As Bucs made clear, sports can have quite a few twists

This looked like it would be a delightful little column, when the schedule came out in December, about the Miami Heat’s first rematch against the Los Angeles Lakers since last season’s NBA Finals.

Instead, that column soured, like everything about the Heat right now. The team that surprised everyone last year is surprising again this year.

The one that ranked second in the league in 3-point shooting is now 24th. It was fourth in foul shots attempted last year by showing an aggressive style; it’s 18th now. And so on.

We’ll get to all that. But first listen to quarterback Tom Brady. Hear his words in the aftermath of winning the Super Bowl for Tampa Bay as the confetti and superlatives flew for a contrarian view of this ugly Heat start.

“I think, being an athlete for a long time, rarely does the season ever just go smooth sailing,’’ Brady said. “So every team deals with adversities. It has to overcome different obstacles over the course of the year.

“Sometimes you start slow. We had a middle stretch where we didn’t play our best, and we played some really good football teams. And then sometimes you struggle a little late and you got to get it going, but this team found a way when it mattered most.

“And those moments you struggle can actually help you if you can bring yourself to look at it

that way. If you’re a good team, you can use those times to find answers. And we did.”

This isn’t to say starting 12-17 was the Heat’s plan. It’s not to detect pearls of pretty in a week in which they lost to a Los Angeles Clippers team missing four starters; blew a 15-point, fourth-quarter lead against Golden State as even coach Erik Spoelstra admitted he made a timeout gaffe; and used a win against perennial loser Sacramento to afterward offer some hold-the-line hope.

All this shows in one manner how magical and fragile last year’s run was for the Heat. Everyone knew that too, right? They upset teams right up to running into the Lakers they meet Saturday night in the Staples Center —a version of those Lakers anyhow.

Because these Lakers aren’t those Lakers. Anthony Davis, for one, is out for a month with an Achilles problem. They just got defeated Thursday by this year’s overnight NBA creation, the Brooklyn Nets.

The Lakers are still 22-8, still right behind league-best Utah, still trotting LeBron James out on the court each night to lead the way. He’s 36 now. He’s the league’s MVP so far. On Thursday, he became the third player in NBA history to score 35,000 points.

James also lacked not just Davis but guard Dennis Schroder (out due to COVID-19 protocol) against the Nets. The Heat, of course, have had players in and out of the lineup all year. That’s how another pandemic season is for everyone.

But the winning idea for the Heat is they’re more than the sum of their parts.

The issue without a LeBron on the roster is they need all those parts. That’s their slim margin of error. They need the steady influence of guard Goran Dragic, who has missed nearly half the season.

They really need the defensive game of guard Avery Bradley, who has played just 10 games and would be an antidote for some defensive holes. It’s one thing for Utah star guard Donovan Mitchell to tear them up one night, but the Clippers’ Lou Williams?

This was expected to be an odd regular season for the Heat considering their quick layoff after the finals run. Now comes a game against the Lakers to either remind you about last season’s fun or this season’s problems — take your pick.

The narrative of the Heat playing poorly isn’t wrong, it’s just not complete. Brady’s words lend credence to that.

Teams evolve through seasons. They grow — or wither. Good teams find answers in these times. Are the Heat a good team? If so, who they are in February won’t be who they become by April.

Dave Hyde