It’s official—the Miami Heat will face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2020 NBA finals. LeBron James is, as always, the Lakers’ not-so-secret weapon against this less-acclaimed Heat roster. That doesn’t guarantee the Lakers the title, though.
The Heat have been described as the fearless, fierce underdogs of the league. If there’s anything that the feisty Miami team should be afraid of, however, you’d think it would be their old friend Lebron James—the fourth man in history to have reached the finals 10 times.
James won his first two championships with the Miami Heat before returning to Cleveland in 2014. We’re about to witness the climax of James’ 19-20 “revenge season;” should the Heat be scared?
Of course not. This Miami Heat is never scared. If you’ve watched Jimmy Butler’s chemistry with rookie Tyler Herro on the court, you’ve no doubt noticed the aggressive lack of hesitation and the incredible confidence between the two. Butler blocks the ball, catches it, passes to Herro and Herro scores. Complete faith in one another. No time to deliberate. That’s the Miami Heat.
It’s true that the Heat lost to the Lakers twice in the regular season. Analysis of these games has led sportswriters to emphasize the key role that the Heat's stout zone defense and their leader, Butler, will play in keeping James and the transcendent Anthony Davis from racking up points.
Herro himself is a testament to the underdog—a microcosm of the Heat, if you will. He began low on draft evaluation boards before the Heat chose him with the 13th pick in the 2019 draft. At 19 years old and six feet two inches tall, Herro found himself misevaluated by scouts.
Herro’s slim stature was a component of this misevaluation, but so was the “Kentucky factor.” Herro’s alma mater, the University of Kentucky, hosts so many skilled basketball players that the skills that each player conveys in a game are often limited by the player’s position and opportunities.
We all know what happened next. The uber-confident Herro helped the Heat win against the Celtics on Sept. 23 with a scorching 37-point performance, a career-high for him. He surprised fans that weren’t paying attention to his work ethic and drive, but the Heat never doubted Herro’s ability to boost the team to a win.
Heat power forward Udonis Haslem thinks that Heat team members bond over a common mentality. "You had to go through something in life that put a chip on your shoulder,” Haslem said. “And that's built grit inside you that you're willing to go through extreme circumstances to get where you're trying to go."
One must wonder if this team bond is enough to overcome James himself. As it stands, LeBron James has 16 All-NBA honors, four league MVPs, three championships and three Finals MVPs. This superstar maintains his grace, power and strategy despite having recently turned 35.
Oh yeah, and the Lakers also plan to put Davis, the most dangerous big man in the game, onto the court. Davis is an impressive player alongside James: younger, more athletic and potentially a more threatening scorer.
The best duo in the league will require an equally impressive zone defense and a consistent defensive performance from the Heat’s linchpin, Bam Adebayo, if they want a chance to win the finals. Just ask back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo though—Adebayo is used to shutting down dangerous big men.
The odds may still be in the Lakers’ favor, but the Heat deserve the benefit of the doubt. The team continues to prove that they have the bond, skill and ferocity to back up their confidence. They won’t go down without a gruesome fight.