3 People to blame for the Heat’s disappointing season
With a failed season comes some sensitive questions in regard to the franchise. The Miami Heat, who were fresh off an NBA Finals appearance the season prior, got bounced out of the first round of this year’s playoffs in five games. They were handed revenge from the Boston Celtics after losing to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals in 2023.
The Heat wound up running it back with almost the same core at the start of this season. They added rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr in the draft and made subtle signings of Josh Richardson and Thomas Bryant. But they lost key rotation pieces in Gabe Vincent and Max Strus; both were due for paydays at the start of last summer.
Early on, Jaquez looked like a promising rookie who could make an immediate impact. Nikola Jovic also showed a hunger for more minutes and made developmental strides in his second NBA season. The progress of the two youngsters created arguably the best storylines of Miami’s season.
However, this team had a vision of much bigger storylines. The goal was always to capture the franchise’s fourth championship, but team-wide injuries made that unrealistic. The Heat suffered the top-five most injuries and starting lineup changes this season. Jimmy Butler going down in the first play-in game in what was essentially a season-ending MCL sprain destroyed all the championship aspirations.
But there are three main people involved with the Heat that should be getting some blame for this overall disappointing season.
3. Tyler Herro
After a miraculous Finals run by the Heat a year ago that did not include Tyler Herro being available with a broken hand for, this was supposed to be his prove-it year. He was dangled in trade discussions all offseason, but ultimately, the Miami front office put trust in Herro and his potential. The beginning of the season featured the Heat getting off to a rocky start, but Herro was showcasing his scoring talents early on.
Unfortunately, Herro got hit with the injury bug yet again. He suffered two injuries that sidelined him for an extended time this season, including an ankle and foot injury. Herro only appeared in 42 out of the 82-game regular season. He was inconsistent even when he was healthy enough to end the season and make the playoffs.
If it’s not health problems for Herro, it is performance problems. Miami has given him the green light countless times over the years to bring All-Star capabilities out of Herro.
Instead, he has proven that he may have hit his peak years ago as the league’s top sixth man and a solid 20-point scorer.