Miami Heat: 3 takeaways from Game 5 win over Milwaukee Bucks
It’s time to talk about the Miami Heat as a legitimate title contender.
Look. Back in November when Jimmy Butler and others around the Miami Heat organization started talking about a potential championship run, it was cute. Most chalked it up to the honeymoon phase that is the first few months after landing a marquee free agent.
Even when Miami swept the Indiana Pacers, no one was talking about them making anywhere further than the Eastern Conference Finals. But now that they’ve taken down the Milwaukee Bucks, under the circumstances of the series, it might be time to start talking about a title.
Or more so, the potential chance this Heat team will have to compete for one. They’re moving on to face the victor of the other Semi-Finals series between Boston and Toronto, with the Celtics currently leading the Raptors three games to two. Game 6 is on Wednesday.
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To get here though, Miami had to climb a few obstacles, which serves as the best representation that is their candidacy as a title contender. In the Bucks series specifically, where the Heat were constantly battling the uncertainty of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s availability.
He missed the second half of Game 4, which the Bucks ultimately pulled out behind some late-game heroics from Khris Middleton. That kind of loss combined with Giannis’s “questionable” status ahead of Game 5 can shake a team that’s not properly focused.
Overcoming that kind of momentum from the opposing party, while simultaneously executing down the stretch in Game 5, is about as much poise as you look for in a contending team. They’ll look to at least compete for a championship by defeating their Conference Finals opponent.
Whether Boston or Toronto, don’t be surprised to see the Miami Heat advance.