Over the last few years, the Miami Heat have developed a habit of underperforming during the regular season and being counted out, only to put themselves in position to compete for the NBA championship in May and June.
It led Justin Jackson, who currently plays for the Texas Legends of the G League, to compare them to the newly minted Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Are the Miami Heat like the Kansas City Chiefs? 👀
Theo Pinson: “8th seed last year. I’m never counting them out. I got to see somebody beat Jimmy.”
Justin Jackson: “I’m willing to compare them to the Kansas City Chiefs…” pic.twitter.com/rm19ccjzrU
— Tidal League (@TidalLeague) February 14, 2024
“They haven’t won championships, but I’m willing to compare them to the Kansas City Chiefs, bro,” Jackson said. “If you have a coach in Erik Spo and then you have a competitor like Jimmy Butler and Bam…you can’t go against them.
The Chiefs came into the 2023 NFL season as the defending world champs, but they had to endure many dropped passes from their young and unproven wide receivers, especially in key situations. Yet come playoff time, those receivers grew up fast, and the team prevailed over the San Francisco 49ers in a Super Bowl for the ages.
Right now, Miami is seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 29-25 record, and it has had to go to battle without Jimmy Butler lately. Butler, its leader and best player, has missed 18 of its 55 games this season, including Wednesday’s contest versus the Philadelphia 76ers.
He’s having a strong season, as he’s averaging 21.4 points a game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and an amazing 44.0 percent from 3-point range. For his career, he has made just 32.8 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Recently, the Heat traded Kyle Lowry and a future first-round draft pick to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Terry Rozier. Rozier averaged 23.2 points per contest for the Hornets this year, and while he has struggled so far with Miami, his ability to score and attack off the dribble should pay major dividends.
The team’s big weakness over the years has been offensive firepower and someone who can go at opposing teams early. As a result, Miami has often had to play from behind against the NBA’s elite teams, especially come playoff time.
But playoff time is when the team rises to the occasion, and no one in their right mind can count it out until it has been officially eliminated from the postseason each year.
