The Miami Heat had a decent season. While that may be a stretch, to some based on their expectations, that’s just what it was.
It wasn’t necessarily good, but it wasn’t the worst either. Whereas decent is usually just used to not say something was “bad”, it’s literal meaning is mediocre.
That’s what that means for the Miami Heat. They had a mediocre season.
Here was Jimmy Butler’s final take on it. It’s from an appearance immediately after being eliminated.
"Yea, we were a completely different team last year with different guys and different skillsets. But you go to war with any and everybody that you have and you hope for the best because you go out there and you can… compete. But yea, we can be better, get better, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to play with all of the guys that I’ve played with this year. I want to say thank you to every one of those guys for being in the trenches competing with me and for me. I wouldn’t trade it for the world."
With that though, it came to a screeching end at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, a team now competing for the title in the NBA Finals. Based on those words and though optimistic sounding about the future, it was definitely a teachable moment for Jimmy.
Hopefully, it was for the entire organization and team. Here are three offseason needs that were exposed in the first round series loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Miami Heat’s Teachable Moments From Milwaukee Bucks: A Guy & Duncan Robinson Diversity
A Guy That Can Get His Own
The Miami Heat need a guy that can go and get a bucket in the worst way. That was something that was hit on all season long, but was severely exposed against Milwaukee.
The Bucks would ring up the scoreboard like… a scoreboard, while the Miami Heat would have long droughts of nothing. That’s where a guy that can create for himself and his teammates out of nothing will and would have been a major help.
Kyle Lowry and Collin Sexton are guys like that, however, one of them is a more appropriate fit than the other. In that light or build, is the type of guy the Miami Heat need to bring in to avoid a similar fate going forward.
Duncan Robinson Diversification
The Miami Heat have run so much dribble handoff action over the past two seasons, that the opposing defenses, coaches, and players have to know what’s coming. This isn’t to say that they should stop that, however, they do need to develop more ways of getting Duncan Robinson free, specifically.
He could help himself there some too by continuing to develop his game. A more in-depth handle and space-creating ability would be of great service there.
Miami Heat’s Teachable Moments From Milwaukee Bucks: An Aggressive Bam Adebayo
More Offensive Aggression from Bam Adebayo
This was something that was harped on all last season and will continue to be until it’s no longer a thing. Bam Adebayo has all the ability in the world, but he has to realize and recognize that.
If the Miami Heat want to be their best selves, then Bam has to be his best self and that includes being as aggressively as humanly possible on the offensive end. The Miami Heat go as Bam and Jimmy Butler do and that’s not only on the defensive end of the floor, but on the offensive side as well.
Too often, Brook Lopez was able to sit back at the rim. It wasn’t drop coverage off of the screen, it was stay coverage under the rim.
He literally sat there and Bam didn’t, seemingly, attempt to make him pay for it, more often than not. He has to be better there moving forward.
The Milwaukee Bucks are competing for a title, so there’s that. Does it mean anything to get swept by the team competing for a title, if you are going to get swept… or no?
Likely not, as it really shouldn’t, meaning a loss is a loss. The Miami Heat could take that defeat and learn from it though.
These were the three main ways how.