The Miami HEAT beating the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season was only a surprise if you didn’t watch the games. On paper you see that the No. 5 seed knocked off a No. 1 that had been on a 63-win pace and think, ‘Oh, that doesn’t happen very often.’ And on that you would be correct.
But in the games, where records don’t matter, the HEAT looked like the better team. They were sharper. They were more physical. They presented more unsolvable problems. They looked comfortable. They had Milwaukee on their heels. For anyone watching, the surprise would have been if the HEAT lost.