The Miami Heat have clearly begun to let go of the rope, losing six of their last seven games. So much so that the team's hope of breaking out of the Play-In Tournament picture is slowly beginning to fade. However, this late-season collapse isn't as sudden as perhaps some may think.
If you've been paying close attention, the Heat's fade down the Eastern Conference standings has been weeks in the making.
The Heat's slow fade has been weeks in the making
Sure, as you'd expect, over the last seven games, the Heat has been quite bad. During that 1-6 stretch, the Heat has a below-average offense and the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league. That's hardly surprising. But taking it a step further, these struggles could be seen in the distance.
Since the NBA All-Star break, the Heat has struggled on the defensive end of the floor. So it wasn't just giving up 149 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night, in a 21-point loss. That may have been the tipping point for Erik Spoelstra, but this is a team that has been slacking on that end of the floor for weeks.
Over that 18-game span (since the All-Star break), the Heat went from having a top-5 defensive rating (pre-All-Star break) to the 18th-best defense. That's a huge drop-off.
It's even worse considering how much the Heat has struggled with consistency on the offensive end of the floor this season. It's no surprise that the Heat are just 10-8 since the break.
The Heat are fighting for their playoff lives
That regression has the Heat tied with the Charlotte Hornets for the 10th seed in the East, in serious danger of missing out on the NBA Playoffs entirely.
Should the Heat finish in the 9th or 10th seed, that means they'd have to win two Play-In Tournament games to even secure the 8th seed in the playoffs. And while the Heat have been there, done that before, it's certainly a tall task for such an inconsistent squad, especialy one who seems to be undergoing somewhat of an identity crisis.
Miami has mightily struggled on the defensive end of the floor of late, but this drop-off, one that could end up costing the Heat a top 6 seed in the East standings, has been weeks in the making. It's been a slow deterioration for the Heat on that end of the floor.