The Miami Heat thrive off of being looked over and looked around. It’s no secret that things like Bubble Fraud and the vitriol that came with the Big 3 Era helped and will continue to help fuel them throughout those moments that have and should led to immense success.
It’s just the way that the Miami Heat operate and the guys that they have brought in tend to take on that same mentality, if they didn’t already have that mentality coming in. Specifically, a guy like Jimmy Butler, he has always been and had that underdog mentality.
For Bam Adebayo and though always a blue chipper, he has the work ethic and hustle of a guy that doesn’t have near the level of talent that he has. So, though he hasn’t traditionally been the underdog, his ability to do the work and grind has allowed him to, sort of, take on that thing or persona from the Miami Heat as well.
Why does this all matter now though? Well, in ESPN’s latest edition of their annual rankings of the top-100 NBA players, both of these guys are ranked outside of the ranges they should be.
The Miami Heat are constantly underrated or ‘forgotten’ and that is ok. Happening again this season, it’s, again, normal and just where they like to be.
Though it is a relative measure of where they are in or for a particular year, they are still being underrated, even if slightly. With Bam Adebayo coming in just outside of the top-20, at 21 to be specific, he is actually a top-20 player in the league.
So, again and not to nitpick as it’s only one slot off, you have to be fair in saying he’s top-20. There are 2-5 guys that could come out to offer him that slot, to be honest, but he should be there somewhere.
That’s especially with his two-way prowess and all-around high-level contributions. Even though he has areas to improve, such as offensive aggressiveness, he does what he does at such a higher level than most other players of his or any ilk.
When it comes to Jimmy Butler, ranked right at 16, there is no world where he isn’t a top-15 guy. While he’s a Top-10 guy in all actuality, as counting numbers and stats aren’t as important as the ability to impact winning at the highest level for me, you can live with being top-10 to 15 in some of the “rankings”.
However, to have him listed anywhere outside of the top-15 and Bam outside of the top-20 is almost… criminal. It could also be the greatest troll job ever, as they both ironically sit one slot outside of those mythical zones, so to speak.
Perhaps that to drum up conversation? Perhaps that gives them wiggle room for explanation, but who knows?
The guys in question know how good they are though. So, this isn’t anything of real merit.
However, it’s just interesting to imagine how these conclusions were drawn… about these players in particular and that play for this particular team. Then again, it wouldn’t be the Miami Heat if it weren’t this way.
This is just where they like to be, underrated and agitated, as usual.