Boston, MA
Dave Hyde: Long odds? Heat face the longest of all against Boston
MIAMI — The Miami Heat have created some epic playoff upsets in recent years to define their organization and further “Heat Culture.”
This coming chance would dwarf them all.
The Heat were a fifth seed that beat the fourth (Indiana), first (Milwaukee) and third (Boston) seeds en route to the Bubble NBA Finals in 2020 during the pandemic.
None of those compare to the dizzying odds starting Sunday against top seed Boston.
They were the lowly play-in team last year that beat top seed Milwaukee in five games. That was followed by the Game 7 stunner in Boston on the heels of Derrick White’s game-winning tip in Game 6 that threatened to bring the Celtics back from a 3-0 series deficit and steal the Heat’s soul.
Remember? The Heat rallied so furiously right from the start of Game 7 that Boston fans began booing and TNT’s Charles Barkley said at halftime, “Watching these dumbass Celtics play is making my head hurt.”
Yes, the Heat have had some epic upsets.
And you can combine them all, throw in David’s slingshot, Buster Douglas’ right hook on Mike Tyson and Al Michaels shouting, “Do you believe in miracles?” — and only then are you nearing the neighborhood of long odds starting with Game 1 Sunday in Boston.
They don’t even have to win the series without star Jimmy Butler.
They just have to somehow make it a series.
Win a game. Threaten to take two. Can you expect any more? And isn’t it unfortunate to have to frame it like this?
“We want Boston!” the Heat fans chanted in a cute and celebratory way while drubbing Chicago 112-91 in what showed some organizational bona fides.
They got Boston.
“It’s going to be a dogfight,’’ Bam Adebayo said.
Bless him.
“It’s going to be fun,’’ Jaime Jaquez Jr. said.
He’s a rookie.
The Heat have no chance in a best-of-seven series without Butler and probably injured guard Terry Rozier. None. Stating such ill-fated realism would mean banishment from the Heat, considering that’s exactly what Adebayo told any player who didn’t think they could beat Chicago on Friday for the final -play-in spot.
“It only infects those who think we can win,’’ Adebayo said after the Heat’s win.
He sees this series as an opportunity, just as he should. It’s the biggest opportunity of all. Boston was a dominant 64-18 this season and has all players healthy and rested. The Heat were the last-play-in team in the East to the playoffs are down not just Butler but guard Terry Rozier.
Boston isn’t going to be taking the Heat lightly, either, after stewing since last spring over their loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“We failed,’’ Boston’s Jaylen Brown after that Game 7. “I failed. We let the whole city down.”
The Heat created such pain the Celtics re-did their blueprint. They traded veteran leader Marcus Smart for Porzingis. They brought in tough guard Jrue Holiday. Their two All-Star wings in Tatum and Brown now have the cast to help them.
Can the Heat dent them over a series? Sure. Coach Erik Spoelstra will come up with some strategic wrinkle. He threw a shifting zone at Philadelphia that stumped them for a quarter in the first play-in game.
On Friday, he had Adebayo defend Chicago star DeMar DeRozan. That meant 205-pound Nikola Jovic, a kid at 20, was matched against 260-pound Nikola Vucevic. It all worked, too. Chicago was lost in the opening quarter.
Spoelstra also prepped his team for Friday’s game in the way a good coach does.
“What we talked about (Friday morning) was to forget how we got here,’’ he said. “We could be frustrated. We could say it sucks. OK, when you pass all that, you say we have a came of this competition and these consequences. We have a bunch of Type-A competitors. I wanted them to embrace it, to feel it and enjoy it.”
Didn’t he create a good, new narrative for that game?
“I have an appreciation for the things you can’t buy, the things that you have to earn,” Spoelstra said. “We had to earn this. You can’t influence it. You can’t pay money for it. You actually have to collectively come together to earn it — and we had to do it the hard way, just to get this first ticket punched for the invitation to this dance.”
Their ticket is punched. Boston awaits. This franchise has had some defining upsets in recent years. This one would re-define all of them.
Boston, MA
Downtown Crossing was once the busiest T station. Now there's a new No. 1.
Boston, MA
No charges in Massachusetts after 4 newborns found frozen, wrapped in tin foil inside Boston apartment: DA
In a shocking move, the Suffolk District Attorney in Massachusetts announced on Tuesday that there will be no criminal charges filed in connection to the investigation involving the disturbing discovery of four newborn babies found wrapped in tin foil inside a freezer in the home of a Boston woman who “concealed her pregnancies.”
“This investigation, which is one of the most complex, unusual and perplexing that this office has ever encountered, is now complete. While we have some answers, there are many elements of this case that will likely never be answered,” DA Kevin Hayden said in a press release.
On the afternoon of Nov. 17, 2022, Boston police responded to a home for a 911 call about a possible baby located inside a freezer. The call was later updated to involve multiple babies, according to officials. The caller explained that he and his wife made the grisly discovery while cleaning out his sister’s South Boston apartment.
Investigators determined that the apartment was owned and occupied by 69-year-old Alexis Aldamir.
DEAD BABY DISCOVERED AT UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA IN FLORIDA
In all, four babies were discovered that day. Investigators said all four were frozen solid in shoe boxes wrapped in foil. Two were male and two were female, and DNA tests determined that they were all siblings. They were also believed to be between 37 and 40 weeks.
The medical examiner reported that there was no scientific method to determine how long the babies had been frozen. The autopsy found no signs of internal or external trauma and no evidence of obvious injuries. The report also noted that there were no signs of food, or milk, or formula inside the babies’ stomachs.
The medical examiner also found the cause of death for all the babies to be “undetermined” and that it could not definitively determine whether the babies had been born alive.
Investigators were able to locate Aldamir in a residential healthcare facility, and eventually gained a court order to obtain a DNA sample. The results confirmed she was the mother of the four babies.
GEORGIA BEAUTY QUEEN ACCUSED OF MURDER IN DEATH OF BOYFRIEND’S TODDLER SON
Co-workers of Aldamir, who was employed by an accounting firm in Boston from March 1980 to October 2021, described her as a “heavy-set woman who had a penchant for wearing loose-fitting clothing regardless of the season.” They also told investigators that they had no idea she was pregnant.
Additional DNA testing revealed that the father of all four babies had died in 2011 and that Aldamir had given birth to one baby girl in April 1982.
Investigators also found two parental rights surrender forms, one signed by Aldamir and the other signed by the individual determined to be the father of the four frozen babies.
Through their investigation, officials determined that Aldamir had five children with the same man and that they gave one of their children up for adoption. The other four were found dead in Aldamir’s apartment in November 2022.
Investigators stated that they ran into several challenges when working to determine if any crimes could be proved.
First, to charge any homicide, investigators said there must be evidence that the victims were alive. There must also be a cause of death determined by the medical examiner.
KIDNAPPED BABY HALO BRANTON FOUND AT NEW YORK ELECTRIC PLANT DIES AT HOSPITAL; NO ARRESTS ANNOUNCED
In this case, investigators cannot prove that the babies were ever alive, and they have no cause or manner of death.
Second, investigators said the autopsy found no signs of internal or external trauma to the babies and no evidence of obvious injuries.
Third, since the father is now deceased, investigators said he cannot not be charged with any crimes.
Lastly, investigators stated that Aldamir’s ability to stand trial was also in question.
When Aldamir was later questioned about the babies found in her apartment, she “appeared confused and demonstrated a lack of understanding about where she was and who she was speaking to,” according to investigators.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“A prosecutor’s office cannot ethically move forward with a case that, in good faith, it believes it cannot bring to trial. Here, based on the evidence obtained throughout the investigation, including the many unanswered questions about the cause of death of the four babies, prosecutors have made the determination that they will not be able to bring this case to trial. Therefore, this investigation will not result in criminal charges,” Hayden concluded.
Boston, MA
Newest Red Sox infielder ‘ecstatic’ after ‘best-case scenario’ trade
After a chaotic five days in which Zack Short was designated for assignment by the New York Mets and traded to the Red Sox in exchange for cash, the infielder was thrilled with the outcome.“This is the first time I’ve been designated during the season,” he said before his debut on Thursday. “It’s not fun, […]
Subscribe to continue reading this article.
-
News1 week ago
Larry Webb’s deathbed confession solves 2000 cold case murder of Susan and Natasha Carter, 10, whose remains were found hours after he died
-
World1 week ago
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns, transitional council takes power
-
News1 week ago
First cargo ship passes through new channel since Baltimore bridge collapse
-
World1 week ago
US secretly sent long-range ATACMS weapons to Ukraine
-
World1 week ago
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez suspends public duties to 'reflect'
-
News1 week ago
American Airlines passenger alleges discrimination over use of first-class restroom
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Humane (2024) – Movie Review
-
Education1 week ago
Video: Johnson Condemns Pro-Palestinian Protests at Columbia University