14 games into the Miami Heat’s season but about a week before the Thanksgiving benchmark, it’s too many games to call analysis preemptive but not far enough along to freak out, unless you’re the Los Angeles Lakers.
Regardless, the East is looking like it might be even tougher than predicted at the top. Jayson Tatum is getting MVP buzz, the Bucks are plugging along as expected, and Cleveland is spewing with talent.
The Miami Heat, meanwhile, have positioned themselves in the middle of the pack, somewhere worse than tanking this year. There they sit with seven wins and seven losses, 0.0 adjusted net rating, 17th in adjusted offensive rating, and 14th in adjusted defensive rating per Dunks And Threes.
Statistically, it might be a little early to be too concerned, but something has to change if this team wants to contend or at least find their footing by Christmas. And here are a few options.
3 Likely Changes Headed For This Miami Heat Squad If They Are To Compete
This is, both, the simplest and the most likely.
1. Jimmy Butler Goes Nuclear
Jimmy Butler has gone on tears before, proving his value time and again as a singular winning entity.
His history and pedigree don’t beg the question of “if” but more so “when” we will see it this year. To contradict a bit though, this is his 12th year, he is already 33 years old, and has a history of injury.
He hasn’t logged a season over 60 games since 2019. He has the talent and the will, but there is legitimate concern about how much he might have left to give.
Stat-wise, he’s giving what has come to be expected of him but can all that much more be expected? Hence, the term “nuclear”.
He would have to find a new level and that’s—even for him.
The Miami Heat Coaches And Front Office May Have To Help Their Guys Out A Bit
2. Eric Spoelstra Figures Something Out
This one is nearly just as likely to occur as number one. Erik Spoelstra is one of the best 15 coaches in NBA history, so it’s not out of the realm of expectations for him to start finding a way to blend the talent a little better.
Looking into just the lineups there might be something more to uncover. A lineup featuring Jimmy, Kyle Lowry, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, and Bam Adebayo is scoring 141.3 points per 100 possessions and a plus 31.5 differential.
This is Spo’s second-favorite lineup at 143 possessions but it’s more than likely that he and his staff are taking notice of this, looking into what has made it work so well.
That’s just, kind of, what he does.
3. A New Star Becomes Available
This is the NBA and after a whole summer and an even more unpredictable last few weeks, it’s just a matter of time before another star makes themselves available. For Miami, those deals have been rather difficult, as they usually don’t have the draft capital other teams want.
However, this possibility shouldn’t be ruled out for Miami. They have some tradable players and there might be a team willing to bet against the Heat’s future picks.
Whatever it may be, something will need to happen for this Maimi team. They knew that the East would be tough at the top but there might even be some middle teams to worry about now too.
Things can’t go on as they have been if this team wants upper playoff seeding. But you trust they’ll strike the right keys as the season progresses.