Round 1 of the Miami Heat’s 2022 playoff run was a complete joke as ’Ice Trae’ melted into oblivion.

Time to put to bed for good any notion that the Hawks got anything but fleeced with their pants down in the Luka trade.

Luka singlehandedly pushed the full strength max health Kawhi/PG Clippers to the brink last year, but it paled in comparison to squeaking into playoffs and beating the big mighty 2 seed knicks!  And then a terrifying sixers team built around a cornerstone “superstar” who was too terrified to attempt wide open dunks.

^^ something NBA fans unironically believe.

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Speaking of the sixers, they’re the Heat’s next opponent after taking down the big bad Toronto Raptors.  It only took six games and all the health of their other big cornerstone “superstar”.

Quite frankly, I’m sad and disappointed in the state of Joel Embiitch’s health for this series.  I wanted him at full strength for the full embarrassment.

Unfortunately, he gets to process his way through another summer of bullshit excuses before embarking on another fraud season tricking fans into thinking he’s some MVP caliber cornerstone.  Sucks.

I guess there’s always the chance that Doc Rivers and James Harden can save this series.  They definitely fit the profile of mentally tough postseason monsters that can overcome Heat Culture right…

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Anyway, on to the Heat themselves.  As a bandwagon local fan, I’ve enjoyed watching them breeze through this season.

They would probably be a 5 seed if they played in the West, but that doesn’t matter right now.  They are 1 seed out East and only have one challenging series next round to hit the +500 conference champ odds.

Then it’s +1000 for the title and who knows what kind of shot they’ll get against a depleted west team having gone through a gauntlet.  A tale as old as two decades in this NBA.

Coach Spo is for real.  Heat Culture is for real.  The depth, the defense, the shooting, and Tyler Herro are all for real.

Jimmy Butler is not, but he doesn’t need to be.  He just needs to be self-aware and buy into Heat Culture and not pretend he’s a superstar.  And he’s been doing that just fine all season.  With the pieces Miami has everywhere else, that’s more than enough to win.

Bring on the bucks.