The Miami Heat are stuck in basketball purgatory, and their latest loss to the Milwaukee Bucks only hammers that point home.
Up 10 at halftime and eight entering the fourth quarter, the Heat once again crumbled down the stretch, outscored 35-20 in the final frame. It's become a depressingly familiar script for Miami this season.
Tyler Herro was brilliant, pouring in 40 points on 12-of-27 shooting. But his heroics weren't enough to overcome the Heat's glaring weakness - their complete lack of offensive firepower when Herro sits. As soon as he took a breather to start the fourth, the Bucks pounced and seized control.
The Heat are the NBA's ultimate "mid" team.
This loss drops Miami to a putrid 8-20 against teams with winning records this season. They simply can't hang with the big boys. Sure, they take care of business against the dregs of the league, going 15-5 against teams with a bottom-10 point differential. But any squad with a pulse gives them fits.
The Heat are the NBA's ultimate "mid" team right now. Good enough to beat up on the cellar-dwellers, but not nearly talented enough to compete with actual contenders. They're treading water in the play-in tournament mix, desperately needing that one transformative star to elevate them back to true contender status.
To make matters worse, promising young big man Nikola Jovic fractured his hand and is likely out until at least April. His development was one of the few bright spots for Miami this year. Now they'll have to navigate the stretch run without his size and versatility.
The Heat find themselves at a crossroads. Do they make a big swing for a star at the trade deadline? Or do they ride it out with this middling roster and hope for better luck next season? One thing's for certain - if they keep blowing double-digit fourth quarter leads, any playoff hopes will soon evaporate into the South Beach air.