They were the “underdogs” last year and nobody expected them to achieve what they did, but the 5-seeded Miami Heat made it all the way to the NBA Finals last season in the NBA Bubble, ultimately falling short of beating the Los Angeles Lakers. Jimmy Butler was spectacular in the 2020 NBA Finals and while injuries plagued their chances to win a title, this did not stop the Heat from regrouping heading into the 2020-21 season. 

Miami brought back everybody except Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr. from their Eastern Conference championship team and they even added guys like Victor Oladipo, Trevor Ariza, Nemanja Bjelica and Dewayne Dedmon throughout the season, but this team was not able to achieve the same success they did a season ago. 

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The Heat finished the regular season 40-32 and earned the 6-seed in the Eatsern Conference, but they did not find a lot of success in the postseason. Miami got swept by the Milwaukee Bucks, who they beat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, in the first-round of the playoffs this year, ending the Heat’s playoff journey before it even began. 

From key players getting injured on and off during the regular season to dealing with health and safety protocols, to even having Victor Oladipo go down with a quad injury just 4 games into playing with the Heat, this year’s Miami team faced a ton of adversity that ultimately piled up to be too much to overcome. 

Outside of Jimmy Butler, this team was unable to get any big-time production from any of their key players in the postseason, much like what happened in the 2020 NBA Finals when Adebayo and Dragic both got hurt. Except this time, both Dragic and Adebayo were healthy against the Bucks, yet Miami was still unable to win a game in this series! 

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The Miami Heat have a lot of work to do this offseason in terms of reconstructing their roster because what they did last year in the NBA Bubble looks like a “fluke” after what they did this year.

There is going to be a lot of pressure on the Heat and their front-office in the offseason, but Pat Riley always has a plan and he is going to surprise a lot of people this offseason in terms of what he is going to be able to pull off.