Miami Heat In the NBA Finals – Can They Win it?
The Heat have finally made it to their first NBA Final since 2015. Could they take home the trophy?
Oct 8, 2020
During the 2010 offseason, the Miami Heat lured in not only a top 10 player at the time, Chris Bosh, but also attracted marquee free agent LeBron James who created a dynamic trio in the eastern conference, causing mayhem for years to come. In summary, the Miami Heat had their best stretch of basketball throughout the next four seasons as they ventured to the National Basketball Association finals four straight times and came away with two championships, one in 2012 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and one in 2013 against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Miami Heat would dominate throughout this period, winning two championship rings for the city. Averaging their highest attendance rate in franchise history .
With the most outstanding player, LeBron leaving the franchise in 2014, this left the Miami Heat in a bizarre situation where they were too great to rebuild their roster and not good enough to compete for championships. LeBron’s sudden departure left the team in a very mediocre state where they refused to hit the restart button and tried to contend in the East with their core of players that still consisted of Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
Yet, bad luck continued to plague the Heat as they lost franchise cornerstone Bosh to blood clots, forcing him to retire. In the 2016 offseason, Dwayne Wade decided his time with Miami was up and left to play for his hometown team of the Chicago Bulls, leaving the Heat in shambles.
The Heat soon then experienced one of their worst seasons, finishing 37-45 and failing to qualify for the Playoffs. In the 2015-2016 season, Dwayne Wade’s and Chris Bosh’s final season, the Heat managed to keep a positive record of 48-34, being eliminated in the Conference Semis by the Toronto Raptors. The Heat were battered for the next few seasons until the 2019-2020 season, where Jimmy Butler and rookie Tyler Herro could show the world that the Heat does not need Lebron James.
“I think the Heat have just outgrown LeBron’s shadow with Miami’s new leader, Jimmy Butler,” sophomore Patrick Keough said.
Flash forward to the end of the 2018-2019 NBA season and the Miami Heat are wrapping up a farewell tour season for Dwyane Wade, thanking him for his contributions to the franchise. But, the Heat finished this season was a lackluster 39-43 season and their future still had not improved up to that point. During the offseason, the Heat went out and traded for all-star Jimmy Butler while also drafting rookie Kentucky Guard Tyler Herro with their 13th overall pick in the latest NBA draft while also making more key signings. The Heat shocked the world, finishing with a 44-29 record in a shortened NBA season due to the coronavirus.
During the offseason, the Heat swept the Indiana Pistons as the fifth seed, only losing once before demolishing the first in the National Basketball League, the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Buck’s MVP Power Forward, re-injured his ankle and left the court, leaving the Heat the ability to finish the job and secure the Conference Finals.
In the Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, who are the third seed, the Heat were able to secure two games before losing game three. Yet, the Heat pulled through, losing another game, but finally defeating the Celtics with Herro cementing himself as the second-youngest player to score 37 or more points in a playoff game.
“I doubt we’d beat the Lakers in a seven-game series, but I have high hopes, although hope can be a dangerous thing,” sophomore Nathaniel Leiva said.
The Heat have shocked fans in the latest playoffs season with Jimmy Butler acting like an underdog LeBron and Tyler Herro at his side. They managed to defeat the Indiana Pacers along the way, next to some title favorites like the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics. The Heat now has to face off against the Los Angeles Lakers who have LeBron and star power-forward Anthony Davis. This will be their toughest matchup yet as the Lakers greatly outsize Miami and the odds do not appear to be on Miami’s side. The team and the city of Miami are hopeful that they will be able to wrap up this magical postseason run that they have been on.
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