"They’re like the Tom Thibodeau of teams" - NBA analyst believes Miami Heat can’t win the championship without superstars

The Miami Heat have scrapped and scraped their way to an improbable NBA Finals appearance against the Denver Nuggets. They become the first play-in team to reach the championship round and the second eighth-seeded team to make it to the finals.

Despite Miami’s incredible run, most fans do not think they can go all the way to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Chris Broussard, in “The Odd Couple Podcast,” had this to say about the Heat’s chances of winning the title:

“Effort can sometimes trump talent. Yeah, if that talent doesn’t play hard. If the talent plays as hard as the lesser talented team, they’re gonna win! What Miami teams have won championships? Shaq and Wade, LeBron, Bosh and Wade. Those are stars!

“For all this Heat Culture, and it’s legit, but you won championships the same way everybody else did. … They’re like the Tom Thibodeau of teams. They overachieve and maximize their talent but they don’t win championships.”

The Miami Heat are aiming for their fourth championship. Three of their titles were due to a star-studded lineup. They had Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade in 2006. LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Wade were mainly responsible for the 2012 and 2013 rings.

When Jimmy Butler tried to carry the Heat in 2020, they fell in six games to the LA Lakers which had James and Anthony Davis.

It seems like Miami’s overachieving ways have only brought them to the doorstep of the NBA title. The Heat can win a title series for the ages if they can pull off an upset over the Denver Nuggets. ESPN analysts predict Denver has an 89% chance of winning the championship.

Regardless of what the fans and the analysts say, the Nuggets don’t have any notion of playing as favorites. Denver forward Aaron Gordon had this to say about the Miami Heat:

“They fight, they scrap. They have no quit. … We’re not looking at the seeding or the story around it."

Here's the full podcast with Chris Broussard

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The Miami Heat may have the talent needed to beat the Denver Nuggets

The Miami Heat lost Tyler Herro in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks. He hasn’t played since, but the Heat have found ways to beat higher-seeded teams without him.

Miami also lost former All-Star Victor Oladipo two days after Herro was declared to have a broken right hand. Oladipo had another devastating knee injury that could even keep him from playing next season.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has turned to three former undrafted players to support Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Miami may not have the big-name stars of the Nuggets, but they have gems who are only starting to shine.

Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin have seemingly come out of nowhere to help the Miami Heat topple the Bucks, Knicks and Celtics. Martin, in particular, nearly stole the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award from Butler.

The Denver Nuggets know they can’t just rely on talent to win the title. They will have to at least match the Heat in intensity, hustle, grit and aggressiveness.

Fans can’t wait to see how the matchup between the Nuggets and Heat will play out.