NBA: Top 5 most surprising teams of the season before hiatus

Miami Heat

After having missed the NBA Playoffs for the third time in the past half-decade, the Miami Heat made a splash in free agency as they landed Jimmy Butler through a sign and trade from the Philadelphia 76ers. Still, many speculated that the team still could not compete at the highest level because, aside from Butler, they lacked top-tier talent where other teams in the conference did not.

However, to the surprise of many, the Heat finished as the 4-seed when the NBA suspended play with a 41-24 record overall. Led by Butler, the Miami Heat fired on all cylinders through the entirety of the season, heavily dependent on rookies Kendrick Nunn, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson, with first-time All-Star Bam Adebayo having asserted himself as the clear No. 2 option.

Because of their all-around efforts, the Miami Heat appeared not only to be genuine contenders in the Eastern Conference but also to the whole league. Jimmy Butler’s hectic leadership tactics have often gotten criticized due to the harshness of them, but that type of attitude helped the team flourish down in South Beach as the team seemingly embraced it.

Due to their physicality and lethal 3-point shooting, the Miami Heat were the only team to beat the league-best Milwaukee Bucks twice this season. Because of this leverage and how well they matched up physically, they appeared to be the biggest threat to Milwaukee’s title hopes within the conference in a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

For a team that got projected to miss the postseason or barely squeeze in by many, the Heat were undoubtedly one of the most surprising teams this season. If this year were to resume at some point, they could pick up where they left off and potentially make a deep postseason run.