Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem recently offered a strong reply to haters who claim that the Heat Bubble run in the 2020 season was a fluke.
The NBA finals run by the Heat is one of the greatest playoffs runs in NBA history. They were less than two wins away to win everything in Orlando against eventual champions, the Los Angeles Lakers. So, when the 2020-21 NBA was approaching, expectations were sky-high.
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However, the 2020-21 campaign was one of disappointment and letdown for the Miami Heat. Instead, they ended up going from Eastern Conference champions to first-round fodder for the eventual NBA title-winners, the Milwaukee Bucks.
As a result, many people were of the opinion that the 2020 Bubble dreamy run was a fluke. However, Heat veteran recently came to the defense of his team.
Via GQ –
What pisses me off, man, is that people discredit what [the Heat] did in the bubble because we didn’t have a great season the very next season. Don’t get mad at me because your favourite team and favourite player was a mental midget in the bubble.”
“Trying to fry chicken and have pool parties and shit, we ain’t here for that. Ain’t our fault m***********s was soft…why discredit us? The Lakers ain’t make the playoffs the next season either and ain’t nobody sayin’ shit about them…that takes nothing away from what we did the year before.”
The Veteran also talks about losing 4-0 next year to the Bucks in the first round –
“Doesn’t change that Milwaukee swept us last year, we still beat they ass two years ago! It’s still in the record books! They whipped our ass and we whipped their ass.”
Still, the Heat exceeded expectations and proved numerous haters wrong. It appears Udonis Haslem and the Heat will have to do that again this upcoming year.
What to expect from the Miami Heat this season?
The Miami Heat have a ton of great players on their roster. The minute Kyle Lowry joined, it was clear that they wanted to compete for a championship right away. Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo form one of the most underrated big 3 in the league.
The addition of Victor Oladipo has gone under the radar in my opinion. But once he is back to full health, expect him to be a viable scoring option on most nights for the Heat.
The Heat also has an exceptional defense, with all of their starting five known for their defense. One can expect the Heat to locking teams down once the playoff season begins. Also, Heat’s rising stars Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro will be expected to make that next jump into superstardom.
The Miami Heat are likely going to be seeded around the top of the Eastern Conference. They are considered by many as one of the dark horses of the league, and cannot be taken lightly by opponents.
So far, it seems to be going well, with the Miami Heat off to a strong 3-1 start in the season. That being said, it will not be easy for the Heat to get to the NBA Finals again with teams such as the Nets and Bucks in their way. However, it would be foolish for one to bet against a Jimmy Butler and Pat Riley-lead team.
