The Miami Heat have been on a downward spiral since making a run to the 2023 NBA Finals. That year’s team massively overachieved in the postseason, and its success papered over the now very clear cracks with the franchise’s roster construction.
Miami is a roster built around an aging star in Jimmy Butler, with a cobbled-together rotation of supporting role players.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra has lost some of his most reliable contributors from that NBA Finals team, too. Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Caleb Martin are all playing elsewhere, leaving Miami short-handed in terms of having known quantities on the bench.
The Heat’s shortcomings were on full display as they lost to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday. Jimmy Butler stunk up the court with a 1-of-8 shooting performance, while Terry Rozier (19 points) was the only player who threatened to crack the 20-point mark.
When speaking to the media after the game, Bam Adebayo admitted Miami’s loss was embarrassing. He stressed the importance of not letting that kind of performance become a consistent issue for the team as they embark on a new campaign.
“We played bad. It’s not really anything to that,” Adebayo said. “I mean, that’s, that’s as simple as I can make it. It’s embarrassing, especially on a night like this for the Godfather Riley, for us is short term memory. I know it’s the beginning of the season, but we don’t want to create this as like a getting used too thing, for us, it’s win or misery.”
Spoelstra’s team is in a weird spot. The Heat are consistently expected to contend at the top of the Eastern Conference. However, they currently don’t have enough talent to be seen as a genuine contender, especially with the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks looming at the top of the conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers might have something to say about the hierarchy of the conference as well.
Pat Riley has to make a choice. He either finds a way to add another star to the rotation, or he hits the reset button and begins to re-tool around Adebayo. Either of those options won’t make a big enough difference until next year. For now, the Heat must claw and fight to remain relevant. But, judging by their performance on Wednesday, that’s going to be a tough battle.
