After surprise run to NBA Finals, the Heat’s future is bright
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP):
Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic had their arms slung over the other's shoulders as they walked out of the arena following the final game of Miami's season, helping each other in the most painful of moments.
That was the Heat way all year long.
A bunch of strangers at the start of the season forged intense bonds over the next 12 months, and the result was a surprising run to the NBA Finals. Another Eastern Conference championship banner will be swaying in Miami soon, and there is no doubt that the Heat will enter next season -- whenever it starts -- believing that they're among the favourites to win the 2021 NBA title.
"This season has been a tremendous season for us, for me," Dragic said. "We had a lot of bonds together. We go through good times, bad times, but we always stay together. And I think that that's something that it's really rare to find."
The Heat went from 10th in the East last season to second in the NBA this season, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals. Butler arrived in the summer of 2019 and immediately felt a bond with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and team president Pat Riley, convinced that Miami was the place where he could be himself - tough-minded, strong-willed, no-nonsense, and have it not only be appreciated, but embraced, something that wasn't always the case at his other career stops in Chicago, Minnesota and Philadelphia.
PERFECT MATCH
"I think that's what we're all looking for, right, is to be part of a family," Spoelstra said during the final postgame news conference of the season. "To be a part of something, where you felt all along that you were searching for something. Where you can just be yourself, you don't have to make any apologies for who you are. We have been searching for him for a long time and I think he's been searching for something like us for a while."
Turns out, it was a perfect match. Butler willed Miami to the finals, after spending a year becoming very close with Dragic and teaching the Heat's young core - players like All-Star Bam Adebayo, rookie guard Tyler Herro and three-point threat Duncan Robinson - what it took to succeed in the NBA.
"I told them that I would win them one and I didn't hold up my end of the bargain, so that means I've got to do it next year," Butler said. "I told coach Pat, I told coach Spo I'm here to win one. I didn't do my job, so moving forward, I got to hold up my end of the bargain."