2. Lack of a signature win
Daniel Riccio: The biggest concern for the Miami Heat heading into the playoffs is the lack of a signature win. We’ve seen this Heat team go through their ups and downs in the win column for most of the Jimmy Butler era. Injuries and player availability haven’t helped with that notion at all, as it makes it difficult for the team to build chemistry and consistency with certain lineups. This season the Heat have failed to string together signature wins against some of the league’s best opponents. Here’s Miami’s record against the top seven NBA teams:
- 0-3 vs Boston
- 0-2 vs Minnesota
- 0-2 vs LA Clippers
- 0-2 vs OKC
- 0-2 vs Denver
- 1-1 vs Cleveland
- 1-2 vs Milwaukee
Regardless of the Heat being able to turn it come playoff time like they have a proven track record of doing so, this is far from ideal. Just in the sense of even last year where they snuck into the playoffs as the eighth seed, Miami still picked up statement wins against some of those top teams during that regular season. The most recent Milwaukee Bucks win was encouraging, considering the Heat were without Jimmy Butler and others. But they have struggled to get those big wins against the other teams, which could come back to resurface come playoff time.