The Miami Heat have shocked the world by their performance in the 2020 postseason. Finish 5th in the East usually doesn’t come with title contention.
But for Miami, they find themselves battling in the Finals after defeating Indiana, Milwaukee, and Boston in rather convincing fashion.
Still, they are major underdogs against the Lakers and, following the Game 1 blowout, it seems even less likely that they’ll be coming out of this with a title. Many people are calling it a dose of reality for the Heat, as this Lakers series is the greatest challenge they’ve had all season.
On his podcast, Zach Lowe described what some Western Conference “people” have been texting him:
Lowe: “ I did get a few texts from people in the Western Conference tonight along the lines of “#HeatCulture learning what life is like in the West right now. I chuckled because everyone hates the Lakers but when the lakers are blowing out the Heat they’re the subject of joy. I love the NBA”
Brian Windhorst: “People get annoyed by the Riley stuff too.”
The Lakers really pounded Miami in Game 1 — and if it’s any indicator as to how the rest of this series will go, we can probably expect a clean sweep.
Jimmy Butler has already gone on record to deny that possibility, but he and his team just don’t seem equipped to handle the size, talent, and experience of L.A. The injuries certainly don’t help either.
We’ll see what happens in Game 2.
