As the Miami Heat didn't end up making any moves at the trade deadline, being unable to land their top target in Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, the future of the team has been on the minds of every fan. After the Heat's latest clash with the Boston Celtics on Friday night, it ended in all too familiar fashion.
With Miami falling in Boston, 98-96, the final score only tells part of what makes this loss feel numb to the average Miami fan, as it once again saw the Heat build up a double-digit lead early, with 22 being the largest, only for it to be lost. Though the modern NBA has an abundance of more offense, leading 59-38 at halftime could still be considered a cushion that every team wants.
For Miami, it might as well be seen as a tie ball game with the Heat once again coming out flat in the third quarter, scoring 15 points in the period and allowing 36, which has been a concerning trend all season. Looking back, it's been an issue for a while, with the latest statistic by Keerthika Uthayakumar painting the entire picture.
“The Miami Heat have blown 31 double-digit leads since the start of last season, the most by any team in that span,” Uthayakumar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
It's surreal to read a statistic like that, but it's hard to argue that it's surprising. There are a lot of directions to point to when discussing the reasons for this team.
But as Miami looks to be heading down towards staying in eighth seed and play-in tournament purgatory, this offseason's pursuit of Antetokounmpo could be turning a point in the franchise.
Looking at the outlook on the Heat going after Giannis Antetokounmpo
With the Heat's failed pursuit of Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, the focus now turns to the offseason, with the team looking to be active. Fans are used to Miami being unable to land big-named stars, usually because of their reluctance to give up certain pieces, but there's no denying that hasn't been the case for Antetokounmpo.
One can expect President Pat Riley and the front office to make a huge push for the superstar, likely with a better deal as more first-round picks become tradeable. However, there will be competition.
There's no doubt that if this Miami team wants to compete for championships, getting an alpha like Antetokounmpo to pair alongside Bam Adebayo and others could give them their best chance. With the way this team is currently constructed, the reality is that it's hard to think of the Heat making a run for it.
Though Miami has been built on exceeding everybody's expectations, the inconsistency of Miami currently is too hard to ignore. Not to mention the fact that players have been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, with the main one being Tyler Herro, who has missed more than 40 games this season with a myriad of issues.
It seems as if landing a player like Antetokounmpo could save this era of the franchise, which has finished at the eighth seed and in the play-in tournament the last three seasons. Of course, the first of three resulted in the Jimmy Butler-led team miraculously going to the NBA Finals, but banking on doing the same once again is fool's gold.
If there is at least one true thing, the team knows this. The question is, what are they going to do about it?
What's next for the Heat in the future?
With the Heat's trade deadline displaying them not getting Antetokounmpo or even the Memphis Grizzlies' Ja Morant, of course, this offseason will be vital in getting a star talent. But here's a hard question for fans to hear: What if they're unable to land Antetokounmpo once again in the offseason?
Riley has said in his end-of-season press conference that there are two or three players that are worth going all in for, though Adebayo appears to be untouchable, which is reportedly Antetokounmpo, Anthony Edwards, and Donovan Mitchell, according to The Miami Herald. Besides the first, the others are not available.
As players like Norman Powell, Adebayo, or others can work well when having a star player like Antetokounmpo, where would the team go from there if they're unable to trade for him? As Jaime Jaquez Jr. said recently about the inconsistency of the team's current issues, the team is “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
While the organization has been confident about never giving up on a season and a team, these issues could potentially be everlasting. It's hard to imagine the Heat franchise going through a rebuild, as Riley has been publicly against the idea, but the team needs to assess all their options for the betterment of the team.
The Heat's current issues have been familiar
Looking at the smaller picture of this season, it's even hard for head coach Erik Spoelstra to understand the problems in the third quarter.
“I don’t know,” Spoelstra said when asked about the third-quarter issues, via the team's YouTube page. “We’ve tried everything.”
“We know that our level of urgency and attention to detail and everything coming out of the third quarter, that’s what we’re trying to conquer,” Spoelstra said.
It doesn't help that players like Powell and the ascending Pelle Larsson saw shorter stints due to injuries, but this issue of third-quarter breakdowns and blown leads has been a consistent issue in the midst of the team's inconsistency.
“It’s very frustrating,” Powell said after Friday's loss to the Celtics. “I said before, early this morning at shootaround, we have to put a full 48-minute game together. That’s our Achilles heel. The Achilles heel is the third quarter coming out at a pace of how we need to play in the same mentality when we start the games, and then sustaining it through the second half. We played a good 24 minutes. We’ve got to finish it with another good 24 minutes.”
“At some point, we’re going to get tired of putting our hand on that hot stove,” Adebayo said later about it.
A stressful offseason is coming for the Heat fanbase
The first step is the Heat accepting their reality, which might have to be done first by the end of the season, depending on how Miami finishes in the Eastern Conference standings. Who knows, maybe this loss to the Celtics is going to “drive” the team to better days, as Spoelstra said after the game.
“Guys really competed hard,” Spoelstra said. “We’re not looking for a moral victory. It’s disappointing, but we’re going to get better from it. As painful as this is, it’s going to drive us. And I feel we’re going to get there.”
However, these types of quotes sound familiar. But there's a reason they do. Spoelstra and this team believe they have a high ceiling and a championship aspiration, which they have to prove with 29 games left in the season.
It's commendable, as there's no denying the will and passion Spoelstra, Adebayo, Powell, Herro, and the rest have in the locker room. But it seems like the fans are asking for the team to be realistic about their chances.
At any rate, it will be a stress-inducing offseason for the fanbase as the Heat take another crack at the Bucks in an effort to obtain Antetokounmpo. If they do, it marks a turning point in the franchise. If they don't, it has kind of the same impact, just for different, uncomfortable reasons.
At any rate, Miami is 27-26, which puts them eighth in the Eastern Conference, as the next game is on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Wizards.
