The Miami Heat entered the Christmas Holiday sitting one game below the .500 mark after back-to-back defeats to the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers.
While the direct causation of their defeats can be traced back to the little things, not finishing sequences, quarters, and periods in both situations and though they manifest themselves in different ways from game to game, that’s something that the Heat have to continue to fine-tune.
That’s being consistent, continuous, cohesive, on one accord, and all going as hard as they can on more occasions than they aren’t. Those are the little things that separate the Miami Heat, no matter the talent level, and what usually propels them to overcome a lot of the losing they’ve done this year so far.
Now, speaking of “consistency”, there is another factor that has gone a long way toward playing into their current positioning in the standings as well. That would be consistent health and availability along their roster.
The Miami Heat have a ton of little stuff they can become better at, of course. However, consistent health and availability would also help them out a ton.
When you look at the 13 regular Miami Heat players, at 33 games, that would be 429 games total between them all available to have been played. And out of those 429, they have missed 92 games between them with injury or “inactivity”.
This isn’t counting traditional DNPs, as that’s a coaching decision or even cases like Nikola Jovic’s, who has been away from team getting some run with the G-League sqaud in Sioux Falls. This is all just good ole fashioned “can’t go” for one reason or another situations.
That is hurting the Heat and continues to plague them immediately after Christmas. Against the Timberwolves, the game on the day after Christmas, they’ll be without their two top bigs in Bam Adebayo for a non-COVID illness and Dewayne Dedmon, while Jimmy Butler is questionable to go.
#MINvsMIA INJURY UPDATE: Jimmy Butler (right ankle sprain) and Bam Adebayo (right shoulder sprain) are both listed as questionable to play in tomorrow's game vs the Wolves.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 25, 2022
Dewayne Dedmon (foot) has been ruled out.
Again, the Adebayo portion has since been updated to show that he is, indeed, out but that’s neither here nor there. What is, both here and there, is this fact.
The Miami Heat have been plagued and plundered by injury and availability woes to their roster all season and this isn’t complaining, as every team deals with it—it’s a case of the acutality of it all.
That just is what it is and until they can find some consistentcy there, things will continue to be tough and spotty. Hopefully, with the New Year, hope and health will spring eternal for these Miami Heat though.