Brad Botkin is an NBA writer for CBS and co-author with Dan O’Brien, 1996 Olympic Decathlon Champion, of O’Brien’s memoir “Clearing Hurdles.” In his Twitter profile Botkin writes “...there isn’t much better than a good story” and he finds a good story in this season’s Miami “Heat.”
With every heart-attack victory, the Miami Heat are forcing us to put them in the contender conversation
MIAMI -- When 76ers big man Joel Embiid drilled a 26-foot step-back three with just over a minute remaining on Saturday night, the Heat appeared to be sunk. They'd battled, as always, but it just wasn't their night.
...
Yet somehow, Miami won the game.
It took a minor miracle to get there...Tyler Herro 3-pointer on the other end that sent the Miami crowd through the roof.
... It was Miami's sixth overtime game of the season. They're 6-0. A few more numbers to consider: The Heat are 11-3 in four-point games in the final four minutes, 10-2 in three-point games in the final three minutes, 9-1 in two-point games in the final two minutes, and 8-1 in one-point games in the final minute.
...
Indeed, games at American Airlines Arena are becoming more than just games this season. They're events. Fifteen minutes after the Philly win, thousands of fans were chanting "Let’s go Heat!" as they made their way through the concourse. There's something happening around this Miami team. It's been happening all season, really, but it's perhaps been more of a "nice story" for a team that wasn't necessarily expected to register in the contender conversation. At this point, there's almost no way to keep them out.
[Brad’s comments on the Miami crowd is especially gratifying for me, a one-time charter season ticket holder, to hear. The old Miami Arena, the “Heat’s” original home was a bandbox that trapped sound. Many times I left the Arena with my ears ringing.]
"Hell yeah we're for real," Meyers Leonard told CBS Sports. "Look around this locker room. We've got players, man... I think, too, this is an organization that brings the best out of people. Call it culture. Call it what you want. But this organization is one that expects discipline, work ethic, character, and competition.
...
... Again, look around. Tell me what this team doesn't have."
...
[There] are telltale markers of a contending team, top-10s all the way around the stat page, highly versatile on both ends... with a superstar leading a balanced, inclusive attack that can strike from anywhere. If predictability is the death of a basketball team...Any one of six or seven guys can be Butler's wingman on any given night.
There are no set lineup deployments, especially in crunch time. Spoelstra will sometimes play the matchups and sometimes play the hot hand. He'll throw a zone defense at you, and he'll invert the positioning with the longer defenders up top and the guards stunting from the block. [Even with] an MVP candidate in Butler and a former All-Star in Goran Dragic on the court, Spoelstra will, and recently has, run crunch-time offense through 19-year-old Herro, who is a budding star.
The same can obviously be said for Adebayo, who should be an All-Star lock this season.
...
... When Winslow gets back, this defense could go from versatile to downright scary.
In the playoffs, it's about matchups...Are you telling me the Heat couldn't beat the Sixers in a conference finals? They've beaten them twice in their past five games.
With every heart-attack victory, the Miami Heat are forcing us to put them in the contender conversation
MIAMI -- When 76ers big man Joel Embiid drilled a 26-foot step-back three with just over a minute remaining on Saturday night, the Heat appeared to be sunk. They'd battled, as always, but it just wasn't their night.
...
Yet somehow, Miami won the game.
It took a minor miracle to get there...Tyler Herro 3-pointer on the other end that sent the Miami crowd through the roof.
... It was Miami's sixth overtime game of the season. They're 6-0. A few more numbers to consider: The Heat are 11-3 in four-point games in the final four minutes, 10-2 in three-point games in the final three minutes, 9-1 in two-point games in the final two minutes, and 8-1 in one-point games in the final minute.
...
Indeed, games at American Airlines Arena are becoming more than just games this season. They're events. Fifteen minutes after the Philly win, thousands of fans were chanting "Let’s go Heat!" as they made their way through the concourse. There's something happening around this Miami team. It's been happening all season, really, but it's perhaps been more of a "nice story" for a team that wasn't necessarily expected to register in the contender conversation. At this point, there's almost no way to keep them out.
[Brad’s comments on the Miami crowd is especially gratifying for me, a one-time charter season ticket holder, to hear. The old Miami Arena, the “Heat’s” original home was a bandbox that trapped sound. Many times I left the Arena with my ears ringing.]
"Hell yeah we're for real," Meyers Leonard told CBS Sports. "Look around this locker room. We've got players, man... I think, too, this is an organization that brings the best out of people. Call it culture. Call it what you want. But this organization is one that expects discipline, work ethic, character, and competition.
...
... Again, look around. Tell me what this team doesn't have."
...
[There] are telltale markers of a contending team, top-10s all the way around the stat page, highly versatile on both ends... with a superstar leading a balanced, inclusive attack that can strike from anywhere. If predictability is the death of a basketball team...Any one of six or seven guys can be Butler's wingman on any given night.
There are no set lineup deployments, especially in crunch time. Spoelstra will sometimes play the matchups and sometimes play the hot hand. He'll throw a zone defense at you, and he'll invert the positioning with the longer defenders up top and the guards stunting from the block. [Even with] an MVP candidate in Butler and a former All-Star in Goran Dragic on the court, Spoelstra will, and recently has, run crunch-time offense through 19-year-old Herro, who is a budding star.
The same can obviously be said for Adebayo, who should be an All-Star lock this season.
...
... When Winslow gets back, this defense could go from versatile to downright scary.
In the playoffs, it's about matchups...Are you telling me the Heat couldn't beat the Sixers in a conference finals? They've beaten them twice in their past five games.
