The legend of “scary hours” will forever be linked to the Brooklyn Nets (thanks for that, James Harden), but this early into the season, it certainly seems like the Miami Heat are carving out their own version.
The rejuvenated Heat look scary. Last season, they huffed, puffed, and limped throughout, and were nowhere near the Heat we knew who made the 2020 NBA Finals. The iconic photo of a drained Jimmy Butler leaning on the stands? That’s what it felt like just watching the Heat. No amount of Big Face Coffee could anymore help it. They eventually flamed out and were booted out by the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs, with no respect nor manners.
Then the Heat got to rest.
In their first meeting against the Bucks a few days ago, they dropped 137 points on the Bucks and gave them a 42-point beating. Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro all used the pent-up energy to deliver the statement: Heat Culture is thriving. Plus, they got NBA champions PJ Tucker and Kyle Lowry to help their cause of instilling fear to opponents this time around.
The Nets have their own bone to pick against the Bucks after that painful Game 7 exit. In their first official meeting since then, the Bucks dominated the Nets.
These three teams, based on a very small sample size, look to be primed for a deep playoff run, health permitting. Somewhere down the line, the Nets, the Heat, and the Bucks will have to take each other out to claim the East.
We’ve seen what Bucks vs. Heat and Bucks vs. Nets looked like. Now it’s time for Heat vs. Nets (7:30AM on NBA TV Philippines via Smart GigaPlay or Cignal TV).
It has all the ingredients of a big-time show: the PJ Tucker-Kevin Durant heavyweight rematch, the Jimmy Butler-James Harden duel, and more.
A bonus: an early Sixth Man of the Year shootout between Tyler Herro and Patty Mills.
Heat vs. Nets has everything you’d hope for in a basketball game. Scary hours for everyone on the floor; nothing but fun hours for the rest of us.
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