The Miami Heat ultimately lost the Conference Finals against Boston, but they didn’t go down without a fight.
They forced a Game 7 and came roaring back down the stretch of the fourth quarter. They nearly tied things up at the end before falling short and getting sent home.
Today, with the smoke cleared, many fans are looking back to a controversial shot by Max Strus in the third quarter of the game. After being assessed by the officials, his shot was wiped off the board and ruled as an out-of-bounds play.
https://twitter.com/HoopyHoops/status/1531097189623009280
Upon further review, some have challenged the call and are wondering if the points should have counted after all.
https://twitter.com/TheSASBurner/status/1531099742234624000https://twitter.com/TheSASBurner/status/1531119905873051648
The topic led to some debate on the platform that took a life of its own.
So we all just gonna magically act like my boy didn’t take 4 steps on this side step shot? Don’t give me any gather step bullshit either we got this shit in slomo 4K 🤦🏽♂️
— christopher martinez (@whiffleton) May 30, 2022
You can't se the inner right side of the left leg. Don't come with insufficient info.
— Akhil (@nomoneysniper5) May 30, 2022
Problem is y’all don’t know the actual rules pic.twitter.com/so9zyrOQ5q
— ganggreen29 (@ganggreen029) May 30, 2022
he's definitely out of bounds but they shouldn't have went back and changed the call. they have never done that shit before and it sets a weird precedent for future games, i promise u something like this will happen again and they wont change it like they did here
— ky ☢ (@pumpkens) May 30, 2022
that's not the only camera angle man they check all the camera angles to overture something they need to be 100% sure
— off the dome (@loldomeoff) May 30, 2022
As questionable as the play is, there’s no going back to change things now. The shot was waved off, and the Heat were unable to close the deal when it mattered the most. Still, it’s hard not to think about what could have happened if the points were never taken away.
Either way, the team is done thinking about it and is just focused on coming back better next year:
“Figuring out a way to be consistent. I think we had enough, I think we do have enough. You don’t know who is going to be on the roster any given year. So, like I said, I’m just grateful for the opportunity to play with the guys that I did have the opportunity to play with. It’s been like that every year I’ve played in the league. We had enough. Next year, we will have enough and we’re gonna be right back in the same situation, and we are gonna get it done.”
It remains to be seen what the future has in store for Butler and the crew. Right now, all they can do is reassess the situation and try to improve the roster for another run.
Either way, they will be a threat in the East for years to come and will likely only continue to build upon what they’ve already assembled.
