Grading the Miami Heat across the first half of the season

After the Miami Heat went on, what some would call, a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals in the bubble last season, their clocks seemed to have struck midnight to begin the 2020 season. With injuries and Covid concerns throughout the squad, it’s honestly kind of amazing that Coach Spo has dragged this team to an 18-18 record.

Here’s just a glimpse at how many games players have missed this year due to injury and health concerns: Jimmy Butler –14, Tyler Herro – 11, Bam Adebayo – 3, Goran Dragic – 14, Kendrick Nunn –8

Those numbers are truly stunning. What that really means is that five out of the Miami Heat’s six best players ended up missing multiple games, while some wound up missing a huge chunk of the first half of the season!

Outside of, maybe, the Wizards, the Heat have been the most snake bitten team in the league when it comes to health.

The Miami Heat weren’t fortunate when it came to health across the first half of the season, but how does it reflect in their grade?

The schedule also hasn’t done Miami any favors so far. Here’s who Miami has had to play in just the first half of the season: Milwaukee twice, Philadelphia twice, Brooklyn twice, Los Angeles Clippers twice, Utah twice, Denver once, Dallas once, Golden State once, and the Lakers once.

The Heat are 3-11 in those games. Now, is that ideal?

No, because those are pretty much guaranteed playoff teams, but the silver lining is that Miami has rarely been at 100 percent strength all year. With all that being said, here is the Miami Heat’s grade over the first half of the season.

Miami Heat First Half Grade- B

This is a huge “pass” because I know Heat Twitter has been killing this team for most of the season. Were there some bad losses?

Absolutely. Losing to Detroit early on in the year was bad.

The loss to Toronto on a back to back is not ideal. Losing to the Wizards and Hawks, even though shorthanded, isn’t a great look either.

There’s also been some really nice wins in there as well, even outside of the six-game win streak late in the first half. Beating the Lakers in Staples Center was huge, while sweeping both the Knicks and Pelicans is big.

It’s not all doom and gloom in Miami. I have to believe that the second half of the season will be kinder to the Heat if they can all stay healthy.

I also believe that Pat Riley will make a move at the trade deadline to help bolster this roster. It might not be a big star like Bradley Beal, but anyone that can improve the bench unit will be a welcomed sight for Miami.