Miami Heat 's "Big 3" were eyeing a second consecutive title in 2013, but who would have thought they needed Chris Andersen to achieve it? After all, Birdman joined the team late after getting himself embroiled in some weird controversy .
Little did anyone know Andersen was just what the doctor ordered for the Heat . The squad lost only three of the 42 regular-season games Birdman appeared in. Including the first two rounds of the postseason, the Heatles went 47-4, a 72-win pace over an 82-game season.
That's absurd, however you look at it. Still, Miami was just about to realize how important Andersen's presence was against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Make no mistake: the Heat were favored over the Pacers, but the latter had a unit that could cause problems for the former. Indiana had a huge frontline, while Miami was top-heavy and played small ball most of the time.
The season series between the two teams was almost even. Indiana won in double digits twice, while Miami stole a 103-102 overtime victory on January 8, 2013 and a 103-87 victory in a mid-November 2012 contest. Both teams won one game at home and one on the road.
That same theme was expected to emerge again in the Eastern Conference finals. The series went the distance, and both teams split the first four games, both at home and on the road. But Game 1, the lone overtime contest of the series, undoubtedly belonged to Andersen.
Birdman played a literally perfect game. He saw 18 minutes of action off the bench, scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked three shots.
More importantly, he set a then-franchise record in most field goals made without a miss (7), eclipsing the previous mark set by Alonzo Mourning. Zo had a 6-for-6 outing in a 2007 playoff game opposite the Chicago Bulls .
"An honor," Andersen shared his thoughts about breaking Mourning's record. "But at the same time, my main focus is the Indiana Pacers and trying to get to that championship."
Unlike the 2012 version, which featured Joel Anthony and Ronny Turiaf , the 2013 Heat started Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem and adopted a more pace-and-space approach.
The more agile Birdman came in handy. Even though he was not a constant perimeter threat, he provided vertical spacing and his constant movement always gave LeBron James and Dwyane Wade a release valve inside.
"He's changed their team dramatically," said Pacers Coach Frank Vogel. "Just phenomenal rim protection, great finishing at the basket, toughness, size — all the things that everybody was critical of this team for the last two years, he's brought that. I think it's been a major, major difference maker."
To illustrate how huge Birdman was for the Heat off the bench, he scored only seven fewer points in total than Ray Allen (50), while playing 49 fewer minutes. Andersen made his first 15 shots of the series and tied Dwyane Wade for second on the team in total blocks (eight).
Therefore, it's not a stretch to say the Heat may have been in serious trouble without him. The Pacers were built to bully the Heat in the interior, but Birdman's help defense kept them from getting to the rim. Everything Miami was missing from last year, Andersen provided.
"He fit in with this team like he's been here the whole time, the whole three years," D-Wade stated.
Sometimes, the missing piece isn't the biggest name in the room. For the 2013 Heat, the answer came in the form of a heavily-tattooed journeyman with the spiked hair and menacing stare.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
