The Miami Heat exceeded expectations this past season by making it to the 2020 NBA Finals.
However, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com, some around the league don’t consider the Heat’s run to the Finals legitimate because of the nature of the bubble.
“There are skeptics around the league who consider Miami’s run to the Finals something of a fluke — the product of the bubble’s strangeness,” Lowe wrote. “There is no question Miami’s militaristic culture steeled the Heat for the isolation and all-basketball, all-the-time environment of the bubble. That environment took a toll on other teams.”
The Heat finished the 2019-20 regular season with a 44-29 record. They were the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference standings.
Yet, they crushed all their Eastern Conference opponents in the postseason.
The Heat swept the Indiana Pacers in the first round and destroyed the league-best Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the second round.
Although the Heat had their hands full with the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, they took care of business in six games.
The Heat’s magical run came to a halt in the Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
Still, the Heat put up a fight despite being without stars Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic for multiple games during the Finals.