The Miami Heat can’t seem to get over a controversial play from their Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics even though it occurred nearly three months ago.
The Heat brought back up Max Strus’ 3-pointer from the corner in the third quarter of that contest, which initially was ruled a good basket but was then wiped away by officials minutes later with video replay deeming Strus stepped out of bounds before making the shot.
It’s still tough to tell whether Strus truly had hit foot on the line, but it’s clear where the Heat stand on the issue. Miami used a screen grab of that play to vent their frustration after not being selected to play on Christmas for the 2022-23 season, as the Celtics were.
The Heat can remain salty all they want over the play, but they still had plenty of time to overcome the call, yet failed to do so on their home floor.
Miami’s gripe about not playing on the league’s marquee day might be valid. The Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks were the Eastern Conference teams that got the nod over them to play on the holiday.
The Heat probably should have got the slot over the Knicks, who didn’t even make the play-in tournament last year. But the Knicks play in one of the biggest markets in the league and while the Heat have turned into a perennial contender, they don’t have the star power like they used to when LeBron James was roaming South Beach.
Jimmy Butler is all fine and good, but he’s on a second tier of stars in the NBA while only hoop heads really appreciate the talent of Bam Adebayo. Other than that, the Heat don’t have many other players that can draw an audience in.
So, the Heat can just rest at home on Christmas and stew about it while they watch the Celtics and all the other matchups that day.
