I heard players and announcers saying that the Miami Heat will learn from this loss. But, then I thought about it: do the loser really come back after being so close? Or are the losses really that devastating (or less dramatically, are the windows of opportunity that short)?
The last time a NBA Finals loser won the next year in the Pistons in 1989 (beat the Lakers after losing to them in 1988).
The last time a World Series loser won the next year in the A’s in 1989 (beat the Giants after losing to the Dodgers in 1988).
This one shocked me :eek: :
The last time a Super Bowl loser won the next year is the Dolphins in 1973 (beat the Redskins after losing to the Cowboys in 1972).
College sports offer more hope:
The last time a College Football team lost the national championship game and won the next year was Florida State in 1999 (#2 FSU lost to #1 Tennessee in 1998).
The last time a College Basketball team lost the national championship game and won the next year was Kentucky in 1999 (lost to Arizona in 1998).
I’d say that it’s likely that the Heat will be back. They probably would’ve won if Wade hadn’t gotten injured, and I’m saying that as a Pistons fan. The Heat are a good example of what the Lakers could’ve been like if Shaq and Kobe had gotten along.
Unless something drastic happens, the Heat will return to the conference finals, if not the championship.
But the Heat lost in the conference finals. Detroit won the title last year after losing in the Eastern finals the year before. Further back, the Chicago Bulls lost in the Eastern Conference finals to Detroit the year before they won their first title.
I think they’ll continue to contend. Shaq’s on the decline, but Wade is on the ascent and he’s their MVP and best player. The last few games made that really clear if you ask me. So they’ll probably keep trying to improve the cast around those guys and they should be among the better teams in the East. Their division will probably still suck next season (Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Washington), so you figure they ought to be the #3 seed in the conference at worst.