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History suggested the Miami Heat were facing a major uphill battle when the playoffs kicked off this year, as the team that used the Play-In Tournament to clinch the eighth seed headed into the postseason knowing only one other team with that number next to its name had been able to advance to the NBA Finals.
However, Jimmy Butler and Co. have been able to repeatedly defy the odds stacked against them, as the franchise now has the chance to become the first eighth seed to win the Larry O’Brien Trophy after successfully preventing the Celtics from making history by warding off Boston’s attempt to crawl back from a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Butler may have earned Most Valuable Player honors for his performance in the series, but he got plenty of help from a supporting cast that banded together to ensure they’ll have the chance to take on Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets for all of the marbles.
Kevin Love has seen his usage steadily decline over the course of the current postseason, but the 34-year-old seems to have embraced his position as a veteran role player who may also be one of the NBA’s best good luck charms based on an incredibly unique stat.
At the start of the current season, Love had played in the playoffs a grand total of four times.
All of those appearances had come during his time with the Cavaliers, as he (along with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving) was able to not only compete in the postseason four years in a row starting in 2015 but make it all the way to the Finals (Cleveland was only able to secure a single championship thanks to a Golden State squad that won three at their expense).
Miami’s win over Boston ensured Love still has some interesting bragging rights, as the victory means every postseason campaign the forward has been a part of has ended with his team making it to the NBA Finals.
Not too shabby.