The Miami Heat came out and did something on Wednesday that they hadn’t done in over a week. They took it to a high-quality opponent in what was a hard, tough, gritty, and clawing affair.
They also were able to do something that they hadn’t done all year long. They were able to knock off a Celtics team that, in every other matchup this season, had beaten this Miami Heat team by an average of 20 points.
Before going further, let’s put a word on the board. That word would be “unquantifiable”.
Why is that word important here though? Well, it is so because in terms of what that win meant and though it meant quite a bit, as far as standings and all of that hoopla, the real value of the win is unquantifiable.
Let’s get into it for a second. First, let’s get back to something that’s already been mentioned.
Things that people haven’t done before or have been able to do successfully are typically the hardest things to do or overcome. The Miami Heat overcame something on Wednesday by beating Boston, thus bringing all things back to equal if they were to meet in the postseason.
No, Miami isn’t guaranteed to beat Boston in a series, but Boston shouldn’t be favored over them either. Not after that game, one that could be considered one of the very best this season around the entire league.
The Miami Heat walked into Boston Wednesday to handle their business. Though it certainly helps the standings, the real value is numerically unquantifiable.
There’s that mental aspect, but then there are also a few more. The Boston Celtics had none of the pressure on them in this one.
The Miami Heat had been the toast of the East for much of the year.
Though the Miami Heat have dealt with their fair share of injury and absence throughout the season, the Boston Celtics were the team that just found out that they will be without the guy, Robert Williams, who has, arguably, been their most important piece on defense over the last 25 or so games.
You know, that’s the span that has seen the Boston Celtics be one of the absolute best teams in the league. Beyond that, the Miami Heat are also coming off one of their worst stretches of basketball in, possibly, quite a few years.
They are also the team that is coming off of the incident. They are the team that has had to reintroduce guys into the system, Markieff Morris and Victor Oladipo, after not having them all year long or having them treated like a rock’em sock’em robot.
Yes, that is the Miami Heat. On national television, nonetheless, where they had all the aforementioned reasons to let themselves down, they stepped up, conquered their own stuff, a team they hadn’t beat all year long, all the expectation, innuendo, and judgment out there—to come out on the other side victorious.
Again, this is only one win and though it gives them a little bit more space in the standings, the real value of the win over Boston is completely unquantifiable.
At least, in any fashion from a purely numerical perspective.