The Miami Heat‘s outlook has gone from outstanding to murky in just a matter of days after going from being up 3-0 over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals to tied at three wins apiece.
If they are to reach the NBA Finals, they will have to win a Game 7 in Boston on Monday with all the momentum against them.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and star Jimmy Butler both said after Game 6 they will end up winning Game 7, but analyst and former player Eddie Johnson says the team’s much-lauded culture will be “eviscerated” if they lose.
Best coach in the NBA and so you better get it done after a 3-0 lead or you and Heat Culture will get eviscerated by the national media. Especially if your 2 stars go 9-27 and a worse 6-28 in the paint! Gonna be a great game! #NBAConferenceFinals https://t.co/ey70dZvwMn
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) May 28, 2023
For years, many have felt the Heat have had arguably the best team culture in the league, especially ever since Butler arrived in the summer of 2019.
Since then, they have made a living by outperforming expectations and upsetting more talented teams in the playoffs.
But becoming the first NBA team to blow a 3-0 series lead would be a huge disappointment for the franchise, not to mention Spoelstra.
The Heat looked to be an iron-clad lock to reach the championship series after their Game 3 blowout win, but they lost Game 4 and Game 5 by double-digits, then dropped Game 6 at the buzzer when Derrick White scored a putback off a missed outside shot by Marcus Smart.
If there is one team in the league that is capable of overcoming all that and taking a seventh game in Boston, it is the Heat, but this will be the stiffest test of their culture and overall resolve they have ever faced.
NEXT: Stats Show How 2 Heat Players Struggled In Game 6 Against Celtics
