Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. We are in the conference finals!
The Miami Heat are back in the NBA Finals. Surprisingly.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Miami Heat.)
Wow.
It’s one thing to think about it. It’s another to see it in reality. But the Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals after getting rid of the Boston Celtics in 6 games. Game 6 really encapsulated what the Miami Heat was all about in this postseason.
At first, the Celtics seemed inspired after Jaylen Brown was undercut by Jimmy Butler in a breakaway dunk. Brown capped off a quick 6-0 run on a fastbreak lay-up to make it 96-90, Celtics (this time, Butler avoided undercutting Jaylen). It felt like they could carry this momentum and force a Game 7.
But as always, if the Heat are close, they could sweep the rug under you. And that’s exactly what they did. The Heat scored a quick six points to tie the game. Then Bam Adebayo made a series of plays that gave the Heat the lead (more on this on my award-winning section, WATCH THIS PLAY; well, it won an award in my head). After that, the Heat went on a devastating run that saw Duncan Robinson make threes, Butler sneak in for lay-ups, Andre Iguodala making big plays on both ends, and Tyler Herro continuing to get buckets. The Celtics were destroyed by a 29-8 run to make it a 119-104 Heat lead and saw their title hopes for 2020 flushed. The Heat are shockingly going to their first NBA Finals in 6 years.
This collection of players for Miami is decidedly different than the one Erik Spoelstra helmed in the early 2010s. Joakim Noah was right to call the Heat, Hollywood as hell. They had all the glamour players in LeBron James (more on THIS in the coming few days), Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. It was so star-laden and they seemed like a must-watch basketball team no matter how people felt about them.
The 2020 Heat is the opposite. They seem more blue-collar. There is nothing fancy about them; they just go to work. Butler is a star and is a Top 20 player in the league but he doesn’t get on a roll on three like a Stephen Curry and he doesn’t dunk on dudes like a LeBron would. He will fight you in every possession on both ends. He’ll back you down to get that two and he’ll get down and dirty to get that steal.
Bam Adebayo is a stud. His game is also not fancy but he closed out the Celtics with a 32-14-5 performance. We talked about the evolution of the center in Nikola Jokic. Adebayo is that guy, too. He has good enough handles to play point. He’s not a devastating passer like Jokic but he can make that play for his teammates. Bam doesn’t have three-point range but he has a nice little free throw jumper that keeps opposing players honest. Simply put, he gets it done.
Goran Dragic is that savvy veteran point guard that’s arguably played the best ball of his career in the postseason. Tyler Herro has been a consistent scorer; he’s scored double figures in EVERY postseason game. Duncan Robinson gets it done from the perimeter and does all the old Ray Allen movement plays. Jae Crowder is much like his ol’ college teammate, Butler, where he gets into the trenches and does whatever it takes on both ends. Andre Iguodala brings experience; he’s going to an incredible 6th straight NBA Finals! And when called upon, Solomon Hill, Kendrick Nunn, Kelly Olynyk, and Derrick Jones, Jr. will be ready to go.
Of all of those names, only Iguodala was a Top 10 draft pick. Much like Toronto of last season (when Kawhi Leonard was the highest draft pick at #15), it’s a roster of players that just want to take care of business. It’s really impressive what Miami has done this season. I even questioned last December if they had a legitimate championship shot and now they’re only four wins away from achieving what was previously thought improbable.
Incredible run. I can’t wait to see what the Finals bring starting Wednesday.
Bullet Passes
It’s easy to say that the Celtics should do something with their current roster. But the fact of the matter is that the Celtics have made the Eastern Conference Finals three of the last four seasons. That’s no easy feat no matter how you slice it. They may move a player or two. They may not even do anything. But they’ll be back. The team is really, really talented as is.
I mean, did we call for the break-up of the Utah Jazz in the 1990s? Okay, a lot of the media did but the Jazz persevered. And if it weren’t for that dastardly Michael Jordan, they might have some gotten some fancy jewelry.
There are so many storylines in this NBA Finals, which I’ll bring out in my Finals preview probably on Tuesday or Wednesday. But can we give a shoutout to Udonis Haslem, who has spent his entire 17-year career in Miami? He’s going to his 6th NBA Finals.
I remember when I was previewing the 2019-20 NBA season. I was so blown away by the talent of the Philadelphia 76ers starting line-up. I was like, “Yeah, they didn’t keep Jimmy Butler but look how big and talented that team is!”
The Sixers got eliminated in the first round and the Miami Heat (who I had predicted to win 34 games but won the equivalent of 49 in this shortened pandemic season) are going to the NBA Finals.
Not the Sixers, who are devastatingly talented.
Not the Celtics, who are young but filled with so many great players with Jayson Tatum making the leap and Jaylen Brown becoming an incredible player.
Not the Raptors, who also surprised everyone with their resolve and nearly made it to the Eastern Conference Finals with that championship mojo.
Not the Bucks, who had the two-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and their bunch of lengthy players that made their opponents work too hard for a shot.
It was the Heat, who worked like a well-oiled machine on both ends of the floor. I can’t say enough good things about their playoff run.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
Game 6: #3 BOS 113 vs #5 MIA 125 (MIA wins series, 4-2)
Watch This Play
Bam Adebayo slams this over Daniel Theis as the Heat take the lead in the middle of their 29-8 run.
IT’S BAM TIME 💥
30 Pts | 11 Rebs | 2Asts pic.twitter.com/Zi5PJlk4ib
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) September 28, 2020
Lakers vs Heat starting on Wednesday.
And great job by the NBA on keeping all their athletes and staff safe. At least, two more weeks left in the bubble and they’ll have a successful finish to their season in a deadly pandemic. Take care of yourselves, everyone.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.