Ties to Finals go beyond LeBron
The Miami Heat were eliminated from the playoffs more than five weeks ago. But the Heat have plenty of ties to the Finals, which start tonight and pair Cleveland and Golden State for the fourth consecutive year.
This isn’t exactly how Miami wants to be connected to the 2018 Finals, but here are six Heat ties:
LeBron James: Let’s get the most obvious out of the way first. James is playing in his eighth consecutive Finals, half with the Heat and half with the Cavs. With Miami, he won two titles. Unless the Cavs pull off the upset, he will be 1-for-4 with Cleveland.
A Finals four-peat: The Cavaliers and Warriors join just three other franchises to appear in at least four consecutive Finals, including the Heat, the last to do it from 2011 to 2014 with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Until then, just the Celtics (1984-87) and Lakers (1982-85) had accomplished the feat. Boston also appeared in 10 straight Finals from 1957-66.
Kevin Durant: The Heat were one of six teams the former MVP met with during the summer of 2016, giving the contingent led by owner Micky Arison and president Pat Riley about two hours of his time in the Hamptons. The Heat thought they were in a good spot considering they were the second-to-last team — in front of the one he had played with for the first nine years of his career, Oklahoma City — to meet with the jewel of the summer’s free agent crop. But in the end, it was Golden State, which sent Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala to the meeting, that landed Durant. The quintet has now become known as the “Hamptons Five.”
Okaro White: Okaro White has not played a minute this season for the Cavaliers, and he’s been on the inactive list for all 18 playoff games, But he’s in the Finals. White, from Florida State, turned two 10-day contracts with the Heat during the 2016-17 season into a two-year deal. He started this past season in Miami and had surgery for a broken foot a month into the season. White was traded to Atlanta on Feb. 8 for Luke Babbitt, waived by the Hawks and signed to a 10-day contract by the Cavs. Cleveland then signed him for the rest of the season on April 6, giving him a front-row seat for the entire playoffs.
The Cleveland staff: Former Heat players James Posey and Damon Jones are a part of Tyronn Lue’s staff. Posey played two seasons with the Heat (2005-07) and was a key member of the 2006 title team. Jones played one season in Miami (2004-05) but made his mark. Jones played in all 82 games, starting 66, and set a franchise record with 225 3-point field goals, a mark that held until this past season when Wayne Ellington recorded 227. Jones then signed with the Cavs prior to the 2005-06 season.
Shaun Livingston: The Heat took a chance on Livingston, signing the free-agent guard in October 2008 after a knee injury forced him to miss the entire previous season. But three months later, and after playing in just four games for the Heat, Livingston was traded to Memphis. Since, Livingston has been with eight different organizations, waived four times and traded twice before finding a home with the Warriors in 2014. He joined Golden State at the start of their Finals run and now has been an integral part of two (and, perhaps, soon to be three) title teams.