Q: That was amazing. Where has this team been all year? – Matthew.
A: It has been in a place that when the opposition plays with more desperation, the Heat all too often have failed to meet that desperation. The 76ers entered Thursday locked into No. 3 in the East, no matter what they did in their final three games. And they played like it. The Heat entered with far more at stake, and played like it. The problem for the Heat has been facing teams with equal desperation. That will change as soon as a potential Tuesday play-in opener. Win that type of game, and then you could talk about statements. Thursday was about one team with a playoff ticket punched and the other team scrambling, perhaps futilely, to get there. Soon enough for the Heat it will be desperation vs. desperation.
Q: I’m a Heat fan since forever. I want the team to play against the Celtics and get revenge from last year. It’s Jimmy Butler time. – Jurgis.
A: And it might well come to be. But first the Heat would have to win the Nos. 7-8 play-in game to get there. And while last season’s Eastern Conference finals went the full seven games before Boston won, this is a better Celtics roster, while this hasn’t proven to be a Heat roster up to last season’s top-seed status. Also, the Heat would be the road team this time around (and remember, when the Heat defeated the Celtics in the 2020 playoffs, that was on the neutral court at Disney amid the pandemic quarantine, in the void of fans). The reality is that if the Heat get to a first round series against the Celtics, they would be considerable underdogs, and it assuredly would take more than even the best of Jimmy Butler.
Q: Ira, if you had to guess, who is on the team next season: Omer Yurtseven, Orlando Robinson or neither. – Joel.
A: Well there is a twist, because Orlando Robinson would be eligible for another two-way contract, so that could be a workaround, unless another team offers Orlando a standard deal in the interim. As for Omer Yurtseven, it does not appear as if he has been a priority for the Heat amid this comeback, which raises question of whether they even would extend the required $2.2 million qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent. Ultimately, it could come down to Plan C, with the Heat simply bringing back Cody Zeller.
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