Unfortunately, the final 2 points, helpless 1 point to lose people! The favorite to win the championship fell violently, and the east gradually lost suspense
This season's NBA regular season has quietly come to an end, and there are two different competitive landscapes in the East and West: the West has become more competitive because of the existence of the Thunder and the Timberwolves, two super dark horses, but similarly, they are inexperienced in the playoffs and are easy to be defeated. The Lakers did not avoid the nemesis Nuggets, in my opinion, this is the best time, because the further back they play, the more they fight for the physical test of James and thick eyebrows, and if they really aim for the championship, they will gnaw the hardest bones first, and really cross the threshold of the Nuggets. And the Warriors' exit also means they have to regroup this summer and build a team around young people.
In the East, the Celtics dominated the first place from the beginning of the season to the end of the season, with a 64-18 record in the regular season. From the Knicks, who are second in the East, to the Heat, who are eighth in the East, there is only a 4-win gap before and after. In Butler's words, there is usually a dozen games between second and eighth games, but with only four games this season, the team could easily finish second in the East and only need a week of games to turn the tide. Of course, the four wins were very different, with the Knicks finishing second, while the Heat could only compete with the Bulls for the eighth seed after losing to the 76ers. The key is that Butler is injured and will be out indefinitely! Assuming the Heat can make the playoffs, can they win against the Celtics? The favorites have quietly fallen, and the East has ushered in an early finale.
Let's start with two games. In the penultimate game of the closing game, the Heat lost to the Pacers by 2 points 115-117 away by 2 points! The reason why it is described as regret is because after the Pacers opened the 22-point gap early, the Heat burst out with strong competitiveness in the second half, including Herro scoring 14 points alone in the final quarter, Butler led the team to chase all the way, and scored 27 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in the whole game, but at the last moment, the Heat had a chance to tie, Lefu violated the line in advance, and after the ball was returned to the Pacers, the time was delayed! That game directly anchored the Heat in eighth place in the East, if the Heat won in the end, the Heat could pull the Pacers down, and the Heat went to seventh! There was also a play-off game to play the 76ers, once leading by 14 points, and finally losing by 1 point! The key Butler was also injured, and the house leak happened to rain overnight!
Against the 76ers, Butler injured the medial collateral ligament in his knee when he collided with Oubre, and after the game, he wore a special protective gear, and in the words of Charania, Butler will be out indefinitely. Last season, the Heat also started from the play-offs and were on the verge of being eliminated, but they fought back all the way, eliminating the Bucks, Knicks, and Celtics, and finally reached the finals as the Eastern Conference champion. This season looks like the same drama again, can they replicate the magical journey of last season? Let's take a look at a key statistic: When Butler played this season, the Heat played 31 games at key moments, the team had a record of 15 wins and 16 losses, and Butler averaged 2 points per game + 34.6% shooting rate at critical moments, is it enough? But when Butler falls, who else can the Heat count on?
Herro's foot injury, Dunroe's left facet joint syndrome, Rozier's neck injury, the foundation of the Heat's success last season was Strus and Vincent's mad dog defense, offensive and defensive transitions, and Butler's ability to attack and kill, but the Heat's guard line this season has none to defend. Assuming the Heat do make the playoffs, according to Charania, Butler won't be able to play, and will miss a few weeks with a ligament injury! At the same time, compared to last season, Butler himself is also regressing, with an effective shooting rate of 53.7% this season, 187th in the league, and a true shooting rate of 62.6%, 50th in the league when you count free throws. Butler's lethal offensive contribution wasn't even enough to fill the gaps in the team's defense. In contrast, the Celtics are the starting standard for the Big Five, and the gap is too big.
In the past 4 years, Butler has led the Heat to the Finals twice, once to the Lakers and once to the Nuggets, the Heat can break through the East with Butler's ceiling, but the gap between Butler and the NBA championship is the lack of more effective helpers. But as Butler gets older and older, his own body can't hold it up first, he can paddle and fish in the regular season, and in the play-offs, his body immediately can't support it, and he falls down injured, which is the reason why the Heat's lower limit is not high. Besides, before that, they should think about how to beat the Bulls to get the No. 8 seed without Butler, Dunroe, and Rozier!
Truth be told, the East has lost its suspense this season. Since the Bucks took over from Rivers Sr., the team has lost its competitiveness, lacks cohesion on the court, lacks dominance, and is often bullied by rotten fish belly. The Knicks are strong, but at the end of the day, Brunson is alone, and Randle definitely has a chance to challenge the Celtics if they don't get out for the season. As for the Cavaliers, Magic, and Pacers, the core framework of these three teams is too young and they still need to accumulate playoff experience. The 76ers ignored it, and every year in the second round, Embiid became the ceiling that constrained the team. The Heat fell, and the Celtics were completely out of competition in the East.