The Miami Heat have arguably had the biggest Cinderella story in the history of the NBA playoffs. This kind of run of constant upsets is typically saved for March Madness in the NCAA, however, the Heat have shocked the entire NBA world in the 2023 playoffs.
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After just narrowly making it into the NBA playoffs after defeating the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the play-in, no one believed that the Heat stood a chance against the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks were head and shoulders above any team in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. Despite fighting through constant injuries, they still managed to secure the top seed in the conference. However, it would only take five games for the Heat to send the Bucks packing. They did this even with star guard Tyler Herro being sidelined early in the series due to a broken hand. With this series, Miami became the first team to ever win a series after being a play-in team.
In the second round, they faced off against the New York Knicks who put together a very promising series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Heat had some issues putting this series away, they would eliminate the Knicks in six games.
Once again, many believed that the Heat’s once-in-a-lifetime run would come to an end. They found themselves matched up against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics were the team that represented the Eastern Conference in the 2022 NBA Finals, however, they too would fall to the Heat. Unsurprisingly, this was not an easy series to win for Miami, and it would go to a hard-fought seven-game series. In the close-out game, Miami would dominate and win by a final score of 103-84 after an absolute collapse by Boston. With this series win, the Heat would become the second team in NBA history to ever make the NBA Finals as the 8th seed.
As has been the common trend, almost no one gave the Heat a chance against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets were the top seed in the Western Conference while the Heat barely slipped into the playoffs. Along with this, Miami lacks a player that is able to stop Nikola Jokic. Despite this, the Heat managed to be the first team in the 2023 postseason to knock off the Nuggets at home. Although Jokic finished the game with 41 points and 11 rebounds, the Heat were still able to pull out a 111-108 win.
Throughout the entirety of the playoffs, the Heat have had a handful of things going for them that no other team in the league do. The first is their coaching and developmental staff. Erik Spoelstra has arguably been the best head coach in all of basketball this season. Despite his team finishing as the 8th seed in the regular season, he always kept them confident that they had what it took to win it all. Along with this, the coaching staff and front office have done a great job of finding and developing talent. Currently, Cody Zeller is the highest-drafted player on the roster, despite this, players that may have been out of the league by now if the Heat would not pick them up are making some of the most crucial plays in the NBA Finals. The final thing that has set the Heat apart during this historic playoff run is their willingness to do whatever it takes to win.
