I don’t know about that. The projections going into the playoffs didn’t have the Heat favored to get this far. The Yannis injury certainly played a major roll in the Heat getting by the Bucks, but Miami also played well in that series. On paper, the Celtics were better ( 2-seed in the East, younger, taller, 2 of the younger stars) & at least I thought it at the time, a deeper bench. The Heat have just gotten the most out of who’s left to play on their roster, guys you never heard of have stepped up. No one would have picked Caleb Martin to have the impact he had, for the Celtic series. Maybe a game here or there, but his consistency was surprising.
Caleb Martin was the MVP for the Heat. Well, maybe he should share that with Jaylen Brown who was awful for the celtics. Refs certainly didn't influence the outcome because Boston simply had no answer for Martin and company and they couldn't make shots but the travel call on white followed by the no travel call on butler was around the point on turned the game off. It was clear the celtics werent going to close the gap after they had several opportunities to do so when they got within 6 to 8. They panicked in my opinion and rushed shots. I do wish NBA reffing would try to find some level of consistency on calls. I have no dog in the fight as I grew up a bulls fan fyi.
The only concern with guys like Martin, Vincent etc playing so well and hitting shots is you fear at some point they’ll come crashing back down to Earth. Martin is a guy who was in a bad shooting slump going into the playoffs and is on a hot streak, law of averages says he’ll cool off. Good thing is when one guy cools off, another player gets hot.
Miami sure made a great story and show why playing the game is more important than the seed and all of the yap surrounding that. Nevertheless, I've got no reason to root against Denver. Go Nuggets.
Agreed, the “ coming down to earth “ or as one commentator referred to, “ turn back into a pumpkin “, is one of the fun things to follow. At this point for Miami, I’m getting to know the names of guys on their roster you’ve never heard of, because they are making plays & positively impacting the games. While I’m happy for UD, I don’t really have a dog in this fight. So I like all the little “ details “ , that will have an impact, quarter-to-quarter & game-to-game. EDIT: coaching still matters, especially in this final
Tatum was just fine for the other 3 losses and even hurt he played over 40 min, scoring 14 points, but I get it ur not a fan. Celts lost by 19, not close. Sorry for Horford, but never Celtic fans.
It’s not about being a fan or not. Celtics won 3. I believe Denver is going to be way to much. Not a Denver fan either. Care to wager?
Unfortunately, Boston needed 4. Denver will most likely win since they’re heavy favorites and have the best player on the court, the Heat have already overachieved are playing with house money.
The team actually improved and played better D after Tyler’s injury. Tyler does not play strong D and not a big pass/assist guy.
Downplaying a team's win speaks for itself. Haven't watched enough of Denver this year to bet, but no doubt Miami will be the underdog......again.
Miami has outdone themselves. Jimmy Butler has been amazing and the undrafted guys have really shown out. I was actually hoping they made it. I’d be fine with them winning but I don’t see it. They made it from an 8 seed and Denver is just good.
I like the depth on both teams. That’s why they are both in the finals. They get big production 3-8. But Jokic is really good.
Hero is a liability besides scoring. I think the other guys have done better. Maybe you believe Miami has a chance but I do not.
I’m not going to say that I think Miami is going to win. All objective analysis points to Denver winning easy. However, Miami walked over the best team in the East, handled the 5th seed, and beat the East’s second seed. Objectively, Milwaukee and Boston have more star power and better size and better depth than Miami. But, Miami still won. Again, the analytics point to Denver. Just like they did for Milwaukee and Boston. But I think it would be dismissive, at this point, to give Miami no chance.
Milwaukee without however you spell it, a five seed, and a Boston team tgat just isn’t ever going to win, and just maybe Tatum could have won game seven. Boston isn’t an nba championship team unless it’s a very weak final. There’s a reason the heat are there but in my mind, I can’t decide if we will see a game six. Just how I see it.
Was watching Gator baseball, but I just watched highlights of gm 2. Heat rally in 4th qtr and survive a late Denver rally to even series after being dominated in gm 1. Back to Miami for gm 3.
After watching both games in the NBA finals, the Heat need to be great shooting (high percentage) the 3 pointer to win games against the Nuggets.