Written By: Ethan Roda
Can the Underdog Team, The Miami Heat Led By Jimmy Butler, Take Home the 2023 NBA Championship?
After my beloved Philadelphia 76ers lost game 7 to the Boston Celtics, I am cheering for Jimmy Butler to get his first championship ring and bring the trophy home to Miami. For this blog I would like to focus on the NBA playoffs and more specifically whether people believe the Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler can continue their incredible underdog success to win the 2023 championship.
This year the Heat had an above average record in the regular season of 44-38. They barely snuck into the 8th seed, which put them in position to play in the play-in-tournament. The play-in-tournament is simple but new to the NBA playoffs. Seeds 9 and 10 have one last opportunity to make the playoffs by playing the teams seeded 7 and 8. If the teams seeded 7 or 8, win one game their spot is cemented and they are in the playoffs. The teams seeded 9 or 10 must win two games which would then bump them up to either the 7th or 8th final playoff spot. The Heat lost their first game, which meant they had one more opportunity to make the playoffs as the last seed. The Heat won against the 10th seeded Chicago Bulls and punched their ticket to the playoffs where they would match up against the 2021 NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks.
At this point nobody was giving Miami a chance. They were facing up against a powerhouse Bucks team who has a former MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo and won a championship two years prior. However, the Heat stunned the Bucks and beat them in the series 4-1. In game 4 of the series Jimmy Butler carried the Heat and had a career high of 56 points. This was a shock to the NBA world because an 8th seed has only beaten a 1 seed a handful of times.
After the Bucks, the Miami Heat had their next challenge, the New York Knicks. The Heat won the series (4-2), which was less of a shock but the NBA and its fans began to notice Miami’s success. This punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics; the Heat was one of the last 4 teams remaining in the playoffs. The series started off as a breeze for the Heat, with Jimmy Butler dominating and gaining a 3-0 lead against the Celtics. The Celtics continued to fight and tied the series up to 3-3 after ultimately losing game 7 in Boston to send the Miami Heat to the NBA finals!
This is the second time in NBA history that a 8th seeded team has made it to the NBA finals, (the first was the 1999 Knicks), which in my opinion was because of Jimmy Butler’s determination and fight to defeat tough opponents. I interviewed two other NBA basketball fans (who happen to be my brothers), Rocco and Tre, to see their opinions on these playoffs and who is going to win the championship.
I asked them the following questions: Would you consider the Miami Heat’s run in the playoffs, one of the best in NBA history? Who deserves more praise for the Heat’s success, Jimmy Butler or the entire Heat organization? Who has been the most valuable player in this year's NBA playoffs? When I asked my brother Tre if he considered the Miami Heat’s run in the playoffs to be one of the best in NBA history, not surprisingly he responded with all the stats, “The Heat and Jimmy Butler have had the greatest playoff runs of all time. Not only because they are the second 8th seed to ever make the Finals but also because they have defeated opponents like the 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks and the 2 seed Boston Celtics. The final reason why this was the greatest run in playoff history is because Jimmy Butler had 56 against the 1 seed Bucks.” My brother Rocco had a similar response saying, “Yes I would consider the Miami Heat successful, they are the first play-in team to make the finals.”. I agreed with both of their answers, and we can all agree on how special this playoff run has been for Jimmy Butler and the Heat.
I then asked both Tre and Rocco who deserves more praise for the season, the Heat organization or Jimmy Butler. Rocco responded with, “Jimmy needs more praise for how much he’s done on and off the court, but the rest of the Heat organization deserves their praise too.” Tre had a similar take as Rocco and told me, “During the playoffs Jimmy Butler has been the biggest reason why they are still fighting for a championship.” He went on to say that more specifically players like, “Gabe Vincent and Bam Adebayo have been a good supporting cast,” but that “Jimmy Butler definitely had more to do with the Heat’s success.”
The final question I had for both Tre and Rocco was who they considered to be the MVP of this year's playoffs. Tre told me undoubtedly, “The best player in this year’s playoffs has been Jimmy Butler, leading his team to victories over players like Jason Tatum and Giannis Antetokounmpo.”
Rocco on the other hand had a completely different take and told me his playoff MVP is Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets: “Jokic has been the MVP of this post season because he’s averaging a triple double. I would also say Devin Booker who played amazing in the series vs. the Clippers and Nuggets.”
I personally agree with Tre and think that Jimmy Butler has been the MVP of this year's playoffs. Butler has not only proven himself against some of the toughest teams in the Eastern conference, he has also played some of the league's best players, while being an underdog against every opponent that they have faced. I’m excited to watch the finals with the Heat battling the Nuggets. I hope Jimmy Butler and the Heat can end their incredible run with a NBA championship.