When Andrew Wiggins pulled off a walk-off alley oop in overtime on Monday, the moment in a vacuum gave the Miami Heat a 140-138 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers to move to 7-4 on the season. Peel back just a bit further, and Miami is now on a three-game winning streak despite not having Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
But if one hits the rewind button even further, the walk-off from Wiggins symbolized a complete 180 from a franchise that looked dead in the water just six months ago against the very same Cleveland squad.
Andrew Wiggins walk-off gives Miami a crazy win
What made Miami's win the most impressive is that they just kept attacking and never let up. After a slow first six minutes, the Heat's offense kept coming in spurts, and every time Cleveland had a body blow that made it seem like Miami would be walking out with a "moral victory," the Heat responded every time.
It's far from where this team was back in April after Cleveland came to town and ended Miami's season with a four-game sweep, where three of the four losses were over 20 points, including a 55-point loss in the closeout game.
Miami made it a point of emphasis to revamp and speed up its offense this offseason, but even the most bullish of Heat fans couldn't have envisioned a turnaround this quick.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. continues his turnaorund
Perhaps no player is more symbolic of this turnaround than Jaime Jaquez Jr. Back in April, JJJ was nothing more than a mop-up duty guy coming off the bench who played 19 total minutes in the series.
On Monday, Jaquez Jr. had 22 points, including a shot to send the game to overtime in the first place, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.
Also emblematic of Miami's turnaround is that they didn't do it chasing a star. They instead settled on Norman Powell in a move that looks like the heist of the offseason so far. Powell had 33 points and was +17 on the night.
Throw in the 23 points from Wiggins, and the Heat look like one of the most potent offenses in the NBA, all without their two best players.
On betting markets, you can still grab the Miami Heat at +10000 to win the NBA title. There are still reasons like offensive rebounding to have concerns, but Monday night proved the Heat are far more than a +10000 squad.