The 2025 NBA Finals matchup has been decided. The [blank] and [blank] will face off for the chance to win a Larry O’Brien trophy.
What about the others who didn’t get this far, though? Why are these two teams in the Finals and the others aren’t? That’s what we’ll aim to answer here as we look at every team that’s been eliminated on the way here.
Grizzlies: Outmanned and Outgunned
The Grizzlies were already at a major disadvantage facing the best team in the entire league in the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their roster simply didn’t match up with the 68-win Thunder, who has the current MVP surrounded by the best shot-stoppers and ball-snatchers around.
The gap in rosters became extremely evident when OKC demolished them by 51 points in G1, then laid waste to them again in G2 – this time by 19 points. It only got worse for Memphis, too – their centerpiece, Ja Morant, suffered an injury of horrifying magnitude in G3.
This killed any spirit the Grizzlies had left in them. They blew a massive lead in G3 after the Morant injury, then their season ended two days later. However, Ja or no Ja, this Grizzlies team was simply not built to handle the best team in their conference.
Heat: Ice Cold
If the Grizzlies were outmatched, the Heat were biblically outmatched. Their entrance to the postseason did nothing other than validify those who believed the Play-In should be abolished entirely.
At every single opportunity, the top-seeded East team Cleveland Cavaliers buried the Heat. They won G1 by
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