The Miami Heat can create an epic story

How did the Heat manage to accomplish the unthinkable versus the Bucks?

©Surya Fernandez/Hot Hot Hoops

Good lord… did they actually do it?

Wait…. *checks the score of the game again*… they actually did.

This is insanity. It has to be.

It’s unreal. It feels like an illusion.

To think that this Miami Heat team, which just weeks ago played with contrasting personalities and left everyone unsure of what version would show up night in and night out, would not only win a game…. but actually win a series in dominant fashion.

In the first round.

As an 8th seed.

After nearly becoming the first No. 7 seed in play-in history to lose both games at home.

Against the team with the best record in the NBA.

A squad with arguably the best player in the world.

A unit which was considered the betting favorite before the postseason started to raise another banner.

Without Tyler Herro. Without Victor Oladipo.

128-126. That’s the final. Heat in 5 persists, this time taking form in what might be the greatest upset of an 8-seed ever over a 1-seed in the NBA postseason.

Jimmy Butler was sensational. And trust when I say that word alone doesn’t do justice to what’s now becoming one of the greatest basketball folklores ever.

“Playoff Jimmy” might not be a real thing, according to the man this legend is based on himself, but there’s no denying that his ability to do whatever it takes to win when the lights shine brightest is as explosive as fireworks on the 4th of July.

Bam Adebayo struggled in Game 5 like he did for long stretches throughout the series, but came up big time in multiple areas which determined the outcome on what would turn out to be a historic night in Milwaukee, whether that was contesting the Greek Freak, playing the role of playmaker in crunch time, or converting timely shots to close the gap.

Gabe Vincent played with balls of steel, as both the good and, uhm, not-so great consequences of that mindset took center stage. Ultimately the good out-weighed the bad, and Miami wouldn’t be in this position now – having three days off before opening their semis against the Knicks (juicy) – without his unmitigated confidence.

Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry were outstanding, providing exactly what you need from smart and savvy vets in the margins that determine winning and losing: extra possessions, bail-out 3-pointers, the right pass to the hot hand, shots when the deficit was getting too high, and many more little things.

Speaking of Love: isn’t it ironic how on the same night he finished with 15 points, 12 boards, five triples, a +11, and a series win, the team which bought him out – the Cleveland Cavaliers – lost their series at home as a favorite in just five games? It turns out they could have used him.

The Heat certainly did. Even Cody Zeller had a clutch dunk in overtime. CODY ZELLER.

Those buy-out additions came through at the most opportune time. The Godfather hasn’t made a ton of great moves lately, but this one is starting to turn around for the better.

And again, it all comes back to Butler. Miami’s Batman who’s now headed to Gotham.

The man who just averaged 37-6-5 on 60% FG and 44% from deep against a team with supposed all-world defenders.

Jrue Holiday tried. Jimmy torched him for 66 points in this series on 26/46 shooting. Brook Lopez tried as well. Butler dropped 43 on him on 19/30 FGs. He also went 6/12 against Khris Middleton and 6/7 each against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis.

At a certain point, Jimmy elevated to a place where only the greats can go: where no matter what the other side tries to do, there’s no answer for his greatness.

He had the most points a Heat player has ever averaged in a series. Butler, who dropped 42 on Wednesday, now has the most 40-point playoff games in franchise history.

Given all the legends who’ve put on a Heat uniform – Wade, LeBron, Shaq, Zo, Timmy, Bosh – that’s incredible.

There was no stopping his force-of-nature like attack on Milwaukee. Not from winning an important first game on the road. Not from making sure they’d keep homecourt after stealing it. Not from dropping an opportunity to rip his opponents hearts out of their chests and then let them know about it.

“I own him!” Butler screamed at Holiday, who admirably gave his best on both ends of the floor to compete.

And nothing was stopping the Heat, whether that was needing another role player to step up with a big performance, erasing the memory of a regular season filled with missed 3s to suddenly becoming the hottest long-range shooting squad in the NBA, the duo of Butler and Adebayo doing what they do best, or Erik Spoelstra providing Mike Budenholzer a masterclass in playoff coaching.

Milwaukee led by 15 in Game 4 and lost. They led by 16 entering the final quarter in Game 5 and wound up eliminated. It was the largest final period comeback for a winning squad in a series-clinching matchup. The Bucks’ own inability to adjust defensive schemes or situational decision-making contributed to their downfall.

Miami averaged an offensive rating of 132 in the fourth quarters of this series and a defensive rating of 88.

Despite not being the team with a championship, they looked like the comfortable bunch during crunch time. All those “clutch” games came in very handy.

Yes, Giannis got hurt in Game 1. Had he stayed healthy all throughout the series, would there be a different conversation going on right now? Perhaps.

But somewhere along the way, Miami started to believe that they were Milwaukee’s equal. Maybe that confidence was already present before the first tip-off, although some time in the last two games, it became clear they felt better than their rivals, who they’ve now defeated twice in three playoff encounters.

Butler, who you might say was “stupidly locked in,” and the Heat didn’t play with their food.

Now, it’s off to New York. There’s enough history between both sides to serve as a prequel for what can be an epic new chapter in the rivalry of Knicks and Heat.

Sometime in the near future, the ghosts of past battles in The Garden will make their presence known with a new cast of characters. It’s going to be epic.

Can Miami continue this incredible run?

Well, why not?

What looked like a season headed for a disaster ending has instead turned into, believe it or not, a possible return to the conference finals.

It still feels unreal, doesn’t it?

With that in mind… why the hell not, right?