The Miami Heat season review is disappointing. The team was embarrassed by Boston. The Pat Riley press conference exploded on the news cycle. It was time for him to speak. “The Godfather” doesn’t step in on Coach Spolestra unless he really feels the need. This article here from digitalchew.com talks more about the press conference. Twitter is a buzz that Donovan Mitchell is high on the team’s list of players to acquire. Let’s see what the Heat need to work on in the offseason.
Point #3 — Jimmy Butler‘s extension with the Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler’s video talking smack to the Celtics and Knicks rang hollow with me. He was injured during the season. He appeared to “really lean into” not taking the regular season seriously. It all equaled a player just trying to stay in the public eye. Now, he wants a 2 year, $113 extension. This article here from Shandel Richardson analyzes justifying Butler’s big contract ask. He needs to “prove it” to the Heat as he did in 2019 when he signed and was working out at 4am with players.
Point #2 — Team Chemistry/Makeup
The Heat appear to have a lot of good players, but no one great past Butler and Adebayo. Adebayo had his issues at different points of the season. He was adjusting to being “game planned” for the first time in his career. He responded. Tyler Herro finally played in a playoff series but was neutralized by the Celtics. Finally, it seemed as if every Heat player was injured.
The players played well but their youth and inexperience showed lapses in urgency and intent. As I said in a previous article here, they don’t follow the simple maxim of Jimmy Butler–“if the team focuses more on defending instead of making shots, they will win.” This article here from AllUCanHeat.com talks more about possible roster moves.
Point #1 — Who will be the “whale” for the Miami Heat?
The obvious answer for the Heat is to trade assets for a third option. This third option would galvanize the offense and solidify the defense. Then the team could have regular season success coupled with their effective play in the playoffs. Donovan Mitchell appears to be the main target. According to this article here from NBC Sports, he says “he is happy in Cleveland.” He is friends with Bam Adebayo and didn’t want to come back to Cleveland.
