There were times (quite a few, actually) when it did not seem that this would be possible, the return of the Heat to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year. Fatigue, age, injuries — these were all credible reasons to discount the Heat’s chances this spring.
There were also the Heat’s prolonged periods of struggle, which seemed to come more frequently and with more depth than in recent years. But then, those years have mostly finished in triumph.
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Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (AP Photo)
“We have a group that has earned a lot of trust in each other,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “There is a lot of equity of going through pain, of going through joy, of going through everything in between — I mean, this is your extended family. Even the guys who haven’t been with us through the four years, what do we say to them when they join our team? You will inherit all the experiences we have had before, all the pain, all the joy, you inherit that.”
More than the Heat’s own struggles, though, there was supposed to be a bulked-up Eastern Conference. Instead, there remains just one Goliath in these parts. And it’s the Heat.
There was Miami’s most recent opponent, the vaunted Pacers, who appeared poised to seize control of this conference final series as recently as 12 days ago, when they took Game 1 of the East finals with a convincing 107-96 win. But, alas, the threat was hollow — the Heat dispatched the enigmatic Pacers in six games, sealing the series on Friday with a 117-92 blowout win in Miami.
There was Miami’s second-round foe, the Nets, the team financed with the riches of Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov — a roster that featured veteran additions Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, one that Brooklyn general manager Billy King said was designed specifically to knock off the Heat. Despite sweeping four games from Miami in the regular season, the Nets went down meekly, lasting but five games.
And there were the supposed-to’s. Remember the Knicks, resurgent last year with a 54-win season and looking to build on that success with the Heat as their measuring stick? Bah. New York proceeded to faceplant, winning but 37 games and costing their coach, Mike Woodson, his job.
The Bulls, too, supposedly were a threat coming out of the gate. But then point guard Derrick Rose injured his knee after playing just 10 games and it was so long, Chicago.
What looked like a gauntlet of steely threats to the Heat in October each wilted into a lashing with a wet noodle by May. The Heat, businesslike, simply played through the string of games, gathering wins and advancing ever more steadily, as has become their custom since Pat Riley put together the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Perhaps the most credible threat, to the Heat was just the sheer history they faced. No team playing entirely in the NBA’s salary cap era (which began in the 1984-’85 season) has reached the Finals four consecutive years. The Celtics, from 1984-’87 were the last to do it, but their foundation was laid before the cap. The Lakers (from ’82-’85) and the Celtics (from ’57-’66) are the only other teams to reach four straight Finals, but did so mostly without the limitations of the cap.
From the beginning of the year, Spoelstra acknowledged the challenge of history with his team. “We talked about that the very first day,” he said. “The legacy of this team, and again, the players who were not here the very first year, they inherited that experience. But it was only that first day. That was it. We never brought it up again.”
Miami, though, is back, playing for a championship for the fourth straight year. The win on Friday moved them to 12-3 in the postseason, and makes them 58-24 in the playoffs over the last four years. That means that Miami has played a full, extra 82 games over the course of the last four playoffs. They’ve played five seasons in four years.
Fatigue? Of course. That could be a problem in the Finals, when Miami faces either San Antonio or Oklahoma City. But for now, that shouldn’t matter. The Heat managed to get back to this point and that, in itself, is an accomplishment.