For the first time in my rusty memory I thought the "Heat" were up against a team that we would not beat if we met them in the Finals. They're just better than us in every way, from owner to GM, to, in that game, coach, to roster construction to individual talent. For me that is saying a lot. Mickey Arison is a good owner, Pat Riley is an excellent president, Andy Elisburg is superb, Spo is an all-time great coach, our roster is always well-constructed. We don't have the individual talent of the "Thunder" or many teams but we have the biggest heart and the strongest will in Jimmy Butler (who was injured for that game). "We have enough" as Spo says. But we don't have as much, in any category, as Oklahoma City. And OKC is driven. They are hungry. They are relentless.
La-La Lake-Lake lost again last night. That org is in turmoil. Golden State is having a crisis of belief. Of course there is Denver. All of our fifteen guys combined are not as good as Fat Boy. But now OKC have Chet Holmgren. Maybe he and the "Thunder" are a year away but they are an incipient dynasty.
In the East, Beans is the best team but they have Joe Mazz; and they have soft character; and they're erratic. Beer blew them out last night. Beer is weird, or at least has been the last several games. Maybe just a skid mark in the marathon 82 games. NYC is coming, although they lost to Fat Cuban Horse last night, their first since acquiring O.G. Anunoby. The point is, the "Heat" can beat any of team in the East. We may not depending on the year but we have done it before and we can do it again.
I don't have a surfeit of confidence that we can beat Team Fat Boy if we met them again in the Finals. But the "Thunder" actually scare me. They just have more of everything.