If Monday night wasn’t it, I’m not sure what it will be — but the Miami Heat officially reached rock bottom against the then-15-win Charlotte Hornets Monday, losing 105-102 inside Kaseya Center. For more on that game, click here.
To summarize it, the Miami Heat blew a 17-point first-half lead and 11-point fourth quarter lead, falling on their face into another clutch game that they weren’t able to overcome. Over the final 6:45, the hapless Hornets outscored the Heat 28-14, shooting 8-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range–led by Miles Bridges, who nearly outscored the Heat (13 points) by himself.
Monday’s disasterclass–we’ve rightfully been saying that too much lately–marked the Heat’s fourth-straight loss and fifth over their last six games. Those losses have also featured:
- A blown 12-point second-half lead to the middling Chicago Bulls, who outscored the Heat 36-20 in the final period
- A haphazard final four minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers
- A blown 12-point fourth quarter lead against the New York Knicks over the final 8:03
At this point, this is who the Heat are — and it’s turned more into a mental collapse than anything. They don’t have the current ingredients to close out games on a nightly basis, and shrivel when the pressure reaches its apex. Every loss is becoming a new low, a new “how did this happen?”
The reality is, this team simply isn’t good enough right now. And with 18 games left, the answers to the test aren’t there.
Currently, the Heat are 29-35–six games below .500 for the first time since February of 2021. They have played a clutch game–defined by a game that has a point differential of five or fewer in the final five minutes–in over half (34) of their games, where they sport the league’s second-worst NET Rating (minus-15.3).
It’s become a comical recurring characteristic that’s plagued the Heat for the last three seasons. It could be the Boston Celtics or Washington Wizards–they find their way into a clutch games and, more often that not, stumble on their own two feet.
But we’ve reached the pinnacle of what’s been a forgettable last two months for Miami–in more ways than one. Monday was a culmination of how it’s transpired–pitiful shot selection, wretched turnovers and a team that continues to resemble a team that looks, well, defeated and trapped in quicksand.
And Jimmy Butler isn’t walking through that door … even though this problem existed with him, too.
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What a downward ride we have been on from the exhilaration of being in the finals just two years ago. But, you could see it coming, and every attempt to stop it from happening went awry. It’s a combination of so many factors, missed opportunities for whales, mistaken acquisitions, poor talent assessment, bad contract deals, and the aging and then abandonment by our one superstar.
Like many others, I still see a way forward with our core of four players, Bam, Ty, Wiggins, and Ware. After that, upgrades are needed. I would try to keep Mitchell too, if not super expensive to do so. After that, everyone is expendable, and any package that brings in superior talent beyond the core four is worth exploring.
Trading some of our younger players while they still have perceived upside, like Jovic and JJJ, is indicated. To be honest, our GLeaguers could adequately replace both of them. But, the GLeaguers are no answer either. And the bad contracts, Rozier and Dunc, are no brainers to move on from too.
Then, we make room for the two draft picks, and only two way players should be considered.
Any running it back or do nothing status quo attempts by the GM should not be tolerated. Riley has lost the shiny protective patina that previously made criticizing him heresy. He needs to do a better job or move on. Many forget as Dan Marino had a great career here but his last two years were marked by a continued diminishment of his skills till by the end he was not good at all. Riley had a great run, but it sure seems like his best days are behind him.
Someday we will get the excitement back. Till then we have to adjust to being where we are at, mostly by being very honest and unsentimental in our player assessments and team needs. We have to get real, relate to the new, more athletic, but also more brute strength required, nba.
Thing looks bad right now, but its not all bad.
The foundation of a good team are there. We have a good front court in Bam and Ware. Herro is one of the better shooting guards in the league. Wiggins can be a solid small forward. We have a backup point guard in Mitchell. We have some solid young players in Jovic, JJJ, Pelle and G leaguers, some of those will become better and find the right place and purpose to help this team in future.
We wont be title contender very soon, but this can be a solid team moving forward.
A thought occurred to me about Jimmy Butler’s timing. One of his many alleged excuses for wanting to move on from Miami was Riley’s failure to bring in better caliber players. I find it ironic that he played his last game with Miami on January 21, 2025. The next day, Kel’el Ware started his first game for the Heat. With Ware handling the boards and patrolling the paint, Miami has been able to move Bam to his natural position of PF.
Had Butler not created the chaos which he did and had he instead given his best effort to the team for the rest of the season, I believe he would have earned an extension from Riley. In addition, with Butler, Ware, Bam and Herro in the starting unit, the Heat would have only needed to trade for a point guard before the trade deadline, in order to become a competitive team capable of reaching the 4-6 spot in the East. If Butler had just waited long enough to see Ware’s potential, he might have decided to stay and it could have made a real difference.
Butler didn’t do that. Instead he dogged it, missed games, got suspended, quit on the organization, the players and the city and successfully got his @$$ traded. As a result, we (and he) will never know how good the Butler era Heat could have been.
Well, Heat have been a contender (arguably) for several seasons now. Other teams have obviously caught up, overtaken them. Heat could still go for the title of best play-in team 😜😝
Hitting rock bottom is good news. Unless the Heat is a rock, there is only one direction to go, UPWARDS!
Go Heat, Go!
Correction. Two ways team can go. Up or sideways, which is as a perennial play-In team that barely makes the playoffs each year only to be massacred and and doesn’t get lottery picks. NBA’s version of the space that lies between Purgatory and Hell.
In the world of dynamism or numbers, there is no such thing as lateral movement , it is either up or down. If you are stagnant, you are stagnant.
When a team is consistently too good to get into the lottery and too bad to get out of the first round, it is going neither up nor down. In effect, it is stagnating at a mediocre level. They can always drop further to very bottom level and stagnate there (e.g., Charlotte, Washington, Utah).
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Your reference to the Play in tournament is a perfect example of the world of dynamism .Teams in positions 7,8 9,10th of the league are forced to play up or down not ‘sideways’. You play “into’ or ‘out of ‘ contention. Teams no longer sit on the 8th and 7th positions waiting to play 1st and 2nd positioned teams as they did in the past.
Except this year. Miami would need to win 14 out of it’s last 18 just to have a shot at 6th place (currently 6 games behind Detroit). Or they would need to lose 16 out of 20 to possibly be overtaken by 11th place 76ers (who have lost 8 of last 10 and are 7 games behind the Heat).
If Miami loses in the play-in tournament, it will receive 11th or 12th pick. If, instead, the team enters the playoffs as the 7th or 8th seed, it will lose this year’s pick to draft pick rich OKC and probably get it’s clock cleaned by Cleveland or Boston in 4-5 games.
If the team is somehow able to get through this tough stretch in one piece, the players may yet be able to gel in the next 5 weeks. If that happens, they may be able get past the play-in round and into the playoffs. They could surprise everyone and steal a game or 2 or more from either Cleveland or Boston. Wouldn’t that be awesome? Ever hear of the 1969 (Miracle) Mets, the 1969 Jets or the 1980 U.S. (Miracle on Ice) Olympic Hockey team?
The Heat have hit rock bottom. The joy is gone from this team.
“They look like a group of guys clocking in for a job they hate. There’s an emotional fatigue weighing on them, likely stemming from the Jimmy Butler drama earlier this season. That trauma has set in, and it’s unclear if they’ll be able to shake it off this year.
Coach Erik Spoelstra is trying to stay positive, preaching about sticking together and overcoming adversity. But at this point, it feels like empty words. The Heat are the NBA’s George Costanza – no matter what they do, it’s destined to end poorly.
So, what’s next for Miami? Embracing the tank? Can Kevin Durant or another star save them this summer? Whatever path they choose, one thing is clear – this team needs an emotional reset. They need to rediscover the joy of playing basketball together.
The Heat have lost their identity. Once known for outperforming expectations and overcoming adversity, they now expect to lose. It’s a stunning fall for a proud franchise. As they forge ahead, the only thing left to do is play out the string and hope for better days ahead. The 2024-25 season can’t end soon enough.”
https://allucanheat.com/miami-heat-have-hit-rock-bottom-there-is-only-1-way-to-fix?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
besides the steelers all sports team have bad years.cant stay on top forever.we are having a bad year hopefully riley can have a howrie roseman off season