The 2023 NBA Playoffs are shaping up to be an exciting matchup between favorites and underdogs. For the Miami Heat, who are headed toward joining an exclusive club, it is a fairytale. Everyone’s final choice to make it to the NBA Finals was the Heat. It is surprising that the Heat have progressed this far given the number of deserving teams in the playoffs. Miami is still only one victory away from making the NBA Finals.
Any team that enters the tournament as the eighth seed will probably lose in the opening round. Additionally, they receive a lower draft pick. Rarely does an eighth seed advance through the Conference Finals, much less the first round, with everything working against them. Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat entered the playoffs as the 7th and 8th seeds, respectively, this time around. But both clubs, which play in separate Conferences, put on a show.
HEAT TAKE A 3-0 LEAD ON THE CELTICS pic.twitter.com/C4NaCejYx3
Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2023
The Denver Nuggets take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals, putting the Lakers in danger of losing. The Heat are still doing well and are just one victory away from securing a position in the NBA Finals. Their second trip in the NBA Final in the previous five years. It was widely anticipated that the Boston Celtics would defeat the Miami Heat, but that assignment is now looking all but impossible for them.
The New York Knicks is the only 8th-seed team to reach the NBA Finals
As an NBA 8th seed, only one team has ever advanced to the NBA Finals. It was the New York Knicks, who in the 1998–99 season had a great chance to win the championship. With a 27-23 record in the East, the Knicks secured the 8th seed.
The last time an 8th seed reached the NBA Finals was almost 2 decades ago. However, there has never been an 8th seed to win the title. The Knicks managed to reach the Finals in 1998 but were left heartbroken by the No.1, San Antonio Spurs. It would be the first of five NBA titles for Tim Duncan and Greg Popovich in the next 15 seasons.
The Spurs put the series to bed after winning the series in 5 games. It was enough for the Spurs to see out the Knicks 4-1 in the series. Despite all the heroics from the Knicks, they couldn t handle the pressure from the Spurs. They were destined to win the title right from the start of the playoffs. The Heat have a genuine chance to win the title, at the pace that they are playing.
