Miami Heat Underrated By 2023 NBA Championship Odds
By Noah Decker
The 2021-22 NBA season is officially over. Now, everyone is looking at next year, including the Miami Heat.
With ESPN beginning the chatter, they started a national conversation about the NBA Championship odds for next season. Unfortunately, the Heat looked to be a little disrespected.
There are a total of six teams ranked as more likely to win the championship above the Heat. That is a little low considering how Miami performed in this past regular season and postseason.
They were just a few plays away from playing in the NBA Finals. The teams ranked above the Miami Heat are the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Phoenix Suns, and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Taking a look at each team helps in this instance. The Warriors and Celtics are understandably ranked above the Heat.
The Warriors just won the championship and the Celtics defeated the Heat to make it to the Finals. The Bucks did not get as far as the Heat in the playoffs this year, but this one is, at least, understandable.
The 2021-22 NBA season is over and the championship odds for next season are already out. Here is why the Miami Heat are ranked too low though.
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They won the 2021 NBA championship and they have the best player in the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Phoenix Suns had the best regular-season record in the NBA this year. They lost in the second round, so they had a worse finish compared to the Miami Heat, who reached the Conference Finals.
The Heat should, at least, be a little bit closer to the Suns, if not above them. They have proven they can perform well in the playoffs.
The Nets and the Clippers should not be favored to win the championship over the Heat right now. Even if both teams are great on paper, there are so many question marks for both teams.
The Nets were the early favorites last year and ended up getting swept by the Celtics in the first round. There are also questions about the availability of Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, which clearly affected their team cohesiveness this year.
As for the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard missed the whole season with a major injury, which is his second major injury in three years. Kawhi Leonard is a generational NBA talent, but we still don’t know what he is going to look like next season.
It doesn’t make sense to favor the Clippers over a team that has proven they can contend for a title. The Miami Heat have been underrated once again.
No one predicted them to reach the NBA Finals in 2020. They did that.
No one picked them to be the one seed in the East this past year. They did that.
No one predicted that they would reach the Eastern Conference Finals. They did that, too.
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If there is one thing that the Heat are good at, it is proving people wrong as the underdogs. They are going to be better next year and do it again.
You can be certain of that.