The Miami Heat can't stop losing, and if things don't change quickly, they won't be able to deny the harsh new reality for the team.
If we hit the rewind button to December 1, it felt like anything was possible for the Heat. They ran away from the LA Clippers so badly that Chris Paul stopped playing basketball, and Miami was 14-7 coming out of that game, having won seven of their previous eight. After scoring 140 points just once last season, that win over the Clippers was the 5th time this season the Heat topped 140 points.
And on paper, what was exciting for Miami was that the first 20 games were supposed to be the brutal stretch of the season, and the schedule was supposed to get far softer during this middle stretch.
Fast forward to today, and the Heat have now lost five in a row after losing to Toronto 106-96, and there are some harsh realities starting to reveal themselves that make those first 21 games almost feel like a mirage.
Miami Heat is on a five-game losing streak
If you had told someone prior to the season that 26 games in the Heat would be 14-12 and would be in 9th place in the Eastern Conference, one spot behind Atlanta for the 8th seed, most fans would have said, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
It’s not just that Miami is on a five-game losing streak, though, that makes their current spot in the standings feel like a downer; it’s the complete 180 in style that made those first 21 games so magical.
Gone right now is the free-flowing, uptempo offense that was taking the NBA by storm. Miami still leads the NBA in possessions per game, averaging 108 per game, but last night’s loss to Toronto featured just 102 possessions, which would be 27th in the NBA if it were their season average.
Gone is the endless stream of “Ka Booms” from three. Miami has shot 27.4% from three for its last three games. That is the single worst percentage of any team over their own last three games.
Gone is the perception that maybe Miami had done the right thing to trade for Simone Fontecchio, as he has topped 10 points just once in his last ten games.
Gone is the campaign for Jaime Jaquez Jr. to win postseason awards, as he had five turnovers last night.
Andrew Wiggins continues to be a guy who sometimes is not terrible at basketball, Nikola Jovic looks like a contract extension Miami regrets, and the return of Tyler Herro has been more of a liability than a spark.
At this point it is basically Bam Adebayo and Norman Powell trying to drag this team along.
It is still a long season to go, and the upcoming stretch for the Heat is still a manageable one.
But compared to what we thought was possible just two weeks ago, the dreams of a title parade have been put on hold for now.