The Miami Heat made it to the NBA Finals by eliminating some of the best teams on a not-so-stagnant journey within Orlando’s bubble, shutting down the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference semifinals and the Boston Celtics during the Eastern Conference Finals. They’re drawing comparisons to underdog championship teams like the 2004 Detroit Pistons and 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Their final test comes against a familiar face in LeBron James, taking on the Lakers starting Wednesday night.
While Miami could go down in history as one of the greatest lower-seeded playoff teams ever, its work is far from finished. Like in their last two playoff series, the Heat are billed as underdogs.
Los Angeles won both regular-season matchups against Miami in late 2019. After acquiring veterans Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder before the trade deadline in early February, the Heat improved on defense, particularly in the bubble.
Goran Dragic went from accepting a sixth-man role in the regular season to starting at point guard for the Heat during the playoffs, averaging 20.9 points and 4.7 assists per game. And Jimmy Butler, the self-proclaimed half-Slovenian brother of Goran, has matched his teammate with twin-like numbers, tallying 20.7 points and 4.5 assists per game.
As eager as this franchise is to speak title hopes into existence, Heat culture is only a part of the recipe Miami will need. Here are five keys for the Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals against the favored Lakers.
