of swingman Josh Richardson and starting center Hassan Whiteside and in return, they got a replacement center in Meyers Leonard and of course, a new cornerstone for their franchise in Jimmy Butler.
Butler came into a Heat team that had more questions rather than answers. No one was certain on how Butler would fit into a team that had a veteran in Goran Dragic, a young shooter in Duncan Robinson, and a rising star in Bam Adebayo. The Heat, at that time, also didn't know what they would get from hotshot rookie Tyler Herro and an undrafted newcomer in Kendrick Nunn. Butler himself had a few rocky seasons in Minnesota and Philadelphia. But in an instant, everything just clicked.
Butler was a huge on-court leader and took it upon himself to lead the team by example. His energy and grit rubbed off on his team which opened up a ton of opportunity for the young Heat. We saw an incredible rookie year from both Nunn and Herro while Robinson quickly blossomed into one of the most lethal shooters in the league. We were also blessed with a breakout year from Bam Adebayo and an unlikely resurgence of Dragic's career. They even added some tested vets in Jae Crowder and former finals MVP Andre Iguodala mid-way through the season which gave us all some signs that this team wanted to win now.
After the unprecedented hiatus of the league, the Heat went inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando as one of the darkest horses in the East. Miami made waves inside the bubble and ended the regular season as the 5th seed. Despite all the injuries and the environment inside Disney World, the Butler-led Heat made sure to stay locked in and ready for any fight. They managed to ace their playoff run as they swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round, upset the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games, and stamped their class over the Boston Celtics in six. They ended their terrific playoff run with a 12-3 record and found themselves lifting the Eastern Conference Champion trophy.
It's been a remarkable season for the Heat and given what they've accomplished so far with the talent that they have, it's hard to put a ceiling on this Miami squad in the coming years. They don't really have to win now but of course, an NBA ring on top of fantastic season won't be so bad.
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