Typically, after you win the NBA title, you reach a new level of confidence. You know you can get there, you know you can win it. You have an extra gear and an awareness of that gear most teams don’t have. So homecourt advantage may not mean as much. The Heat won the title last year without homecourt advantage in the Finals, but will that be enough this year?
Ira Winderman, writing for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, fielded a question on that:Q: Watching the Heat try to win their way to another championship will be fun. Once again, home court could prove vital: What if Game 7 against the Celtics was in Boston? -- Roland, Portland.
A: Uh, then the Heat would have won in Boston? But I appreciate your overall point. Homecourt throughout the playoffs could be a particularly intriguing issue this coming season, based on the potential threat of the Lakers. But I wonder if it truly can be a pre-determined organizational decision, to play for the league’s top overall regular-season record? I think it’s something that just happens. That said, I can’t see the Heat wearing out players just for that goal, considering they didn’t have home court against the Thunder in the NBA Finals. Finishing at the top of the league could come down to the Heat’s supposed improved depth. Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and, to a degree, even a healthier Mike Miller could go a long way toward determining the Heat’s role in the overall race for No. 1.
via Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh commentary from Ira Winderman - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.
I’m not sure you can so easily say they would have won in Boston in Game 6. Part of the reason the Celtics seemed to buckle emotionally was the fact that with a chance to close out Miami at home in Game 6, LeBron James instead stole the lease and then burned the floorboards down. If the Celtics had had another crack at it, at home, in a Game 7? Might have been a different story. Maybe not. But it’s worth considering.
But his bigger point stands. The Heat need to focus on being healthy and making the right decisions for the club to where they can play as they need to in May and June. They can beat any team in the league, even the Lakers, if they bring the whole house. But they have to be healthy enough to.
With Dwyane Wade’s injury history, LeBron coming off the wear and tear of the Olympics, and the age of the supporting cast, it’s hard to see them taking the overall top seed. But even if they have to go on the road to get a few, there’s no reason to change the opinion that they are the favorites.
At least in the East.