A look at the Miami Heat's playoff picture as the second half of the NBA season gets underway.
After the Miami Heat regressed in the eyes of the team after the loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night where they blew another double-digit lead, there will no doubt be a race to find the solution to the late-game woes. As the Heat will look to face their “demons” as Erik Spoelstra said, he also spoke about a certain aspect of recent contests relating to rookie Kel'el Ware. With the 20-year-old big-man bringing life to the team with his size and presence, there have been games where he is a no-show on the floor and relegated to the bench, despite starting alongside Bam Adebayo in the front court.
The Miami Heat were up by 11 over Charlotte with 6:47 left on Monday. College basketball has March Madness. The Heat have March sadness. Blown leads are becoming commonplace for the Heat, who lost 105-102 to the Hornets on Monday night -- yet another costly collapse.
The Miami Heat have had a whirlwind of a season. After the Heat traded away Jimmy Butler and ended that saga, former NBA player Jeff Teague thinks a majority of the problems have to do with Pat Riley. The team's president was the main proponent that forced Butler out of Miami. Teague feels the same way.
The Miami Heat will look to snap a season-high-tying four-game losing streak on Wednesday night against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers. All four losses have come by five points or less, but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra remains confident. The Heat have settled on a starting lineup of point guard Davion Mitchell, combo guard Tyler Herro, small forward Andrew Wiggins, power forward Bam Adebayo and rookie center Kel'el Ware.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 30 points and Ivica Zubac added 26 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Miami Heat 119-104 on Wednesday night. James Harden had 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who won for the fourth time in five games and pulled within 1 1/2 games of idle Golden State for the No. 6 — and last guaranteed — playoff spot in the Western Conference. Tyler Herro scored 31 points and Andrew Wiggins added 22 for the Heat, who fell 2 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the race for the No. 7 spot and most advantageous play-in position in the Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Clippers clubbed the Miami Heat 119-104 Wednesday at Kaseya Center. In a game where Tyler Herro had an efficient 31 points with six rebounds and seven assists and was buoyed by Andrew Wiggins' 22 points and five assists, the Heat were unable to put together any sort of momentum. The Heat gave up a 113.3 offensive rating to the Clippers in halfcourt situations, (which ranks in the 88th percentile), allowing them to convert on 36 of their 62 shots (58 percent) from the field.
Boston will need to respect their opponent if they don't want to drop this late-campaign tilt.
While the goal has always been for new Miami Heat star Andrew Wiggins to get acclimated to the team's culture, it seems that it's finally headed that way. Despite the Heat losing five straight to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, it was another solid performance from Wiggins in showing how valuable he can be for the team as he spoke about his adjustment. Despite his three misses in the first quarter, the team put him in situations to be aggressive and go downhill with the ball.
After the Miami Heat lost their sixth straight game on Friday night to the Boston Celtics, 103-91, it was another case of the game slipping through the team's fingers because of a poor fourth quarter performance. With Heat stars Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo trying to turn around the team for a late playoff push, they spoke about what's leading to multiple meltdowns. It would be a tight game for most of the duration until the fourth quarter where against a top team like Boston, granted they missed Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, Miami scored only 14 points.
The Culture uniforms were packed away for the season before the turn of the calendar. The team's touchstone motto of “Hardest-working” was scrubbed from the team's City Edition court before the start of the season. “Enough has been said in the locker room,” Spoelstra said after Saturday night's 125-91 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the start of this two-game trip, the Heat's most-lopsided road loss of the season.
The New York Knicks spent the last four games of their West Coast road trip trying to figure out their offense without Jalen Brunson. The Miami Heat have spent a far longer period of time trying to rediscover themselves. A pair of struggling Eastern Conference rivals will meet Monday night, when the Knicks return home to host the Heat. Both teams were off Sunday after suffering road defeats Saturday night, when the Knicks fell to the Golden State Warriors 97-94 while the Heat's skid extended to seven as they lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 125-91.
Miami Heat at New York Knicks Game Preview
Between his two NBA titles, his two additional trips to the Finals, after the Miami Heat's Big Three Era, and his selection as one of the league's 15 Greatest Coaches back in 2022, Erik Spoelstra's reputation is unimpeachable.
PJ Tucker has yet to debut for the New York Knicks since signing a 10-day contract on March 10, but he made his presence known before Monday night's game against the Miami Heat with his footwear. Tucker, widely recognized for his vast sneaker collection, took to social media to showcase a rare pair of Allan Houston's Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4 PE, originally released two decades ago. The kicks, a player-exclusive model tied to Houston's tenure with the Knicks, highlighted Tucker's deep appreciation for classic basketball sneakers. Allan Houston's Knicks legacy reflected in PJ Tucker's rare sneaker choice in win vs. Heat PJ Tucker is wearing Allan Houston's Zoom Huarache 2K4 PE from 20 years ago for
Quit whining. Stop complaining. Take a cleansing breath, Miami Heat fans, and take on this dreadful stretch with a stiff-cultural-lip that you don’t need too often. The Heat lost their eighth straight game Monday in New York, getting outscored 41-15 in a third quarter too representative of this ugliness. Their best players can’t rise to the moment with games on the line, much less rise the ...
