It’s been a wild, intense, up-and-down season but the Miami Heat are officially the number one seed in the Eastern Conference.
The team has had some fierce competition and they still do.
In fact, making the NBA Finals isn’t a sure thing for this team, as good as they’ve been.
But they should be proud of how far they’ve come – especially since they have overcome so many injuries.
The Miami Heat have clinched the 1st seed while missing the following players due to injury:
Jimmy Butler – 24 games
Bam Adebayo – 25 games
Kyle Lowry – 18 games
Tyler Herro – 15 games
Markieff Morris – 63 games
Victor Oladipo – 73 gamesDeepest team in the East. pic.twitter.com/mEgUVPzj9F
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚🔥 (@WadexFlash) April 8, 2022
This season, they lost quite a few players due to injuries.
Jimmy Butler was out for 24 games, Bam Adebayo was out for 25.
Meanwhile, Kyle Lowry missed 18 games while Tyler Herro missed 15, Markieff Morris missed 63, and Victor Oladipo missed nearly the entire season with 73 absences.
Despite that, the team still came out on top.
What does this suggest about the road ahead?
Heat At The Top
The Heat came into this season with a singular goal: they wanted to make the Finals again.
Last season ended disastrously and they came painfully close to winning it all a season before that.
Since then, they have been adding assets and improving their game.
The Heat are definitely a fantastic, top-of-the-line NBA team.
However, the next few weeks will be incredibly challenging because of the competition.
Take the Milwaukee Bucks for example.
They are the second seed in the East and have been consistent all season long.
The third-seed Boston Celtics have only been getting better and have been surging over the last few weeks.
And don’t count out other underdogs like the Philadelphia 76ers or Toronto Raptors or Chicago Bulls.
The Heat are the odds-on favorite to make the Finals right now but it wouldn’t be too shocking to see them fall to any of these talented teams.
The Heat have come a long way and it’s very impressive – but the battle has just begun.
NEXT: Heat Missing 1 Top NBA Star That Can Take Miami To A New Level