BBNBA: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro return to the NBA Finals

While avoiding history, the Miami Heat simultaneously made plenty of it.

By taking down the Boston Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night, the Heat avoided becoming the first-ever team to blow a 3-0 lead in the NBA Playoffs. At the same time, Miami has now become just the second-ever eight-seed to advance to the NBA Finals, joining the 1999 New York Knicks.

After Derrick White seemingly crushed Miami’s spirit in front of their home fans in Game 6, the Heat — powered by Jimmy Butler, who was named the ECF Most Valuable Player — responded in championship-caliber fashion, quickly slamming the door shut on Boston’s hopes of winning four straight elimination contests. Considering the Celtics beat Miami in seven games during last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, it was a storybook chapter for the Heat. Just one more series left to complete the perfect ending.

“Sometimes you have to suffer for the things that you really want,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said postgame. “This group has shown fortitude, when there are inevitable letdowns and failures, to have that perseverance to pick yourself up, to have that collective spirit to keep on forging ahead until you get to accomplish what you want to.”

NBA teams facing a 3-0 hole in the postseason were 0-150 before Monday night. As of Tuesday morning, they’re now 0-151. Butler finished with 28 points for Miami while his teammate Caleb Martin (who could have easily won MVP over Butler) chipped in 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Jimmy's confidence never wavered. ECF MVP. pic.twitter.com/5bTfJ7NNvh

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) May 30, 2023

Here at KSR headquarters, we (Jack Pilgrim excluded) couldn’t be happier that Miami has made it back to the Finals. A pair of former Kentucky Wildcats, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, will have a shot at title redemption after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games during the 2020 NBA Finals, which took place in the infamous “bubble” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Miami will go up against another one-time ‘Cat in Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets. Denver will likely be highly favored in this championship matchup.

While Herro hasn’t played since April with a broken hand (more on him in just a second), Adebayo has been a vitally important piece for Miami, even if he didn’t perform up to his (often lofty) expectations against Boston. Adebayo posted 12 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists with four turnovers in over 42 minutes played for the Heat. He shot just 4-10 from the floor but played his usual tough defense that made life incredibly difficult for would-be Celtics scorers.

Yes, Adebayo struggled on offense throughout this series, but his defensive impact shouldn’t be overlooked. In Game 7, Celtics players shot 4-14 (28.6 percent) from the floor when defended by Adebayo, per NBA.com. For the entire series, he still averaged 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 35.5 minutes per outing. But admittedly, Adebayo will need to shoot better than 49.3 percent against the Nuggets in order for Miami to have a puncher’s chance. Nikola Jokic will be a tougher defensive challenge, too.

Now back to Herro, who suffered a broken hand in the first game of Miami’s playoff run (April 16) and then had surgery a few days later. He’s been sidelined ever since and was initially projected to make a potential return come the NBA Finals, although not many expected the Heat to make it that far. Fast forward six weeks and here we are, with Miami in the Finals and Herro trending toward a return. Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported after Game 7 that Herro is targeting a Game 3 Finals return.

We could have three former ‘Cats suiting up to play major roles in the 2023 NBA Finals.

Game 1 of the 2023 NBA Finals between the Nuggets and Heat is scheduled for Thursday, June 1 in Denver. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC. Denver hasn’t played since May 22 while Miami will have just two full off days before hitting the hardwood again.