After delivering a good first part of the season, the Heat have been stalling since mid-January. Like last season, we had to deal with numerous injuries but the Florida franchise had held up rather well until then, until an unexpected setback in Toronto, a one-point home defeat against Atlanta, an offensive disaster in Orlando and another who performed at home against Memphis.
Boston's reception this night did not come at the best time, and the Celtics were happy to pulverize them by winning 143 to 110, inflicting a fifth consecutive defeat on them. Such a series has not happened in Miami since March 2021!
The situation is starting to be alarming, particularly given the level displayed in defense.
“There were bad switches, the defensive help was bad, our contests and our individual defense. Everything was bad,” pointed out Jimmy Butler. “It didn't matter if we switched or not, we couldn't push them away. We couldn't get them to miss their shots. So whatever defensive cover we wanted to put in place, we didn’t do what we needed to do individually.”
The defense takes water, the attack stops
The problem is that the offense is also struggling. In January, Miami boasted the 28th offense in the league! On top of that, Miami had to manage the arrival of Terry Rozier and the departure of Kyle Lowry. On paper, the fit is pretty good for the Heat. It's just that it takes time for everyone to give their full potential.
“You can clearly see the positive aspects with Terry”also underlined coach Spoelstra. “He brings us momentum, speed, quickness, with that ability to get into the paint. “I think it's going to continue to take off once he understands how important this is to our offense and that we want him to be himself and be aggressive.”
Now pushed out of the Top 6, the Heat paid a high price for this period of procrastination and will have three more big meetings, in New York on Saturday evening then at home against Phoenix and Sacramento.
For Jimmy Butler, the Heat's return to form will also depend on the state of mind, and the need to find enthusiasm on the field.
“Before we even think about winning again, I just feel like everyone needs to start having fun again. Of course, it's never fun to lose. It's always better to win. But if we don't play with a lot of energy, with a smile, it will only get worse.”, he continued.
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Tyler Herro | 25 | 34.2 | 43.8 | 39.9 | 84.8 | 0.6 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 21.9 |
| Bam Adebayo | 34 | 35.1 | 49.8 | 9.1 | 78.0 | 2.3 | 8.3 | 10.6 | 4.4 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 21.4 |
| Jimmy Butler | 29 | 33.7 | 48.1 | 40.0 | 88.1 | 1.9 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 20.9 |
| Jaime Jaquez, Jr. | 39 | 30.2 | 51.3 | 35.3 | 83.7 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 14.0 |
| Duncan Robinson | 42 | 28.3 | 45.5 | 40.7 | 87.5 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 13.6 |
| Caleb Martin | 27 | 26.8 | 45.4 | 39.8 | 75.5 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 10.7 |
| Josh Richardson | 35 | 26.0 | 43.2 | 34.2 | 93.8 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 9.6 |
| Kevin Love | 34 | 18.3 | 43.8 | 34.0 | 77.4 | 1.1 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 9.5 |
| Terry Rozier | 1 | 29.4 | 27.3 | 20.0 | 100.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 |
| Kyle Lowry | 37 | 28.0 | 42.6 | 38.5 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 8.2 |
| Nikola Jovic | 17 | 18.2 | 40.9 | 41.9 | 55.0 | 0.9 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 5.9 |
| Haywood Highsmith | 30 | 21.4 | 41.7 | 37.1 | 78.3 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 5.9 |
| Jamal Cain | 14 | 14.9 | 43.9 | 32.0 | 73.7 | 0.9 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 5.7 |
| Orlando Robinson | 18 | 12.3 | 52.5 | 58.3 | 68.8 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 4.4 |
| Dru Smith | 9 | 14.5 | 45.5 | 41.2 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
| Thomas Bryant | 23 | 10.6 | 56.2 | 0.0 | 85.0 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 4.3 |
| Cole Swider | 8 | 4.7 | 47.4 | 35.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.9 |
| Rj Hampton | 8 | 9.5 | 28.6 | 12.5 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
