The Miami Heat can't keep trying to play both sides of two timelines. They either need to embrace the youth movement and start to completely rebuild this roster (from the ground up) or pivot toward a more win-now approach by taking greater risks. Because right now, with the way they're trending, things are not working out.
Their latest meltdown, at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, was just the next example of why the Heat can't keep trying to have their cake and eat it too.
It wasn't necessarily just that the Heat lost to the Bucks; it was how they lost. Right now, this roster just doesn't fit with each other. There's no rhyme or reason to how this team has been built.
Trying to balance two timelines has made the Heat's roster ill-fitting
Tyler Herro and Norman Powell can't coexist on the floor together, Kel'el Ware and Bam Adebayo continue to have their struggles in trying to make it work, and the team's most pure playmaker is a rookie who is averaging less than 20 minutes per game.
Erik Spoelstra is doing what he can to make it all work, but even he is struggling to piece this puzzle together.
The result? The Heat are currently stuck in mediocrity with no signs of breaking out.
It's understandable (and perhaps even respectable) that Miami wants to slowly develop its young core while also keeping its veterans (and coaches) happy in their pursuit of a playoff spot. But there's a strong sample size collection that this philosophy simply doesn't work.
The Heat has been stuck in the Play-In Tournament for years because of this.
They're too afraid to take a big risk on a win-now move and don't have the blue-chip young prospects worth going all-in for. The Heat are in no man's land, a place where no one in the Association desires to be.
As it all came tumbling down for the Heat in the fourth quarter against the Giannis-less Bucks, it continues to be abundantly clear that this franchise needs to finally pick a direction.
And praying for Giannis is not one of them.
If the Heat wants to win now, go make a move. Don't continue to sell this illusion of false hope to the franchise when the fans can see right through it. A win-now approach for the Heat doesn't have to be Giannis or bust, and the front office needs to stop acting as it does.
On the other hand, if the Heat does want to embrace a youth movement, they need to actually do that. But they haven't. With every opportunity to do so, the Heat didn't pull the trigger.
For example, Miami could've traded the likes of Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins at the trade deadline to open up more minutes for their young core. They didn't do that, and that's just another sign that the Heat aren't serious about pivoting toward a complete youth movement.
The Heat are on track to finish as a Play-In Tournament team again, and they have no one else to blame.
For the sake of the future, it's time for the Heat to pick a direction.