The Miami Heat haven’t been world-beaters this year, by any stretch of the imagination. And n fact, they can be a lot better than a lot of performances that they have put on this year.
Losing to Memphis’ B-squad, a defeat to the Detroit Pistons, and even their recent debacle of a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers without Anthony Davis or LeBron James are examples of how bad it can look at times for the Miami Heat.
But even with all that, it isn’t as bad as those losses may seem. It’s definitely not as bad as this.
Jeff Van Gundy scoffing at Butler's stated goal to win a championship. "They can't win a championship with this roster"... But they're not bad enough to get a high pick. So this is where we are.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) January 7, 2023
The reality is that the Miami Heat haven’t quite played up to their own standards of play this year on a consistent enough basis. They are actually suited to be a better team than they have been over the tenure of this core group of guys.
The Miami Heat aren’t where they need to be, but appear to be headed there. Where they are right now though, isn’t as bad as some may convey.
Jimmy Butler is Jimmy Butler. The straw that stirs it all, he is the only one that can turn it on and off effectively and at will.
But with Tyler Herro finally figuring out a bit more consistency and with Bam Adebayo showing you what he looks like as an aggressive and assertive offensive player for this Miami Heat team, something we’ve begged for across a few years from him, this team has the capacity to be the best one in a few years when you take this core of guys into account.
The Miami Heat have three guys that can absolutely go off on you and potentially even a fourth one if Victor Oladipo continues to re-emerge as he is. Here is the other train of thought for some Miami Heat supporters though on the matter of the Heat’s current standings.
I know some of #HEATTwitter tends to like, enjoy and go out of their way to be miserable….but #HEATCulture is about to move to 9-4 in their last 13 games.
— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) January 7, 2023
Which is waaaaay better than this has maybe felt along the way.
Specifically relative to the Heat themselves and looking at the month of December up until now, they are actually four games above .500. As indicated above by Sylvander, they are 5 games above .500 in their last 13.
And in totality or proximity to the rest of the league or their conference rather, considering they will only have to beat one team from the west in a hypothetical title opportunity, they only sit 6.5 games behind a Boston team that they have already beaten this season.
And though that’s in eighth place, right now, that’s fine because there is still a little over half the season left. They face Brooklyn in their next contest on Sunday, one of the better teams in the league recently and a top team in the Eastern Conference.
That should give them a chance to make up some critical ground on a direct foe, while also giving themselves a barometer of where they are against the real contenders. You should get their best.
And as far as the grand point here goes, yes, they could be better, you expect that from them, and that they will be. But is it as bad as some would have you believe?
Absolutely and emphatically not.