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Recently, the Miami Heat were on the wrong end of the most lopsided playoff series in NBA history, being outscored by the Cleveland Cavaliers by 122 points in their four-game sweep. Miami had previously become the first tenth seed ever to backdoor their way into the playoffs via the play-in tournament, and they looked every bit the part during the disastrous series vs Cleveland.
One player who didn't see much action during the Cavs vs Heat series was Kyle Anderson, who played a major role in Miami's final play-in win over the Atlanta Hawks.
During his exit interview on Wednesday, Anderson took a shot at Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, who missed the two contests in Miami.
“If you want my honest answer… they look like a better team without Garland on the floor. I think it played more to their favor once Garland wasn’t on the floor,” said Anderson when asked why the Heat looked so much worse in Games 3 and 4 as opposed to the first two games, via Heat Culture on X.
The Cavs indeed look much more dominant in the two games without Garland on the floor, though that by no means should indicate they are a better team without him. Garland and Heat guard Tyler Herro had gotten into a public feud about their respective statuses as traffic cones on defense, which may have played a role in Anderson's comments.
Where do the Heat go from here?
Now two years removed from their shocking trip to the NBA Finals, the Heat now find themselves first round exits for the second straight season, and are heading into an offseason with more questions than answers.
The Heat could try to go after a trade target like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason in hopes of staying in contention short term, or they could embrace a rebuild and explore trade packages for Tyler Herro or Bam Adebayo (or both) in hopes of securing high draft picks for the next couple of years.
Whatever route they choose to take, it would appear that major changes are on the horizon for the Heat.
