(Photo via Miami Heat/X)
Since emerging as the surprise team of the East at a once 14-7 record, the Miami Heat have gone an atrocious 1-8 ever since.
Tuesday night featured yet another abysmal effort from a Heat team that has plummeted from the third seed all the way to the current play-in eight seed. After a discouraging 112-91 loss to the visiting Toronto Raptors, Miami is now sitting at a .500 overall record of 15-15. The worst part? There appears to be no answers on the horizon.
Bam Adebayo’s offense remained nonexistent. Norman Powell has suddenly became inefficient. Kel’el Ware, who was coming off a terrific three-game stretch, was held to just 21 minutes of action by coach Erik Spoelstra.
The Adebayo struggles are similar to his slump from last year. The All-Star big man was held to just 9 points on 4 of 11 shooting in this one. And he has averaged 11.7 points on 37% over the past four games.
As for the Raptors, they were led by Scottie Barnes’ 27 points and 8 boards on 10 of 14 from the field. Immanuel Quickley also chipped in a statline of 18/5/7. Toronto shot 48% overall as a team and 37% from 3-point range compared to Miami’s 40% and 27%, respectively. The Raptors won the rebounding battle 50-40, including 15 offensive rebounds for second chance points.
Tyler Herro’s offense would assuredly add a boost in a stretch where the Heat have been struggling to score and lacking a go-to offensive option. However, his injury prone season continued, as he was sidelined with his toe contusion once again. Herro has missed 24 of the team’s first 30 games this season.
Even with Herro in the fold, this stretch has highlighted a long list of issues and holes that this roster really has on both ends of the floor. The next opportunity to respond will come on Friday in Atlanta versus the Hawks.
***
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Check out Hot Hot Hoops on Facebook here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
lebron cant be happy good
lakers less athletic than the heat they have no shot they need some thorughbreds
would u rather have kd or wiggy norm dav
sas clearly better than okc so much for okc guaranteed another chip.
Any of the top 10 NBA teams can get hot and beat OKC in a 7 game playoff series. Miami isn’t one of them. Its a long way until the playoffs. Anything can happen. Right now, at 15-15, Miami is the #8 team in the East and tied for #15 in the league with Golden State. One or two good trades could change that.
NOTE:
Norman Powell recently stated that players have been doing “completely opposite” of what coach Erik Spoelstra has drawn up during their recent tough stretch of games.
Following a loss to the Orlando Magic, Powell expressed his frustration, noting a lack of attention to detail and execution.
Powell indicated this had been an issue across several games, not just the most recent loss, pointing to a broader team concern with following the game plan and maintaining discipline. This public comment has sparked a conversation among fans and analysts about the team’s accountability and offensive struggles.
P.S. My wife senses a negative undercurrent currently on the team the past month or so. She seems to think it is coming primarily from Bam. Maybe he’s heard his name come up in a possible trade for Giannis.
spurs best team but wemby so long might be injury prone player
500 team sun we will look very good at times and not so good at times def of average
All the rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic won’t change anything.
Without a true ss, Miami will not see another championship.. probably not even an Eastern Conference Finals.
Time to pull the trigger on a big trade and 1-2 smaller ones Pat.
ss dont grow on trees a ss is a top 10-15 player in the league only .ss avail greek how many teams will try to get greek sun .dont know one that wont so we have 1 31 chance getting him.if he wants to go to certain teams usually gms give in so hopefully one of his desired destinations is miami..i think eventually he will be on another team.
It depends on whether Milwaukee wants to regroup and try to stay competitive or rebuild. If regroup, Bam + Herro + ? might do it. To rebuild, they would probably want Rozier, Powell, Ware, Jaquez, Jakucionis, and 3 picks for Greek, his 2 deadweight brothers, Kuzma and a 2040 second round pick.
the bulls are very white we got competition 30
So are the Washington Generals. So there’s that.
whats the generals record.bet u there defense not that good,
No, but at least they show up/are available to play on a regular basis. Not like half the overpaid/injury prone prima donnas in the NBA. Dudes making $40M, $50M $60M a year and take time off for bogus reasons. Guys get in hassles with their coaches or owners, next thing you know, they are out on long term b.s. injuries.
NBA players are the most overpaid team athletes in the world. See average annual salaries below:
NBA $11M – $12M
MLB $4M – $5M
NHL $3.5M
NFL $2.7 – $3.2M
WNBA: $100K- $113K
But, there are only five, not six, and every one of them is good, Huerter a B-, Collins a B-, Vuc a B (was an A- in his prime), Buzelis a B+, and Giddey an A. We got a bunch of C or lower players, a B- in Ty and a B+ in Jaime. There is no comparison in quality.
“There is no comparison in quality.”
Or in salaries.
Keep your eye on the ball 30 and don’t allow yourself to be distracted and influenced by other people’s biases.
Great post.
Thanks Vagi. I try to call them as I see them.
It’s not about black vs white. It’s about how much you pay and what you get in return.
Since the black players on the team are earning the lion’s share of the money, the greater share of the glory and the greater the share of the blame falls on their shoulders.
You can’t just arbitrarily give the highly paid black players all the glory and the low paid whites all the blame.
if theres 2 guys on the board with unknown nba ability y the f are u taking jacko shnozic pelle y sunman.i know the black guy 99% of the time will give u more athleticism which is a very important trait in an nba player.
Why is it you can decide who is black and who is white. White plus black = black but white plus Mexican = white. Have you seen Jaquez father. He’s about as indigenous looking as he can be.
Again, low paid white guys aren’t Miami’s problem. It’s the underperforming, highly paid black guys who are. Excluding Herro, Rozier’s salary alone is over $10M more than all the other white guys (plus Jaquez) put together.
Blaming the white guys for Miami:s problems is like blaming immigrants and minorities for all of the country’s problems while the billionaires and corporations are stealing the country blind.
It’s an inexact call. Of all the players, Hartenstein is the most difficult to define ethnicity. To me, Jaimie is a mixed type white. But, there is a growing number of mixed race stars in basketball, some of the best players, and some are the kids of former players. So, it is complex.
That is a courageous post. Gutsy. I applaud you for saying things sometimes I can’t bring myself to. And, at first I said to myself, 99% is too high. But, it’s darn close to that.
its true i try to tell it like it is almost 60 years of watching sports think im pretty knowedgeable by now
bam powell wiggy are who they are they have track recordsfirst 2 above average wiggy def of an avg nba player we need a ss .if bam could just change his role like youve mentioned lets see what we have in ware.hes on a 3pt run last bunch games but i havent seen any low post moves at all.just making lots 3s not sure if thats gonna be his game or is sustainable.what is kelel at end of season we should have a better idea
Wiggins is the weak link. Heat needs a ss SF.
Ware is 21 and already a better rebounder, shot blocker, lob threat and 3 point shooter than Bam. His defense and offense are works in progress. Let’s see where he is when he’s Bam’s age.
Bam is intimidated by Ware’s abilities and potential. He’s never been #2 big man in the starting unit. Bam needs to step up his offense and leadership. The team needs a dynamic leader not a cheerleader.
wigg is def weak i dont like his game soft inconsistent.bams good player 50 mil pats fault.powell no negatives except hes 32 ware and jjj 2 bright spots.dav dru backup types.teams in mediocre mode dont see a way out unless some team gifts us a ss
The skin colour of good players is not important, as I learned that much on this forum. I doubt that anybody here would be against Luka or Jokic in Heats uniform. But it seems that some here prefer to watch bad black players over bad white players.
I prefer to not watch any of them.
Maybe there is common ground here. Lets get rid of all bad players and get some good ones. And keep some good ones.
Exactly! Its all about good players vs not so good, regardless of color. All this talk of race is a distraction, just like it is in Washington these days. I don’t give a damn if the Heat is full of all black players or all white, brown, red, yellow or green ones. As long as the team plays hard, plays together and plays to win, I’m good with that.
Its up to Riley to put the right pieces together and up to Spo to mold them into a winning team. Right now, Riley has not provided all the right pieces and Spo is doing the best he can to mold them. Apparently, some of the higher priced pieces aren’t molding very well.
Nikola Jovic signed a 4-year, $62.4 million rookie extension with the Miami Heat
Nikola Jovic signed a 4-year, $62.4 million rookie extension with the Miami Heat, starting in season 26/27.
In 2025-26, Jovic will earn a base salary of $4,445,417.
terrible terrible contract
Rozier got that much for 2.5 years, of which he has mostly underperformed and has been suspended while being criminally investigated the rest. Jovic still has time to find his mojo before the new extension kicks in. I bet playing in Denver with Jovic could turn his season around.
thats a fair pt sun.
listen theres to many white guys on our playin team fact not even up for ?i love jjj he is such a baller gives it his all.the only other white guy i want to see is vlad.he may be able to help us hes not as slow a foot as u think and standing right next to him hes built like an nfl tight end just very tall and strong.y film boy doesnt play him spo scratcher
It’s not about just the salary, although you may be onto something there. The five of the six whites on the Heat are all in the ten man rotation and even though most aren’t paid well (the 12th man ironically is paid pretty well) they are called upon to carry a good percentage of the load in a sport where collective strength is a determiner of the quality of a team. Those guys take up a spot and need to deliver more than they do.
Now, your other comment about Arison having champagne tastes on a beer budget (or something like that) could explain why Riley has been acquiring so many whites in recent years as he didn’t do that before. Perhaps their lower salaries are part of the equation.
So it isn’t a matter of black vs white. Its a matter of drafting, trading for and developing talented players, regardless of race or ethnicity. If $20M+ players underperform, that is a problem. If rookies on $2-$5M contracts do, it isn’t as big a deal. Again, keep your eyes on the ball. Rozier and Wiggins are bigger issues than Herro, 4 white guys and a Latino.
And look at the bulls record worse than Mia and have been in the playin since it’s beginning same with Mia. That’s what happens dgaf about no underperforming black player look at the records of every team with an abundance of yt players and you’ll see a pattern Utah Mia bulls
look at football the # of quality white rbs cbs speedy wrs its called genetics sunman if u havent figured that out by now dont know what to say
Natural genetics or the systematic breeding of slaves over hundreds of years for physical superiority to be used in field labor? There are many sides to this issue. It’s not as simple as just black and white.
I agree. Even though the Bulls white guys all can play, they still aren’t that good. It says something. If the Bulls got down to Buzelis and Giddey, and even one more white reserve, they could win. And you are right, across the league, it plays out in the box scores every night, I have somewhat arbitrarily set the tipping point at four, where in a rotation of ten, having four whites in that rotation, or more, seems to impact negatively. It’s not that simple and also relates to the quality of the players and also if the white players are your eleventh or twelth they don’t hurt you. But, somewhere in that equation there is some truth and some reality that has held up for fifty years.
Quotas on whites could work. They worked so well back in the day with blacks.
That’s it. What the NBA needs is an Affirmative Action program for whites. They can call it the Jackie Robinson/Jaime Jaquez Rule.
Let’s say no more than 4 whites and one mixed race white (other than whites mixed with blacks) per team.
Under the new rule, half Mexican Jaquez would be classified as white and 1/4 black Hartenstein would be classified as black. Makes perfect sense to me.
And yet, as ridiculous as it sounds, it’s still very much what happens. I mean, do you want to win or what? If you do, than have some whites, have a nice integrated team, but don’t have too many.
BTW, the reverse is mostly true too. You seldom see the completely all black team win it all. It does happen, but mostly it’s an integrated team, with one to three whites in their top ten.
I don’t know why it is, but it does seem to be true.
The Celtics were close in 2023-24, with Porzingus as a starter, and Hauser, Kornet, and Pritchard on the bench. Then again, Tatum, Brown and White are pretty, pretty good.
If you can find me another champion with four whites in the rotation, I’d like to see it (other than the Bird/McHale Celtics). And, BTW, Miami doesn’t have just four, they have five in their top ten. I don’t think anyone has ever won with that many since those great Celtics teams from about 45 years ago.
And, things have changed a little since then. So, as ridiculous as it sounds, it’s reality and just because no one says it out loud, those quotas very much do happen and the choices teams make are not random, just efforts to win.
Bam Adebayo is quietly having an identity crisis on reeling Heat
Bam needs to step up. Over the last four games, Bam is averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds on just 38 percent shooting from the field. He’s looked lost and hesitant on the offensive end of the floor for Miami, and with all the injuries that they’re currently facing, it hasn’t been pretty overall for the team on that end of the floor.
What makes Bam’s struggles even more frustrating for the team is that this is the moment when you’d think their stars would step up the most. With Tyler Herro currently out because of an injury, and important role players fluctuating in and out of the lineup because of injuries as well, Bam has shied away more than he’s taken the lead.
~allucanheat~
I think he can be one of the best players in the NBA but he’s just an average offensive player. He has the tools to be a great player. When he drives to the basket, certain players will figure out how to use their body to get a layup, he’ll end up taking a fadeaway jumper. It’s his inability to get 4/5 of those ‘im just bigger than you and im laying the ball up.’ If everything is a jump hook or fadeaway, you’re never going to be an efficient player.
~Brian Scalabrine on Bam Adebayo~
theres no accountability in this org.mickeys bf is pat and theyve adopted a film boy.there not gonna fire their step son and mickey doesnt want to lose pat as a friend .pat can make any mistake he wants no biigy
This is true what you say about Mickey and pat being able to do what he wants in essence it’s to the point where he’s handicapped the franchise
Bam needs to stop shooting 3’s…especially thinking they’re an integral part of the offense. Teams want him to shoot as many 3’s as he can based on his woeful 20 some percentage that really equates into basically a turnover for the other team. A “win, win “ for the opponent.
Absolutely! He is trying to compete with Ware and is not in the same class rebounding, blocking shots or shooting 3’s.
AHe should stick to defense, rebounding , patrolling the paint, mid-range shots and running fast breaks. He should shoot 3′,s only when wide open and no other option exists.
His interior defense, rebounding and scoring have all been going downhill lately. He looks distracted. Maybe his wedding plans are getting in the way of his game
Herro, Bam and a pick for Gianni’s and Portis works for me. Rozier for DeRozan and Wiggins for Kuminga and second rounder sounds good.
all i want for xmas is a big pf/c and a 2way pg santa czech
I was pounding the table last year saying Mia should’ve just tanked with how bad last season went with the whole Jimmy fiasco and how the season went thereafter. Team had no business being in the playoffs let alone picking 20th with how desperate this team is in need of star talent or prospects. But “heat culture” and pride of fans and others could not fathom that and now since its inception Mia will be a playin team once again stuck in purgatory and playing two different timelines. I know what heat culture is, pat can’t get out of his own way and neither can spo that’s heat culture playin champions. Picking players in the mid to late first round hoping they will pan out and haven’t picked top 5 since 2008, now do all those players pan out no, but the team has a better chance than picking late lottery teens and in the 20s. Now the part no one here likes but as 30 and myself have stated the team is too *blank* feel free to use your imaginations there but it’s true they just are. Also if they were the right players yes no one would be saying anything but they aren’t the jokers flaggs senguns giddeys lukas etc of the world Mia picks the worse of those kinds of players and therein lies the problem. Maybe the scouting team isn’t what it once was, we know the team can’t catch a whale for nothing so what is it? My attention turns to the 80 something gm whom the game has simply passed by, also I’m interested in knowing are there other gms in the league over 50 rn besides pat? Well rant over
No ranting. I have “white” Cristmas, so I m happy.
I was just in snow flurries in NYC, and it was so pretty. Merry Christmas to you and everyone else except the grinch who has run our team into the ground.
Happy holidays to you too.
yes heat2white step bro
#
Other than Herro, all the big contracts on the Heat are going to brothers.
Lay it on them hhhf4l. You were preaching even before I was. The same reason that Jimmy left, is the same reason no whales come, is the change the GM underwent around 2019 or so. You think Giannis or any great black player is coming here to play for the great white hunter and his grand experiment in fully integrated basketball, you’re out your mind. They just use us for leverage. Charlotte made a fool of us too. And now he just gave a four year contract to an unplayable guy, We have this octogenarian, doddering leader, looks sort of like the crypt keeper, who is held totally unaccountable, and seldom even speaks to the media or responds to his fans, as he luxury cruises while the Heat ship is foundering.
No wonder we are in the state we are in.
Hello, Pat, you anywhere out there?
Bob Dylan said it best….
Idiot wind,
Blowing every time you move your teeth,
Your an idiot (Pat),
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe.
happy holidays hhh bros hope this heat team doesnt ruin your holidays its only a game doesnt mean much in the big pic of life.we re not this bad and not 14-7 good.somewhere in between with a few santa gifts(trades) should be ok.
Happy holidays to you too. Heat will win a game sooner or later.
this year?
this decade.
I cant be mad because its snowing outside.
Bam is anchoring this team to the 10th seed. Trade him & move on so Spo is forced to play Ware
Bam is a role player, this is not a slump third option at best
this is a game of long ahtletic players.we have to be the most unathletic team in the league.i dont think its close.name a team less athletic i dare u there are none ive checked the rosters of other teams.again like 30 said heat toowhite.
I never wanted to say that and only said it reluctantly. I thought it was our biggest problem. But, tonight, we found out that even though that is part of the problem, it’s far from that simple. I wish that trading a couple of our players (Niko and Ty) was all we needed to do.
But, first of all, it is a problem, not because they are white, but because both get paid too much, both get hurt a lot, and both don’t fit well on the team for reasons related to team needs. But, you could see tonite that we are probably not a deep into the playoffs team even if we did trade them. And not much will be coming back anyway from trading either of them. Because of their contracts, there is no market for Niko and way less than we think for Ty.
I’m concerned that I thought we were closer than we are. We need answers. And if we don’t come out of this soon it will be a long season.
Once again, best wishes for the holiday season.
yes rc u2 but what dowe do with this team.they might not be a playin team.i think bam ty wiggy need to go build around ware jjj and norm.we need a facelift my friend.
Heat should have a fire sale. Keep the younguns and trade off the rest to the highest bidders for young assets, trade pics, cash, drugs, whatever we can get.
drugs lol.we’ll be fine i must be on drugs.do we miss jimmys alpha personality.i m not on drugs .we can trash jimmy all we want but he was the reason we were anything.he made players around him better he was excellent in picking and choosing when to do that or takeover a game high bball iq.norms a good player but doesnt have that in his gameu saw last night when u have abunch of dawgs on the floor how hard it is too score,pat has just not gone that way in the draft for whatever reason hes drafting softer white guys t thats a major part of the problem.wigg norm are at the end of the line and are not home grown.i think keshad has some dawg in him but top 15 rather play a ghost or fonzi.goldin is one big strong mo fo with some skills and he cant even play garbage time.if i was coaching this team id never play simone and have kaspar in sioux working on him as a 2g.keshad and goldin would be getting at least 20 mins a game.them boys i believe can help i know simone and kasper cant..jovic i would have bought 2 tix to serbia what a bust he is.herro id want some of those points playing but have to hide him on d somehow. hes a 15 min player to give a spark when needed when fresh tyler hard to stop gotta keep his legs fresh playing the right guys has been spos flaw for a while.thats the way i see it hey rc pass it over to me i wanna get —
Peace be with you…Shalom aleichem
You too RC. Whatever happens, I appreciate you and everyone else who posts here.,
Best wished to you all, too.