With the NBA trade deadline approaching, there are a bevy of options and avenues the Miami Heat can take here after they made the deal for star guard Terry Rozier two weeks ago. They can do what fans know them most for is which keeping silent or they can make some more moves.
While there are dream scenarios as mentioned before, there are also nightmare scenarios that can happen for the Heat, even if events do not necessarily happen to the team. When Jimmy Butler has said time and time again that there are teams in the Eastern Conference loading up to beat the Heat, there is a lot of truth behind what some people might call boastfulness.
Look at the Boston Celtics who after losing to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games, added Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Even the Milwaukee Bucks who fell to Miami in five games in the first round added a superstar in Damian Lillard.
Since Butler arrived in Miami, the team has seen major success reaching the NBA Finals twice and winning a ton of playoff series, but unable to capture an NBA Championship. Here is a nightmare scenario that some might consider as it is most likely to be the reality.
The Heat staying the same?
What could be this “nightmare scenario”? Well, it's that the Miami Heat like their team the way it is and won't make anymore changes.
Whether this is truly a “nightmare” depends on the person, but the most realistic moves that Miami will make before the trade deadline are that they make none. They like the team the way it is and have already made their move in getting Rozier.
Some fans might call this losing basketball, others might call it confidence in the team. However, where the Heat stands, they are 26-24 on the season which puts them eighth in the Eastern Conference, a spot they must think is disappointing based on their postseason success from last year.
The team is also coming off of a seven-game losing streak where the offense was in a complete slump, which fans aren't too sure it ended yet based on their loss against the Los Angeles Clippers last Sunday. However, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said that the team playing back to their strengths will happen as “guys will get in rhythm” according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“It’ll happen,” Spoelstra said of the offense. “Guys will get in rhythm. There are some things offensively we can do with better pace and better intention. That’s not exclusive to us. And we’ll work on that. We’ll get better…I think we were getting a lot of the looks that we wanted,” he said. “So I’m not discouraged. I don’t think the guys have been discouraged.”
Heat working on “how to make it flow”
The hope right now for Miami is that with the inclusion of Rozier, they can fit the pieces together as a 20 plus point per game scorer joins three others in Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo. Speaking of Adebayo, he mentioned h0w the team is working on their communication and that the key is “to make it flow.”
“We’re working on communication. We’re working on everybody being aggressive,” Adebayo said after the loss to the Clippers. “But we have to figure out how to make it flow. And then we’ll do that. You have to make it flow. So for us, it’s just trying to figure out that flow. And I feel like we’re figuring that out. I mean we’ve been in worse situations, even last year. So we just got to keep pushing forward and try to find a positive outlook.”
Kevin Love says “it's tough to say” about reason for struggles
For some players, it is “tough to say” or “put a finger” on the struggles Miami has been facing with, especially since the talent is there to put up big games offensively. Even veteran big-man Kevin Love echoed those thoughts and said that with Miami, they would be scoring “maybe even in the 130s.”
“It’s tough to say,” Love said. “We’ve certainly have had big moments when our team has been ignitable, and we’ve been able to put up monster points and monster performances on the offensive end. But I think that’s something we’re searching for right now. I can’t really put a finger on why that has happened, because we do have an explosive team. We do have that capability. And I think when you look at our lineup, you would think that we should be scoring in the 110s, the 120s, maybe even the 130s on certain nights.”
“A number of guys have put up big numbers,” Love continued. “I think we’re searching. We’re trying to find it. It’s not for the lack of intent or trying to make the right play. But something just needs to break the seal.”
Time running out for Heat to make run?
While Love said they are “searching,” time is running out as they just played their 50th game of the season. They are at the time now where they need to batten down the hatches and start finding a rhythm. As the concern is with adding any productive scorer, “it's hard when you've got so many weapons” according to Heat star Josh Richardson.
“Sometimes it’s hard when you’ve got so many weapons,” Richardson said. “You’ve kind of got to figure out how to make ’em all jell together. I think everybody’s trying, and trying to play the right way. And hopefully the pieces fall in place.”
Miami continues their four-game home stand Tuesday as they face the Orlando Magic and play the tail-end of the back-to-back on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. The stay home concludes on Sunday when they play against the Celtics.
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