The Miami Heat had a robust regular season, winning 53 games and compiling one of the best defenses in the National Basketball Association to the tune of finishing fifth in defensive rating in fourth in points allowed per game.
It earned them the top seed in the Eastern Conference and a matchup in the first round of the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, an opponent which shouldn’t be too hard for them to defeat.
But the definition of a successful season for the Heat won’t be about what they do in the opening round – it will be more about how they do after that, assuming they get past Atlanta.
If Miami is to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, let alone the NBA Finals, it will need a player who has barely seen the court this season to step up and be his old self.
Victor Oladipo Will Be The Heat’s Wild Card
Not too long ago, Victor Oladipo was one of the league’s more explosive guards.
He was known for his blinding speed, and he was able to get past defenders at ease, especially in the open court.
Pre-injury Victor Oladipo was such an incredible athlete. So explosive and quick. So fun. pic.twitter.com/BJiPLrzQ3t
— Jackson Frank (@jackfrank_jjf) December 12, 2020
Oladipo also made a name for himself as one of the best defensive guards in the NBA.
The 6-foot-4, 213-pound man averaged over one steal a game in each of his first six seasons in the league, including an NBA-high 2.4 steals per game in 2018.
But Oladipo’s career got derailed the following year when he suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee.
He missed a full calendar year and played in 19 contests during the 2019-20 season before it was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, he appeared in 33 games before again injuring his right quad.
In recent weeks, Oladipo has returned to the court, and he ended the 2022 regular season with a bang, scoring 40 points on 13-of-22 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 from 3-point range, to go along with 10 rebounds and seven assists.
𝙑𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝙊𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙥𝙤: 40 points, 13/22 FG, 5/11 3-pt FG, 10 rebounds, 7 assists
What a night for Victor Oladipo to close the regular season 🔥@MiamiHEAT | #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/lvDNfktKm8
— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) April 11, 2022
Miami will need Oladipo to return to form if it will return to the Finals after their Cinderella run there in 2020 while inside the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
The Heat Were Plagued By Slow Starts In 2020
When the Heat made it to the championship series in 2020, they got into the bad habit of getting off to slow starts during the playoffs.
Although they overcame that habit long enough, it put a lot of pressure on the team to be close to perfect just to make things close in the fourth quarter and give team leader Jimmy Butler a chance to put games away in crunch time.
Butler might be the NBA’s best crunch-time performer, but he is a team player to a fault, and he is not the type to go into ballgames with guns blazing.
Oladipo can help rectify this problem if he is right physically.
Assuming they get past Atlanta, the Heat will have to deal with teams such as the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics or Brooklyn Nets, all of which have plenty of firepower.
Miami may not be able to get away with consistently playing from behind in this year’s playoffs, but if Oladipo prevents it from doing so, it will have as good a chance as anyone of playing for the world championship versus whoever wins the Western Conference.
NEXT: Heat Battled Through Countless Injuries To Claim The Top Seed