Miami Heat, the team which had the best record in the East last season, currently is just 4 games above from .500 and sits at 6th seed in the East. So, what happened to Miami? Regressions? Injuries? Off-season losses? Let's analyze their season and find out the exact reasons!
No offseason additions
Last season, Miami got eliminated in Game 7 in the ECF by the C's. Even then, they made absolutely no additions to their roster other drafting Nikola Jovic in the draft. Moreover, they lost 2 players in free agency, PJ Tucker, who was our starting PF and Markieff Morris. The loss of Tucker resulted in various fluctuations in our lineup this season, to replace him, we gave chances to many PFs such as Haywood Highsmith, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic, Max Strus and Orlando Robinson. However, no one has been able to match what Tucker did. In order to fix this, the Heat desperately need to trade for a PF/C, so that Adebayo can have help in the frontcourt.
The East became more competitive
In addition to that, the East has become a lot more competitive than last season. Many new teams have now emerged as contenders following their moves this offseason. The Cleveland Cavaliers added a start shooting guard in Donovan Mitchell. Brooklyn sorted out their Kyrie and coach problems, and made Simmons decent again. Knicks added Brunson who's been playing at an all-star level this season. Atlanta added all-star Dejounte Murray to complement Trae. All this made competing for a playoff seed in the East much more difficult for Heat considering they made no moves.
Lowry's bad season
Kyle Lowry, who is the starting point guard for Heat, was an important part in Miami's deep playoff run last season. However, this season, he hasn't been as efficient and consistent as he was last season. He turned 36 this year and it looks like he's regressing. He is averaging less points, assists and steals than last season and he has less FG% and 3P% than last season. He has also dropped from +250 to +4 this season. He has not been great on defensive end either, and he's also struggling with a bad knee which led him to miss the last 3 games of the season. It also looks like he might be replaced by Gabe Vincent as the starting point guard, since Vincent has been very good and efficient while starting in place of Lowry. All of us are hoping Lowry can make a comeback in the second half and show everyone why is he a 6 time all-star.
Injuries
If all this wasn't enough, Miami Heat has also been riddled with injuries this season. 3 players, Omer Yurtseven (ankle), Duncan Robinson (finger) and Nikola Jovic (back), are all out for atleast 4 weeks, according to sources, and they all underwent surgeries. Apart from this, the Heat's best player, Jimmy Butler, has missed 15 games this season, and Victor Oladipo, a key piece for the Heat, has only played 19 games. Miami's starting lineup (Lowry, Herro, Jimmy, Caleb and Bam) have only played 15 games together out of Miami's total 46!! This inconsistency in starting lineups and players being out has badly affected the Miami. Hopefully, all these players will get healed quickly and we will see a fully healthy Heat!
Defensive regression as a team
While Heat was easily the best defensive team last season, this season is a little different. Miami stands at 30th position in blocks per game as a team, only 3.1 BPG. To show how crazy this is, Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Grizzlies, alone averages more blocks (3.3 BPG) than the whole Heat team!
Moreover, the Heat are 6th in turnovers while in the bottom 10 in assists and rebounds. The Heat desperately need to figure out their defense and bounce back!
These are the main factors which have led to Heat's downfall this season. These can be easily fixed if Miami makes some roster moves before the trade deadline. Some changes, and Miami will start looking like a contender again!
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