Miami Heat: Grading every player at the midway point of the season

Having just passed the half-way point of the season, we breakdown the performance of each Miami Heat player.

It would be a huge understatement to say that the Miami Heat have been completely underwhelming this season. Presently in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with a 13-30 record, the post Big 3 era has certainly not gone to plan. Having lost Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in the offseason, very few had high expectations on the Heat coming into the season.

In fact, most pundits predicted the Heat to finish around the 35-win mark, a large drop off from last season’s 48 wins. Despite this, very few, including the Heat themselves, were expecting such a sharp decline in their production. A number factors come into play, such as injuries and poor form, when trying to explain this major slide in the standings.

But ultimately, when a franchise loses two hall-of-fame players in the one offseason without having the flexibility or assets to replace them immediately, it’s likely going to spell trouble. And that’s exactly how its panned out.

Without an all-star on the roster and a host of young, up-and-coming players still finding their way, it probably shouldn’t be all that surprising where the Heat currently find themselves.

Granted, the Heat have had a significant amount of their team miss multiple games at various times due to injury. So while some bad luck can explain some of their downfalls, it’d be irresponsible to lay the blame solely on their high spate of injuries.

The fact is the Heat have been competitive in the majority of their games throughout the season. But due to a combination of lack of execution and overall talent, their record indicates they are almost certainly headed for the lottery instead of the postseason.