For the first time since Erik Spoelstra took over as head coach in 2008-09, the Miami Heat are in the midst of an eight-game losing streak. They also dropped to 10 games below .500 for the first time since 2016-17 and have only continued to rise in the lottery ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.
While the Heat have been mediocre for much of the last three seasons, this is unfamiliar territory for Spoelstra, who took accountability after Monday’s 116-95 loss to the Jalen Brunson-less New York Knicks.
“There is no one that’s absolved from this. I have not come up with enough answers for this team. I have to do a better job,” he said. “Our group has to do a better job. We have to put our feet into the dirt and hold our ground at this point.
“We have to take strides where we’re making progress. And it felt like we were making progress even with some of the losses in the last three weeks; we felt like we were making strides. The last two games haven’t felt like we’re making those kinds of strides.”
The Heat has been one of the worst second-half teams in the NBA this season. In the third quarter on Monday, they were outscored by 26 points–41-15–for the second time this season after being outscored by 26 points in a single quarter just twice over the team’s previous 33 seasons.
It also marked the 14th time the Heat scored 15 points or less in a single quarter, three more than any other NBA team. Miami’s second-half NET Rating is the sixth-worst in the NBA at minus-6.0, including a league-worst minus-16.1 since the All-Star break.
While the team obviously isn’t as talented as it was with an engaged Jimmy Butler, nobody expected the lows to be this low. We could play the blame game all day, but there are currently no answers for a team that looks way too mentally fatigued–especially after opponents begin to creep up after double-digit deficits.
This year has been one of Spoelstra’s worst years as head coach. He’s not just a mad scientist, he’s the mad scientist. He’s done far more with less, so it’s weird to see him look as visibly defeated as he did Monday–even though there are still 14 more regular season games (plus at least one play-in game) to find the answers he’s yearned for the last two months.
“We have not come up with solutions and we’ve pretty much tried everything,” Spoelstra added. “I have not been able to come up with solutions for [the second half struggles]. This has been one of the biggest challenges of a regular season that I’ve been part of. We just have to stay the course. … I think this is a great challenge for every single one of us to overcome and to have a breakthrough.”
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watching butler play with curry sitting out he looks incredible.hes playing at a level like i never thought he could get to anymore. the better he plays the more i disrespect him.
The better he plays, the worse he looks in the eyes of true Heat fans for dogging it for a year then outright quitting on his teammates…all for his ego’s gratification and greed. He never really bought into Heat Culture all these years, he only tolerated it.
he loved being down here sun.riding horse in dt miami with big cowboy hat.following in the steps of fellow marquetter.loved the tennis even rumored to be dating coco gauff.he loved it down here but then riley happened
Maybe. Then Butler reverted to his old habit of forcing a messy break-up when he wanted to move on (as he had previously done in Chicago, Minnesota and Philadelphia). Bottom line, he wanted to get paid AND play for a team with a superstar. With Golden State he got both, as he would have with Phoenix if he had been traded there.
We can all now clearly see that he was sandbagging (deliberately playing below his capability) in order to lower his value and increase his likelihood of getting traded to one of his preferred destinations (Phoenix, Golden State, Dallas or Houston). In the end, that’s exactly what he got!
You can rightly blame Riley for a lot of things. You can’t blame him for Butler’s sandbagging for a year then quitting on the team (and the city you say he loves so much) entirely. That is 100% on him. He doesn’t deserve his jersey in the rafters in Miami. Maybe Chicago, Minnesota, Philadelphia or Golden State will give him one. F*** him!
if riley didnt head to south beach 30 years ago we might have been the det pistons so i really cant rip him to bad.but now we are the detroit pistons and im not sure he can dig us out of this mess
Nope. The times have passed him by. Heat must now evolve or become irrelevant.
I’ll wait for the season to end before deciding if Spo stays or be sent back here in the Philippines 😳
LMAO! 😅
phillipines please
To coach a random primary school third team?
The solution ironically might be a physical and mental rest for every one. Go back to ground zero.
Send them here to relax in our beaches 😁
They gotta finish what they started…the best they can. Then the beaches and some San Miguel.
Too humid.
Miami is too humid too. Humidity sucks!
Watching Spo on the sidelines, I literally feel his anguish. He is doing all he can. Giving guys as much time to be on the court. I applaud him for doing that much for a man who desires success, he could resist temptation and overuse guys in the process. It is not all on Spo. The scouting team, the shooting coach, are all part of the team. Spo is using what he has. If you want to ride a luxurious car, you got to make the required payments, FO, I hope you are reading this?. Carnival cruise is not for those who cannot afford it either.
All hope is not lost. The team has to get to the basics. Defend the ball on defense and put it in the basket on offense.
The Miami Heat have entered the NBA tank raceThe Miami Heat could turn this collapse into a chance to add an elite talent in the NBA
draft.
“The Miami Heat are in a tailspin. After dropping their eighth straight game in a blowout loss to the New York Knicks, the Heat have plummeted to the ninth-worst record in the league. This isn’t just a rough patch — it’s a full-blown collapse.
This isn’t turning around in any meaningful way. They’re getting blown out by 30 on the regular. The third quarter against New York was an absolute disaster, with the Knicks outscoring Miami 41-15. It’s gotten so bad that even Tracy Morgan couldn’t stomach watching courtside, literally puking on the floor. When celebrities are vomiting at the sight of your team, you know things aren’t awesome.
“We have not come up with solutions and we’ve pretty much tried everything,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “This has been one of the biggest challenges of a regular season that I’ve been a part of.”
The Heat (29-39) are one of four teams within a game of each other in the standings, along with the Spurs (28-39), Bulls (29-39) and Trail Blazers (30-39).
Tanking is a forbidden word in Miami but, for a franchise that hasn’t had a top-10 pick in ages, this is a golden opportunity to inject some desperately needed talent. If the front office believes it can find a difference-maker in the top 10 of this draft, it might consider manipulating the standings.”
https://allucanheat.com/miami-heat-have-entered-nba-tank-race?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
Pat has a history of pissing off Heat greats. Timmy, Shaq, LeBron, Wade, now Jimmy and probably several others. Why so public with Jimmy? Taking it private would’ve obviously been the best approach. Now…it’s a complete mess on so many levels. Whale hunting begins again…
Whale hunting hasn’t worked. I would prefer to see the team re-build using the draft, trades and free agent signings around the core of under 30’s (Ware, Bam, Herro plus the players still on rookie contracts and the G Leaguers). Next season should be the year Miami sheds salaries and truly begins the re-tooling/re-building process.
Depending on which of the preceding players Miami decides to keep or trade, today’s Miami Heat team should look substantially different by the beginning of the 2026-2027 training camp.
To the extent possible, Miami should make every effort to trade players who do not fit in the team’s long-term plans. This group, at minimum, could include: Rozier, Robinson, Anderson and Highsmith. To the extent possible, Miami should attempt to obtain young players with potential and/or draft picks wherever possible. Otherwise, the team can wait until the contracts expire after the 2025-2026 season.
*Robinson’s contract has a guaranteed salary of $9,888,000 if the team decides to opt out/buy him out before the 2025-2026 season -or- a salary of $19,888,000, if the team decides to opt in. If the team does opt in, it could be for the possible purpose of trading him for younger player(s) and/or draft pick(s).
Meanwhile, we must all endure what has become the slow death known as the 2024-2025 season. Hopefully, in addition to player personnel changes, there will be other organizational changes that will allow the team to move on to better days by 2026-2027. Personally, I would like to see Riley retire, Spoelstra moved into his position and a new head coach hired. But, that is a discussion for another day.
dam thats what i call a lebron post wow awesome sun u the man
Thang ya vera mush. Thang ya.
Thats really sad.
Again, we are not that bad.
yes we r
The solution is to play the youngsters and see if they can help. You haven’t tried that. The team you put on the court isn’t good and no coach can fix it. Give up and play the kids. Look to the future. You may find a diamond in the rough in the four GLeaguers (add Little to that group).
There is nothing to lose. Face the truth, you can’t coach up these guys enough to make a difference.
wrong eric pat has to get u better players.your stepfather is the problem.
I can’t rec this comment enough. When will this site point the finger at the problem?
One more thing. Anyone who blames the owner is wrong too. We were a second apron team. There is nothing more you need to know than that about the owner. As they used to say on SNL, about the great Julia Sweeney, It’s Pat!
mickey is part of the problem to he will never fire pat or his grandson spobot.also in the past he has been cheap on not wanting the luxury tax (mike miller) comes to mind
2/3 of all the owners in the NBA (20 of the 30 teams) spend less money than the Heat. So, by these standards, only 9 of the 30 owners are not cheap.
Also, and I won’t waste much more of my time explaining the CBA. If the season ended today, the Heat would have the #9 pick (we have the 9th worst record at this moment). If the season ended today and they were over the second apron, instead of the #9 pick, they would be penalized and get the #30 pick!!!! If that happened, a lot of people here would be complaining and extremely pissed off.
I agree 100%. There are ways to rebuild and ways not to do so. The Heat must do it in a planned/organized manner. As we’ve seen, simply running it back with minor tweaks and half-ass re-builds just won’t cut it in today’s NBA.
ez to rebuild get rid of bad players 75% of team and get 1 great player and 2 wayers no more duncs please
wow under the apron then ty rc 4that.good info
Thank you. This season has been a total disaster. The opportunity is there to get this team back on track with good strategic planning.
u and sun man have the strategy please name some players u think are acquirable.ive not heard of any but kd
Hasn’t been the same since he signed that extension, dk if he’s battling legal drama with the divorce or what but it’s been a steep decline
Probably a combination of the divorce and ongoing stubbornness issues with end of game rotations amplified by not at least playing the youngsters.
Spoelstra relied heavily on Butler’s input. When Butler’s relationship with Riley went south, so did his relationship with Spo. At this point, with all the drama in his personal life and the team, I think he is just burned out and mentally/emotionally exhausted. I think what Spo may need is a change of scenery.
If, by this summer, it is determined that Popovich will not be returning to coach the Spurs, maybe a deal can be worked out for Spo to go to San Antonio in exchange for a young player and a draft pick (or two). Maybe they would be willing to take Spo (and also take Rozier’s expiring contract off our hands) in exchange a younger player and a couple of second rounders. Just dreaming out loud.
terry might be pete rosed out of the nba
I think that criminal investigation will weigh heavy on his head until it is resolved, one way or the other.
gotta be effecting his play terrys way better than this
Yup. He’s trying but his mind is elsewhere.
give spobot bron dwade jimmy hed be fine ITS DA PLAYERS