The Heat could be missing their two best players as they try to end a 10-game losing streak Sunday night against Charlotte, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
Bam Adebayo is listed as questionable with a left knee sprain he suffered while setting a screen in Friday’s game against Houston. He had a sleeve on his left leg and walked with a limp on Saturday at the team’s annual Family Festival, according to Chiang. Tyler Herro was also banged up against the Rockets, suffering a contusion on his left hip, and he’s listed as questionable as well.
Although it’s been a down season for the Heat, their stars have been remarkably durable. Adebayo has appeared in 68 of the team’s first 70 games, while Herro has played in 67. The losing streak has dropped Miami 12 games below .500 at 29-41, but the team still has a comfortable five-game lead over Toronto in the race for the final play-in spot.
There’s more from Miami:
- The Heat would have to win all 12 of their remaining games to avoid their first losing season since 2018/19, Chiang states in a separate story. Chiang lists 10 low-lights from the losing streak, including the fact that Miami has been outscored by an average of 27.9 points per 100 possessions during the fourth quarter of the last 10 games. Since the streak began, they have fallen from the 14th-worst record in the league to the eighth-worst. “It’s a resilient team, tough-minded team to be able to keep on coming back and competing at a high level,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We all understand that we need to do more, particularly in these moments of truth. But it’s not from a lack of competition or spirit, and that’s not going to change with this group.”
- The lone bright spot from Friday night was the return of Andrew Wiggins, who missed the previous two games with a lower leg contusion. Chiang notes that even though the contusion has healed, Wiggins is still dealing with the lingering effects of a sprained right ankle he suffered in late February. He played nearly 30 minutes on Friday and scored 30 points.
- As Pat Riley turned 80 on Thursday, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel questioned whether the Heat’s longtime president can still attract top-level talent to Miami. Winderman contends that Riley’s only major acquisition of the last decade, apart from the draft, came when he traded for Jimmy Butler in 2019.
The Heat stink right now worse than when my MooMoo farts in church…
Moses Brown
Okafor
Snake-bitten now. They always lose the game in Q4. Always.
Pat Riley is a basketball genius! One of the greatest head coaches and executives in the history of the NBA!
It’s not that he can’t attract them it’s just guys were still trying to do the super team thing. Now with the way that been failing lately and especially with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns teams are going to get away from that.
Honestly the best way to build is with two superstars and very solid role players.
The three superstars not working. Because it doesn’t allow you to build a solid roster.
Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra can still get it done because they have the two all stars in play in Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Then they have some really nice role players in play.
They have to get a Superstar over there that can grow with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. If that’s through the draft or a trade or free agency.
They also need a guy that will buy into the Miami Heat Culture and that’s a two way player.
With Lottery luck on their side they get the number 1 pick in the draft and get Cooper Flagg!
The likely hood of that happening is slim so I will prefer to give a more realistic option.
Philadelphia 76ers Tyrese Maxey ask for a trade and the Miami Heat get him. Might not happen but he’s the type of player they need.
New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson ask for a trade and the Miami Heat get him. Pat Riley demands for his players to be in tip top shape and this can be a great destination for him.
Last option but will cost you Tyler Herro and plenty picks and pick swaps. Minnesota Timberwolves star player Anthony Edwards get fed up and demands a trade. He will be perfect on the Miami Heat and him and Erik Spoelstra have a great relationship and so much respect for each other.
lmao
The ability to attract star talent is largely irrelevant in a league without star free agency. Today, and for the entirety of the last two CBA’s, stars move by trade (with Bird rights, not via free agent signing or S&T’s). It simply doesn’t matter that much where a star wants to be traded. Even if he gets his wish, it will be via an exchange of assets, and thus he won’t be a zero sum addition to his new team.
It’s hard to see Riley orchastrating a deal for a true star in the modern environment. Riley had his trade moments in the more leveraged trade markets of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, but those days appear gone. MIA also lacks much in the way of trade assets, aside from this year’s draft picks. So, like every other team in the lottery (assuming MIA is in it), MIA need outlier luck (aka league encouraged direction) with the ping pong balls to add a star. Maybe that’s why their record is far worse than it should be. Even without Butler, they still have a roster that should be comfortably in the playoffs in the East.
“Since the streak began, they have fallen from the 14th-worst record in the league to the eighth worst.”
Huh?