It has largely been described because the Miami Heat’s meaningless season finale, usually alongside the strains of “The Miami Heat won six consecutive games to secure the No. 1 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference before losing their meaningless regular-season finale.”
It seems, a month after the actual fact, the 125-111 April 10 loss to the Orlando Magic on the Amway Center wasn’t so meaningless, in any case.
Instead, it doubtlessly might stand between the Heat and homecourt benefit within the NBA Finals.
With the Heat holding out just about their complete main rotation that night in Orlando, and with the Golden State Warriors later that evening defeating the New Orleans Pelicans, the Heat and Warriors closed the common season with an identical 53-29 data.
Because Golden State swept the two-game season sequence, that may imply homecourt benefit for the Warriors in a possible NBA Finals in opposition to the Heat.
Even although the Heat entered the playoffs as a No. 1 seed.
And although the Warriors entered as a No. 3.
For Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, there isn’t a trying again on what might need been.
“At that point,” he informed the Sun Sentinel forward of Tuesday evening’s begin of the Eastern Conference finals, “we were just focused on keeping guys healthy.”
So no Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, P.J. Tucker, Max Strus or Dewayne Dedmon that evening – primarily what had been the first rotation on the time.
Instead, ample time for fill-in starters similar to Haywood Highsmith, Mychael Mulder and Omer Yurtseven, and even minutes off the bench from Javonte Smart and Udonis Haslem.
Of course, at that second, the league-best Phoenix Suns, the No. 1 seed within the West, appeared way more more likely to emerge from that facet of the bracket, and even the No. 2 Memphis Grizzlies.
But then the Grizzlies misplaced to the Warriors within the second spherical, with the Suns shedding their Sunday Game 7 to the Dallas Mavericks of their Western Conference semifinal.
So, sure, if the Mavericks, who closed the common season 52-30, beat the Warriors within the Western Conference finals and meet the Heat within the NBA Finals, it could be the Heat as the house group.
Otherwise, if the Heat discover their manner by way of the Eastern Conference finals, it would have confirmed to have been a not-so-meaningless April evening in Orlando, in any case.
Spoelstra mentioned he and his employees acknowledged as a lot within the second, whilst Butler remained behind in Miami, whilst Highsmith launched 17 pictures and Javonte Smart 14 on an evening the place the Heat focus was extra on Victor Oladipo’s 40-point outing than a consequence that merely lifted the Magic to 22-60..
“We were aware of all the scenarios,” Spoelstra mentioned.
So have been the Warriors.
So on that very same evening, as nearly the entire Heat’s acquainted faces sat, the Warriors, nonetheless taking part in for playoff seeding within the Western Conference, began regulars similar to Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Jordan Poole of their victory over the Pelicans, with Thompson going for 41 factors in 31 minutes that evening.
Of the Heat’s 5 earlier journeys to the NBA Finals, they received because the decrease seed in opposition to the Mavericks in 2006, misplaced because the decrease seed in opposition to the Mavericks in 2011, received because the decrease seed in opposition to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, received as the upper seed in opposition to the San Antonio Spurs in 2013 and misplaced because the decrease seed in opposition to the Spurs in 2014.
But, regardless of that season-ending loss in Orlando, Spoelstra mentioned. That was then. Now the main focus is on these Eastern Conference finals with their Tuesday evening begin in opposition to the Boston Celtics at FTX Arena and the instant problem at hand.
So if it means retreating earlier to San Francisco sooner than might need been deemed needed, beneath the best-case-scenario of creating the NBA Finals, will probably be a diversion with a payoff.
“That would be a great problem to think about,” Spoelstra mentioned, “if we were able to get past this series.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com