ESPN picked them to finish fourth in the NBA’s East, with a trip to the conference final a possibility. Yahoo! pegged them to be a five seed in the playoffs and a 50-win team. NBA.com, most presciently, said in its season preview that if the Miami Heat’s starting five could stay healthy, anything was possible.
On Sunday, what was left of the Heat’s roster had run out of gas, the injuries and improvisations finally catching up with them in a 116-89 Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
The sting of the loss and of the Heat’s season coming to an end was still settling in for the players and coach Erik Spoelstra on Sunday evening, but it was also a moment to really consider what they had done given what they had lost.