NBA Playoffs Adopt-A-Team: Miami Heat, Because They’re An Underdog That Can Win

Lower-seeded teams rarely win first-round series, but the Heat have a good chance because they have Dwyane Wade and they’re playing the Celtics. SB Nation’s Heat blog Peninsula Is Mightier says this is why you should root for them.

This year’s version of the Heat is a great example of a team growing together by battling through adversity. The majority of the season was an inconsistent mess where very skilled players weren’t able to string together a solid stretch of games. Since the month of March, though, the Heat have been one of the hottest teams in the league due to them finally finding a rotation that really works.

So the point of this is to convince you to root for the Heat in the playoffs. I feel that if you are going to choose D-Wade and company you should know the situation is. Miami was bounced from Round 1 last year in 7-games against Atlanta. The goal for this year (in my eyes) is to get to Round 2.

Rooting for the Heat gives you the unique position to pull for an underdog that has a lot of talent. Here is a brief overview of what’s been going on in Heat-land:

Udonis Haslem has been playing out of his mind and should be in contention for Sixth Man of the Year. Michael Beasley has had his moments but overall has left Miami fans wanting more. Carlos Arroyo has been a pleasant surprise at the starting PG position after the supreme disappointment of Rafer Alston.

Quentin Richardson is having one the best, well-rounded years of his career. He still can hit the outside shot but his rebounding, low post game and defense have surprised some considering the way he’d been playing the last couple years. I also cant say enough about the year that Jermaine O’Neal is having; shooting over 50 percent and blocking shots like he was back in Indiana.

Ok, there is the low down on what’s been going on for the Heat. Now the question is, ‘Why should I root for Miami?’ Considering that the main (and most realistic) goal is to get through the first round of the Playoffs, right there you have the “underdog” factor working for you.

The Heat, of course, are playing the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. This is a matchup against a team that beat Miami every time they played this year, though all the games were quite close. The main issue in that series is the Heat having issues defending good point guards, and Rajon Rondo is pretty darn good. But it’s still a very winnable series, considering how the Celtics have looked recently.

Miami is probably the best ‘underdog’ team out there...so if you are looking to root for a team that could pull off some big upsets and has some really fun players to watch (Wade, Beasley), then throw on some red and black and join the Heat Nation!