We’ve heard the word tossed around all play-offs. A two word catch-all to any sort of questioning just exactly how an 8 seed managed to find themselves in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Wait, they barely won the play-in against the Chicago Bulls? Heat Culture
They defeated the #1 seed handily by having their star dominate the entire series? Heat Culture
Their role players can have monster nights from game to game? Heat Culture
Burger King came out with a new Impossible Whopper? Meat, Cultured
They can survive injuries to three of their critical rotation players? Heat Culture
Every single game the announcers are going to mention how many undrafted players are making key contributions to playing winning basketball? You guessed it…. Heat Freaking Culture
At this point I think tossing the phrase out ambiguously almost does a disservice to what Miami has done. We are in the modern day NBA. If you don’t have 2 All-NBA guys, or 3 borderline all-stars, or Lebron James on your team, you aren’t making the Finals. And yet here we are, two unsung teams matching up in a tantalizing Finals match-up. The ratings guys will talk about the low numbers the series will ultimately get, which will in turn out them: They don’t care about the sport of Basketball. (Or are Lakers/Boston fans.)
Heat vs. Nuggets is this former High School basketball coach’s ideal match-up. And I’m not just talking about the heat of the microwave against my dino-nuggets match-up. These are two teams that play basketball the best way possible, and symbolize everything I love about the sport. And while there is plenty to say about the Nuggets, let me try to get you to root for the underdogs just one more time. Let me tell you about Heat Culture.
#1 Heat culture symbolizes making a team greater than the sum of its parts.
Basketball is so fascinating when you break it down into it being simply a 5 v 5 sport. How can you make the guys wearing the same jersey work together to achieve the goal of winning? In order to win you need to have your team able to competently cover a multitude of skills. You need ball handling-rebounding-shooting-playmaking-defensive continuity-floor spacing the list goes on and on. And sometimes changing one player on the 5 piece puzzle to different changes the equation entirely. Coach Spo and the Heat are not afraid to play with that puzzle all series and all season to find what works best. And there is no ego, former NBA Champ Kevin Love was told midway through the Celtic series that he would be benched, his response from the bench: (HYPE) But how can playing with the puzzle wield such drastically different results?
#2 Heat culture is going to get the absolute most out if its players.
A sign of a good coach is one who puts his players in a position to succeed. I think that idea is often lost in translation. Duncan Robinson turned himself into one of the most formidable offensive threats in the League in 2020 under the Miami Heat. Revolutionizing the Heat offense with his ability to do one thing very well, shoot the ball. The Heat took this former D3, undrafted, Shane from Jimmy
Neutron lookin’ dude and turned the league on it’s for the entirety of the bubble. I am pretty willing to bet that if not for the Heat, Duncan would be 3 years in to his Finance career right now. And the Heat have seemingly done it again this year with Caleb Martin. Two years ago Martin was waived by the Charlotte Hornets, who are so desperate for talent they are welcoming back Miles Bridges with open arms and convincing themselves the #2 draft pick this year will get them into the playoffs for the first time in 7 years. Martin looked better than Jalen Brown for the entirety of the Celtic series, a 2nd-team All NBA forward. These things don’t happen in other franchises. I’m not being hyperbolic, it never happens. Sure you get the 2nd round pick who everyone passed on and it turns out to be Jokic. But to be a career 8ppg kind of guy and score 14 points or more every game of the Eastern Conference Finals!? This only happens when the organization, the coaching, and quite possibly his Zodiac Calendar are all perfectly aligned.
#3 Heat culture is about playing to win.
While I want to sell Miami as the plucky, out of nowhere #8 seed they are being billed as this year. They have the most playoff wins as a Franchise since 2020. But it really feels like the Heat are always doing more with less. It probably starts with their superstar Jimmy Butler, who is the perfect embodiment of Heat Culture. He doesn’t have the best jumper, or the most hops, or the fastest first step. His highlight reel isn’t getting many clicks on Youtube. But watch him close for an entire game and you’ll see how every second and on both sides of the floor the massive impact he has on the fabric of the game. The Heat are making these masterful X’s and O’s adjustments from game to game. Throwing different defensive looks at their opponents, including some good ol’ fashioned zone!
The Heat remind that even NBA basketball contains the remnants of what I know and love, and that makes them an easy to cheer for.
Gamenotes 