MIAMI – With the Miami Heat's 55-point historic loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night, it marks the end of the team's season, which ends dreadfully in the manner of a first-round playoff sweep. As the Heat made the wrong kind of history in the game, the focus now will be on improving the team in the offseason, which captain Bam Adebayo hinted at to Pat Riley after the 138-83 loss.

Miami suffered from its worst playoff loss in team history, the third most lopsided, counting the regular season and the playoffs, and were outscored by 122 points in the entire series, the largest mark in NBA history. When hearing those numbers, one would think big changes are coming, which Adebayo expects, “knowing how the guy with the silver hair works,” referencing the team president in Riley.

“I don’t know, there’s going to be a lot of changes this summer, just from my point of view, understanding how the guy with the silver hair works,” Adebayo said as he finished Game 4 with 13 points on six of 13 shooting from the field to go along with 12 rebounds and four assists. “So just be prepared for that. And you know, for me, man, it's understanding, got to figure out how to win a game in the playoffs. You understand how hard it is when you actually get into these trenches. So take that and you figure it out.”

With rumors swirling about such stars as Giannis Antetokounmpo leaving the Milwaukee Bucks, among other situations around the league, there's an expectation from Adebayo that Miami will look to strengthen the team tremendously.

Heat's Tyler Herro speaks on “embarrassing” and “humbling” loss

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (center) looks on from the bench against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter during game four for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Game 4 was a rough one for Heat star Tyler Herro as the Cavs' defense once again neutralized him, recording just four points while he made only one shot of his 10 attempts from the field, also shooting one of nine from deep. There's no doubt that he was blindsided by the outing from the team, saying to ClutchPoints that it was “embarrassing” and “humbling.”

“Obviously, leaving Cleveland, we came back to Miami, you know, we definitely didn't expect this,” Herro said. “Tough last two games for us both, 40-point, 50-point losses. Really, no excuses for it. It's embarrassing, definitely humbling. You know, a lot of work to be put in. [We] have a have a good opportunity to come back, obviously, next season and try to figure this out.”

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It's only the third time Miami has been swept in the playoffs, also marking the eighth straight loss at home in the postseason.

Heat's Erik Spoelstra explains what's a “shame” after 55-point loss

While the Heat admit being humbled by the Cavs, there was no denying the momentum they felt after becoming the first tenth seed in history to win two straight road games in the play-in tournament and make the playoffs. Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra would look at the bright side of the season, saying, “it's a shame” that the group will be “remembered” for the sweep and the last two blowout losses.

“We were humbled,” Spoelstra said. “None of us would have guessed the series would’ve gone this way, coming out with our two play-ins, and even how we competed in the first two games, but they just took it to another level. Obviously, we didn't play well. We didn't meet any kind of level from there. But left us behind these last two games. It's a shame that you know will be remembered for these two home games here and taking a 4-0 sweep, because this group showed a lot of character and resilience.”

“It was a fun group to be around,” Spoelstra continued. “Especially those last eight weeks of the season, while we were just grinding, struggling, grinding, and then playing our best basketball at the end of the season when it mattered, it was a fun group to be around. I felt fully alive, as alive as I felt in a while in a regular season.”

With all the turmoil of the season, including aspects on and off the court, the Heat looks to come back better than ever, as one would expect changes to be made after three seasons of either finishing eighth or 10th in the East.