(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
It wasn’t meant to be for the Miami Heat this season but no one can deny how far they’ve come.
The Heat lost in the NBA Finals on Monday night, falling to the Denver Nuggets in Game 5 to a rowdy and elated Colorado crowd.
Many people critiqued Miami’s performance in the game but, as ESPN points out, the team did quite a lot during the playoffs.
They were the second team to reach the Finals as an eighth seed.
Additionally, they are now the first play-in team to make the Finals and did so despite being underdogs in the first three postseason series they played in.
The Heat deserve their flowers
Second team to reach Finals as an 8-seed
First play-in team to reach the Finals
Reached Finals despite being underdogs in their first three playoff series pic.twitter.com/894rGv0ony
— ESPN (@espn) June 13, 2023
Numerous people will write about what the Heat lacked during the Finals.
Their offense grew weak, Jimmy Butler had problems, and they didn’t have an answer for Jamal Murray or Nikola Jokic.
Yet, the last few months have been miraculous for Miami.
It is clear now that they are still Finals contenders, they are just missing a few pieces to get them across the finish line.
Would things have been different if Butler was healthy during the championship?
Would the Heat have had a chance with Tyler Herro in the lineup?
Or was there nothing they could do to stop the NBA’s newest champions?
The Heat are going to enter the next season as a team to be afraid of and they will likely have many of the players who made them so powerful in the postseason this year.
With some improvements and a few changes, the Heat could be back in the Finals next year.
They didn’t end up winning it all, but people won’t be counting them out for some time.
The post Graphic Shows How The Heat Beat The Odds In Their Playoff Run appeared first on The Cold Wire.