The Miami Heat came into the game against the Washington Wizards as a team that I thought was just in need of time to get it together. After opening the season, only to play one game, before Jimmy Butler would find himself injured enough to miss games, they never really had time to get him acclimated.
Throw in the fact that, once he did make his way back, the entire team has dealt with COVID health and safety protocols since. Rightfully so and though the entire league has dealt with it as well, it’s simply illustrating the timeline.
Again, with all that going on, you wanted to chalk it up to the Miami Heat not having the proper court time or chemistry building sessions to look how they needed to look. You also have to account for the fact that most of the preseason or offseason activities were minimized, digitalized, or canceled with over COVID.
You wanted to say that after they had the opportunity to play together for a game or two, that it would all be ok and they would start to look like the team we think they should be. Well, it hasn’t happened and it’s beginning to make me wonder, especially after Wednesday night’s defeat to the lowly Washington Wizards.
The Miami Heat aren’t who we thought they’d be, which leads me here, are they just a bad team?
Are the Miami Heat just not that good? As opposed to thinking that they are a good team that is trying to stop playing so bad at the moment, do we need to be thinking that they are a bad team that is searching for something good to hang their hat on?
It’s really hard to say or differentiate right now for the Miami Heat. I really still believe that they are a good team that’s just playing absolutely awful right now.
The shots aren’t falling for them, but they’re falling in bunches and with regularity for the opposition, no matter who that opposition may be. You want to say it’s the Heat defense, but it isn’t that simple, as sometimes they play good enough defense but the shots still fall.
The Heat are allowing the lowest Shot Quality on 3ptFGA's in the league this season, which so far is a repeat of last year.
— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) February 2, 2021
There's more to it than that so it's not the end all, but that's important context for why their 3pt D appears to be "worse" in 2021.
I am not continuing to say be patient, have faith, or hang on any longer, as you deserve to question this team. However, I am saying that I still believe there’s a good team under all this bad basketball we’ve been watching.
It just needs to come out soon, or they’ll run out of games.