With the NBA postseason set to get underway, Miami Heat veteran Udonis Haslem has offered a confident take on the team’s chances of capturing their first NBA title since 2013.
The 40-year-old Haslem is the only player on the Heat’s roster who’s been a part of the franchise’s three league championships. Given the unique nature of this year’s postseason, Haslem believes that the Heat have what it takes to compete for a title.
“Right now, in the bubble, we got as good of a chance as anybody,” Haslem said. “It’s up for grabs. It’s not just basketball. It’s a lot of things going on in the bubble. You got to have mental toughness, you got to be healthy. There’s a lot of things that come into play right now.
“When you put all those things together and you mix them up, I think we’re just as good as anybody right now in the bubble.”
While Haslem rarely sees the court, his opinion and past experiences remain invaluable to both the team’s coaching staff and the players.
The Heat enter the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. Their first-round matchup will be against the Indiana Pacers.
In ordinary years, such seeding might have been considered a problem. However, with no team having real home-court advantage within the bubble, the subject has become mostly irrelevant.
The playoff process will unfold over the next two months, which means that the mental toughness that Haslem spoke of needs to remain sharp.
Whether or not the Heat end up capturing the NBA title remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Haslem is confident about the team’s chances.