"We're all dogs, and we've never been looked down upon. In the 19-20 season when Adebayo made these remarks, the Heat ranked fifth in the East in the regular season, first defeated the Pacers in the first round, then defeated the Bucks in the league 4-1 in the second round, and defeated the Celtics again as a "dog" in the Eastern Conference Finals, and advanced to the Finals in history.
At the time, the Heat's playoff performance was somewhat unattainable. And there is no difference between home and away in the playoffs in the park, which also creates certain favorable conditions for the Heat to go down. However, in the 22-23 season, when the Heat advanced to the playoffs as the eighth in the East, defeated the Bucks 4-1 in the first round to complete the Black Eight Miracle, and eliminated the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the Finals, becoming the second team in history to reach the Finals, and also the only team in history that the Black Eight can still win in the Finals. When the Heat pull off this seemingly impossible miracle as a "super dog", you have reason to believe that this team can play unexpected playoff performances again and again.
This offseason, two important rotational departures, Vincent and Strus, make the Heat's rotation look less deep than last season. However, even so, the Heat still have a 14-11 record and are seventh in the East, and if it weren't for Bam Adebayo's recent injury absence, the Heat's record might have been even better.
Why can the Heat still maintain a good record after the departure of the two starters?
First of all, Vincent and Strus are both sapper-type players, and the Heat is a very mature team in the Spo coaching department, and the departure of this kind of sapper-type players, even if it is possible to make the Heat's rotation depth shallower, will not make the Heat have a significant decline in strength. Not to mention Vincent and Strus, who had a great regular season last season, averaging 20 per game1 point 54 rebounds and 4Herro, who has 2 assists, can still reach the Finals even if he leaves the court with an injury in the first game of the playoffs and announces the reimbursement of the season. This is enough to show that as long as the basic game is still there, the loss of one or two role players will not have much impact on the Heat.
In addition, the Heat selected Harkes with the No. 18 pick in this year's draft and did not include him in the discussion of a Lillard trade, which is still a wise choice for now. So far, Hakes is averaging 130 points 36 rebounds 28 assists and 51 percent shooting4% and 39 percent from three-point range5%。In the latest rookie list, Harks is still firmly in fourth place. To be able to be a regular rotation in his rookie season and play so well is a testament to how good Harkes is at the moment. Harkes, nicknamed "Old Show" by fans, has a mature face that does not match his age, which also shows that his style of play is very mature.
In the free market, Richardson, who played for the Heat in the first four seasons of his career, is the most important addition for the Heat this offseason. This season, Richardson is averaging 103 points 27 rebounds 31 assist, although the three-point touch is not up to the level it should be, but there is still residual heat on the defensive end, and his arrival has given the Heat's wing rotation one more option, making up for the loss of Strus's departure.
And among the original cast, Robinson's performance was undoubtedly a surprise. He is currently averaging 15 per game0 points 27 rebounds 29 assists and a whopping 44 three-point shooting2% and can hit 3 per game1 three-pointer. In the summer of 2021, Robinson agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Heat. In the two seasons that followed, he was not as good as he could be. In the 21-22 season, he averaged 109 points and 39 percent from the field9% and 37 percent from three-point range2%。In the 22-23 season, he averaged 64 points and 37 percent from the field1%, and the three-point shooting percentage is only 328%。While the playoffs have picked up, being targeted on the defensive end has also made it difficult for him to get consistent playing time. Thankfully, his performances so far this season have put Robinson back in the ranks of quality goalscorers and turned his contract into a great value.
So, while the Heat looked like they were struggling this summer and lost two starters, they were still a force to be reckoned with. The current Heat offensive efficiency is 1146th in the league with 112th defensive efficiency9th in the league, and their shooting efficiency is much better than last season, shooting 39 from three-point range0% ranked 2nd in the league with 12 hits per game8 three-pointers, 13th in the league. In the playoffs last year, the Heat defeated the unbelieving Bucks and Celtics by virtue of three points that were much better than the regular season. Therefore, a good three-point state naturally bodes well for the Heat.
We have a 'down dog' spirit on our team and we're called the 'kennel' for a reason. Many of the team's scouting reports don't include the characteristics they have. At the beginning of '22, Adebayo once again mentioned the spirit of "getting off the dog". Due to the injuries of Herro and Adebayo, the Heat's recent record has also struggled slightly, and Butler usually plays more healthy in the regular season. Perhaps, by the end of the season, the Heat will still be the "lower dog" in Adebayo's mouth.
However, no matter what kind of identity the "lower dog" is, when it comes to the playoffs, it will be an existence that should not be underestimated. As a long-neglected team, the Heat have reached the Eastern Conference Finals three times and the Finals twice in the past four seasons. Generally speaking, such teams are usually considered favourites to win the title. It's just that the Heat's relatively simple roster configuration and seemingly unremarkable regular season record make it easy to ignore their playoff metamorphosis.
When the Heat once again complete perhaps the strongest "Black Eight" performance in history as an underdog, the team may play any seemingly incredible performance in the future. Led by Riley and coached by Spo, the disciplined and tough Heat, even if they look mediocre in the regular season, you can still trust them to create one miracle after another in the playoffs with their indomitable spirit. I believe this is also the reason why many fans, including me, love the NBA.