NBA Power rankings roundup: Where the experts rank the Heat this week

The Miami Heat have had a rough November of basketball. It started with a Mexico City win against the Washington Wizards, but followed that up with three straight losses to Western Conference playoff contenders. Once sporting a positive 3-2 record has now fallen to 4-6, and they currently sit in the ninth seed on the East standings. 

Even worse, they recently lost the services of Jimmy Butler due to an ankle sprain suffered in their loss to the Denver Nuggets. The play took place in the first quarter and sent him straight to the locker room, missing the remainder of that game and the Heat’s last two. 

Now a team that is searching for consistency and identity has to do so without one of their best players. There has been no timeline to Butler’s return and is listed as day-to-day. But with Miami’s struggles, they may not afford to go through this stretch without him. 

The expert’s power rankings around the league have reflected the Heat’s under .500 record, although they are still giving them the benefit of the doubt.

NBA.com: 16th

The Heat were ranked at 12 in the previous week, but their losing streak dropped them to 16 in NBA.com’s rankings list. They noted the team’s questionable team-wide stats, including 18th in offensive rating (111.1) and 15th in defensive rating (112.4). After coach Erik Spoelstra showed optimism in a faster modern day offense, they rank 25th in pace (97.9).

With all this being said, the NBA still had Miami as the fifth best team in the East and highlighted their depth, even though the standings don’t reflect that. 

The Athletic: 18th

The Athletic weren’t as generous as NBA.com, putting the Heat at the 18th spot. This ranking was a decline from the 13th spot the week prior. Their outlet has penciled in the Orlando Magic over the likes of Miami, who are each 4-6 in their last 10 games. 

The Magic aren’t the same team without Paolo Banchero available due to injury. Unfortunately, Butler’s injury of his own has provided a temporary setback in taking advantage against opposing conference foes like them.

CBS Sports: 18th 

In CBS Sport’s rankings, they also have the Heat pinned at 18th. However, they are listed as the seventh best East team, down from fifth and sixth out of the NBA’s and Athletic’s rankings, respectively. Miami dropped two spots from the previous week with CBS. 

They have teams like the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks over them, with just .5 games in the standings separating the Heat from the Nets and tied with the Hawks. 

Even with things that haven’t gone the Heat’s way during this 10+ game sample size, they are just 1.0 game back of the East’s third seed. The difference in competition between each conference is huge, as their third seed would be good for the 11th seed in the loaded West. Miami has so much time to figure things out, but the discrepancy in the win/loss columns amongst the majority of the East are going to make things tight moving forward.