REACTION: Miami Heat STRUGGLES Real Or Just a Temporary Setback? | Miami Heat Podcast

REACTION: Miami Heat STRUGGLES Real Or Just a Temporary Setback? | Miami Heat Podcast

Miami has dropped five straight following Monday's loss to the Raptor and there's no easy fix in sight. Is it the shooting, the defense, the lack of rebounding? Maybe there's a big glaring hole on this roster. You are Locked on Heat, your daily Miami Heat podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. All right, welcome to Locked on Heat, your daily podcast on the Miami Heat, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Now the number one sports podcast network. Whether you're tuning in on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app, thanks so much for making Locked on Heat your first listen every day. Join the Cookie Gang. Become an Everydayer. That means subscribing, tuning in every day, Monday through Friday, and signing up to the Everydayer Club with the link in the show notes. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. I'm Wes Goldberg, host of Locked on NBA Daily and Real GM radio. I'm here with David Rmill. Both of us are credentialed Heat Media members who cover this team every day. Uh we're going to zoom out and talk about whether this team is more like the one that started the season or if this losing streak is a better reflection of who this team is. We'll talk about all that here in a second, but first recording this after the Heat dropped their fifth straight game. and they lose to the Raptors 106- 96. David, it's the first time that the Eat have been held to less than 100 points all season. The offense continues to be a struggle. Um during this streak, they were outscored 32-19 in the fourth quarter as the Raptors pulled away in this one. Um the missed shots at the rim and from three-point range continue to kill them on offense. And it just to me my takeaway again is it feels like they're missing an elite scorer who can carry this offense when shots aren't falling. When Simone Feekio can't hit a shot, this team loses. They are so reliant on role players making shots and frankly playing over their head that maybe we should stop being surprised when this offense starts to sputter. Uh and not to put it all in Fonteio, right? Norm Powell was off tonight. He was five 15 overall. He did get to the free throw line a bunch. Um Bam had 20 points. He was pretty good. Khal Wear had his moment. Tommy Hakez Jr. had his moments, but Tyler Hiro a late scratch before this game with that toe injury that that continues to bother him. Um so he wasn't even involved in this game. He's now missed three of the five games that the Heat have lost here. But, uh, it just feels like they're missing that guy who when everything else else is going wrong, he can just sort of pull them into a win when they need it. >> Yeah, I think that's pretty fair. Miamiy's offense caught everybody by surprise to start the season. And now that things have slowed down, both figuratively and literally, I think people are starting to figure out a little bit about what Miami is capable of and what they're trying to do offensively. and teams have found a way to counter that pretty effectively. And ultimately, what helps this team or what helps any team at the NBA level is really just being able to say that when things go south, you have a go-to player that can create something for you. And uh it hasn't there isn't one on the roster. And for early on in the season, it looked like Norm Pal would be that player playing the best he's ever been over the course of his career. And that was without Tyler Hero, who we've seen be capable of those moments as well. And neither of them have been particularly effective over the past few games. And look, Tyler's been fine in his comeback, and I think he's still kind of trying to figure his spots out. Powell has progressed a little bit, as you might imagine, but right now, you're kind of searching for answers. And it's a good point regarding Miami's role players. You know, Fentia was shooting at a ridiculous level ear. DaVon Mitchell was shooting extremely well. Hey, haka has caught everybody by surprise. Um, all these things kind of working in tandem and working at such a high level and now that things have regressed, there's no easy answer and no player that can just make things so much easier for the rest of the team and just be a go-to score that you can count on in class situations. My commercially Toronto had that. Scotty Barnes was phenomenal in the fourth quarter. just was very effective and I wouldn't necessarily qualify him as that for most of the game. It looked like Brandon Ingram was going to be having an incredible night, but Barnes wound up taking over late in the game to kind of seal the deal for Toronto and Miami just didn't have an easy answer for that. >> So, the shots at the rim, we discussed Miamiy's issues uh in in detail at the end of last week. Uh and one of and and one of the things we talked about was just missing shots at the rim. Andrew Wiggins, Hameh Hakas Jr. in particular were just have been missing a ton of shots point blank at the basket. A lot of layups during this losing streak and tonight they go 16 of 26. They convert 61.5% of their shots at the rim. That's in the 30th percentile of teams this season according to cleaning the glass. That's bad. In other words, it sucks and they need to be better at it. Uh again from three, they continue to miss shots from three. They shot 29% from three-point range in this game, including 25% from the corner, right? The easy shots they're missing, the gimmies they're missing here. That ranks near the bottom of the league in percentile. They were nine of 31 overall. I mean, the mid-range shots weren't falling either, but who cares at that point? Like, once you're missing the shots at the rim and shots at the three at that level, you got to be hitting 100% of your mid-range shots to be even in this game. So, um, the the shots on goal and the three-point shooting slump, I think between the two things, it's the shots at the rim that concern me the most, David. Cuz look, during the course of an 82 game season, your team's going to have cold stretches and it's going to have uh hot shooting stretches like this heat team had in the beginning of the year. But if you're consistently making the shots at the rim, then that's the way to combat that. But I don't know if it's this groin injury to Hayakas Jr. and norm pal that's been bothering them or whatever it is, but they're just not converting at the rim. And then you think about, okay, well, these shots aren't going in. It's one thing to miss threes, especially above the above the breakthroughs because you're already back, but when you're shut when you're missing those shots at the rim and now you're providing those runouts to the opponent, that's where you get into a lot of trouble in transition. And Toronto like took Miami's lunch off of live rebounds in this game. They were getting out on the break over and over and over again after these misses. And that's really what I think is hurting Miami right now in the in the age-old question of well did the defense did they lose this game because of poor defense or did they lose this game of because of poor offense? I think in this game it was very clear the offense was the problem. >> Yeah, I suppose you could say that. Um there were I I I think you're it's a good point. Like I I mean certainly the miss shots to rimly stood out to me. Uh, it felt like there was a sequence there late in the third quarter where I think Drew Smith missed a layup. Then Andrew Wiggins got blocked by the rim after getting past the initial defender and then there was something else like two possessions later. I think Haime Hawkins missed a layup too. Maybe I'm misremembering the exact order there, but it just seemed like everybody was a repeat offender struggling to make >> Yeah, that was either at the end of the third quarter or the beginning of the fourth quarter. It was three straight misses that led to three straight buckets for the Raptors. as I remember it was the same thing and that's sort of what spurred on that Raptors run in that fourth quarter and and when they pulled away. >> So it it's it is tied like I I think you kind of are relying on both because if you make those shots then that kind of forces Toronto to have to slow down inbound the ball. They can't just get up court quickly and catch the defense off guard. So, uh, but at the same time, if you're missing those shots at the rim, transition defense does have to be a primary focus for this group. And I don't think that that's something that they are doing exceptionally well either. So, I think it's connected like without a doubt. And maybe that's overly simplistic, but missing those shots and then not defending at a high level either uh was certainly a problem for Miami during the late game execution when they needed to be better. And they just allowed too many easy shots. I think Norm Powell got taken pretty easily. I can't recall exactly by who, but one it it felt like it was at a point there where Miami was either mounting a comeback. I think they were had cut the lead down to maybe six or seven. And you're trying to build a little momentum and he just gets absolutely blown by and it just felt like that was disheartening. Like it it seemed to take every bit of life out of this group and from that point forward it was just all Toronto. Miami never really had a response after that. So, it's not to focus primarily on Norm because I think there were other possessions like that. Like defensively, I think there were certainly plenty of issues, too. So, everybody's at fault here. Like, if had Miami had found a way to want win this game, which clearly that was not the case, I don't know who to give credit cookies for because everybody was equally terrible at this. Like, it just seemed like everybody really had moments where uh they struggled uh and just didn't do things that they were supposed to or that we have come to expect from this group this year. One last note on the transition defense because it is it has been a struggle for this team this season. When you play that wheel on offense, when you're playing this offensive system, think about where these guys are positioned. They often times will have three players on their own baseline, right? You've got a guy in the dunker and two guys in the corner or somewhere thereabouts. That means there's only two guys really to get back and that really kind of puts them in a tough spot uh with transition defense. And I think Spo might have to adjust some things. I don't I don't really know again, but you don't want to make too many big, you know, changes to a team when you're in the middle of a shooting slump that you think you're going to come out of. But I guess that's the real question, right? Is will you come out of it or or is this is this the team? Is this just a slump or is this more reflective of who this team is? That's exactly what we're going to talk about in the next segment here on Locked on Heat. >> Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That's what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You're not just watching the game, you're reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Live betting is best when the game starts to shift. A receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover. And FanDuel lets you jump into the moment. with live spreads and money lines that adjust instantly. Player props updating as guys start to heat up over the course of the game. And you can even bet the next touchdown score, drive results, totals, and more. It keeps you locked into every snap, every drive, and every possibility. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast and so can you. We'll be right back. >> Thanks for making Locked on Heat your first listen of the day. Thank you for making the Locked On podcast network the number one sports podcast network. You already live your team every day. Now take it up a level and go ad free. Join the Everydayer Club today and get Locked on Heat with no interruptions. Members only Discord access and more. All for just $5 a month or $50 a year makes for a great Christmas present. Go to lockdownheat.supcast.com supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to learn more. Uh, worth mentioning before we move on, David, Niklo Yoic left tonight's game with a right elbow injury. That was a scary fall. Uh, just seconds basically after checking in to a game early. He was going to be part of the rotation after not being part of the rotation the last several games. Um, >> and uh, it was he he went up for a dunk with the right hand, kind of landed awkwardly, then fell onto his right side. uh didn't wasn't really sure what the injury was. It looked like it could have even been maybe a concussion the way that he fell like his head snapped back. Was it a tailbone thing? But uh the stretcher comes out, they don't need it. Uh he's able to walk off, but immediately his uh arm is in a like a sling or like a brace really. Um and then he was ruled out for the rest of the game with a right elbow injury. Uh he is going to miss uh some some time here. >> No doubt. Yeah, it was an ugly fall. At first when he's falling, he lands directly onto his back. I thought it was like a lower back injury to be honest. I thought it might be like a broken tailbone or something like that or tailbone contusion. We saw a player tough as nails and Jimmy Butler, you know, Steph Curry, guys like that have missed significant amount of time with a contusion there and I thought that's what it might be. He probably does have an injury there just because of the the the impact of his fall, but then you kind of see where he lands directly on his arm. uh and just that you can tell where that would be a pretty bad injury. So, you hope for the best and a speedy recovery and maybe he can work his way back. Unfortunately, uh just another season that hasn't gone the way Nico had hoped it would. >> So, the Heat have not won a game since December 1st. >> Feel I mean, we've got credit cookies just stale in the oven that I thought we were going to be handing out since December 1st. Um, it begs the question, David, is this team what we saw earlier in the season when they took the league by storm and looked like a borderline contender in the Eastern Conference, or are they more like the team we've seen the last couple of weeks during this fivegame losing streak? >> Yeah, that's an interesting question. And uh I hate to be a prisoner of the moment because I think we were so enthusiastic about what we saw in the start of the season. And it did feel like Miami was just going to have uh not historically good offense necessarily, but we knew that there would be low points over the course of an 82 game season and that, you know, teams would find a way to defend them a little bit more tightly and everything else like that. But there was a a sense of sustainability. I I think it's easy to just say, "Oh, that was absolute, you know, improbable or unsustainable or something like that now, but at the time it did feel like this was just something that they could continue to build off." And and maybe it's to the same point that you made earlier that they were getting these uh above their weight kind of production from uh role players like Himeid, Fenteo, etc. Pella Larson was coming off the bench. He started and he would have played great minutes there. Khalil wind up getting some minutes with Bam's absence due to injury and he wind up playing great and now it just feels like nobody's having these moments. So, it's hard not to look at what we've seen over the last couple weeks. I mean, that's pretty that's a pretty incredible statistic that they haven't found a way to win two weeks. And I know that's because of the longer gap during during the NBA Cup and everything else like that, but they they've just struggled. They haven't looked at even leading up to this fivegame losing streak. They had have some rough spots there, too. And it I feel like I feel like this is more what this team is like. And I hate saying it because I I don't want to be the kind of person that flip-flops in my perception of this team, but I was enthusiastic about this group. And then having seen what this group is like where the role players maybe they were just role players and maybe the expectations were unfair and maybe you know a lot as we talked about when we kind of reviewed Tyler and his impact to this team whether or not he was to blame because a lot of fans have cided. It's just everything has coincided so perfectly. It's just been a real bad stretch for these guys who have struggled in their roles have not been able to hit from the perimeter. have not been able to hit at the rim and haven't been able to defend at the same level. So, I I'm I'm kind of feeling like this is more like the team that it really is. And it's and I hate saying it, but I think that's just a reality that just maybe what we saw earlier was more of a mirage than I'd like to admit, but I just it doesn't feel fair to ask guys like Powell, Fentio, Larson, etc. to continue to produce at the same high level that they did early in the season for a full 82 games and they're still missing that kind of consistency. That's why they're role players. Nobody on this roster is a true 1A superstar and that's the reality and we've known this and I think the Heat know this, but yet you were having everybody play in such perfect harmony and producing at such a high level that it felt like maybe that was something they could continue to build off. now that other teams have figured it out and they've run into some solid defenses and it just has coincided again with their struggles offensively as they try to incorporate Tyler as guys have gone out due to injury etc. they just they don't look like a good team. And uh and right now even what the off the court stuff like the the idea that they had the intangibles like this group felt like there was a purpose there. They were playing with joy. They were playing with energy. They were playing with purpose. I haven't seen that. I've seen this team kind of get punched in the mouth by the Orlando Magic during the NBA Cup and not fighting a response. You could say the same thing in today's loss in Toronto. like Toronto after several days of rest should not have come to Miami and beaten this team on their home floor. There should have been an answer emotionally at the very least. And I didn't see that effort. I didn't see any kind of sense of urgency. I didn't see any sort of intensity whatsoever. And so I kind of think that this team has just said, "Oh, you know what? Maybe who we were is this." And who we were at the beginning of the season, that was nice. That was fun, but that was hard to do and to sustain. And so we're kind of just happy being a mediocre group all over again. God, I hate saying that, but that's what it feels like. It really does. Like, it sucks. Like, I I I feel like I don't want to be that negative, but I just I'm looking at this group and I just don't see the the the kind of intensity that we saw and witnessed over the first few weeks of the season. I I I still haven't found the team that plays with joy and intensity during a five-game losing streak. Right. It's very easy to say that that team doesn't look like it's having fun when they're losing games. But your point of the kind of the the the the not fighting back and maybe wishing that there was a little bit more fight from this team, there is a little bit of a oh here we go again kind of thing going on with this team. And it does remind me of the long losing streak from last season after the Jimmy Butler trade. Um, but I think that's natural and I think that's going to you eventually come out of it just like the team did last year. You eventually come out of that stuff, right? You you can only win games by playing more games and they got to they'll eventually get off the schneide here. Something we'll talk about here in a second. But in terms of whether or not this is the team, what what is the more accurate reflection of this team? The one from the beginning of the year or the one during this fivegame losing streak, I have some numbers for you. So before the five-game losing streak, this team was shooting 48.3% overall and 38% from three-point range. And they were outscoring teams by an average of 5.2 points per game. That would have ranked ninth in overall field goal percentage, fourth in three-point field goal percentage, and eighth in point differential. Okay. Do we really think this team was the ninth most efficient scoring team in in terms of field goal percentage in the league? Do we really think that this team was the fourth best three-point shooting team by percentage in the league? Probably not. That seems a little bit high for this roster, right? Um, so here's where they've ranked and and their percentages over this fivegame losing streak. They've dropped to 44.8% field goal percentage. That's 28th in the NBA. >> Yeah. >> They've dropped to 29% from three-point range. That's dead last by a mile in the NBA. And they've dropped and then and they're losing games by an average of 9.2 points per game during this losing streak. That's 28th in the NBA. So I ask the same question. Do we really think this is the 28th most efficient offense by field goal percentage in the league? No. Based on this roster, they're better than that. Do we think they are the worst three-point shooting team in the league? No. Based on this roster, they are better than that. Do we think they're 28th in point differential? No. Based on this roster and this coaching staff and everything we know, they seem to be, they're better than that. So, as it is most of the times, the truth is somewhere in the middle. You're never as good as your best stretch and you're never as bad as your worst stretch. And weirdly enough, David, I think we've seen this team's best stretch and I think we're currently living the worst stretch and we really haven't seen the middle stretch. We haven't seen where this team actually is, which is why I think this question is a question and it's why this team is so confusing. They went from their best stretch arguably to their worst stretch in a blink. I don't think we've seen them at water level just yet. And that's what I think is so confusing about this team. I and I eventually I think everything will readjust and this team will level out and uh they won't be quite as good as they were at the start of the year, but they're not going to be as bad as they are now. Um, anything else on this before we get to some listener questions in the next segment? You're muted. What does leveling out look like then? Like what is just somewhere in the middle? Not as bad as what we've seen. Not as good as what we've seen. It's just so back to beating kind of mediocre. Not bad necessarily, not good, just mediocre. >> I think if you start making more of your threes, again, if you're not fourth in the le for example, right? If you're not fourth in the NBA in three-point shooting rate, but you're not 30th. Okay. Well, let's let's say you're 15th, right? Let's just say you're right there smack in the middle. You're not getting those as many runouts. You're not giving as many runouts and transition opportunities to your opponent. your defense is a little bit better because of it. I just I I think that's what it looks like. It's doesn't look quite as frustrating. I think if you're the Heat, you're not in your head as much because you're missing seemingly every three-pointer that you put up. Uh and you're able to play with a little bit more of that energy and joy that we talked about. So, yeah, I just I think that's what it looks like. It looks like not losing to Toronto at home after a 4-day break or whatever it was. Uh that's what I think it looks like. >> Fair enough. Uh coming up next, we get to your listener questions. Plus, when will the Heat win their next game? 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So get lastminute hosting essentials, gifts for all your loved ones and decor to celebrate the holidays for way less. Head to wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's w a y f a iir.com. Wayfair, every style, every home. We'll be right back. Thanks again for making Lockdown Heat your first listen every day. Thank you to everybody who sent in questions for the postgame show. If you want to join uh uh the the Lockdown Heat Insider community, you can do so with the link in the show notes to ask questions for postgame shows just like this. But before we get to the listener questions, David, I have a question of my own. Thursday night's game in Brooklyn, is that a must-win for this Heat team? I hate even thinking about it in that regard, but after that game in Brooklyn, a bad Nets team that's been playing better lately, but come on, it's they're a bad Brooklyn Nets team. After that, it's at Boston, at the Knicks, at home against this Raptor team you just lost to, and then in Atlanta. That could be 10 straight games, a 10ame losing streak. That would be really rough. Brooklyn is the best chance for the Heat to get their next win. >> Yeah, I don't know that it's a a must win because that like things can change. I would say that it's a win that you need to get back on track and to feel your mojo again. You need to get back to what it is that you were doing well and continue to build off that because you're going to enter that tough stretch. So, I guess in that sense, it is kind of a must-win. You you need you need it. You need to be able to remember your identity, remember your purpose because >> uh I don't know that you're going to find it against tougher competition. >> I can't believe you must win. >> I do like how you framed it. It's not a must-win, but it's a need to win. >> It doesn't like a must-win feels like like your whole season kind of hinges on it. And I still think it's too early for that. Like Miami could go on that 10-game losing streak and still wind up figuring it out. I don't think it's that dire, but it's just to me it's kind of like >> it's a game. You need to remember who you are offensively and defensively and be able to build off that because you're going to be facing tougher challenges. Like I I that's what stands out to me most about this group is that they've lost that kind of confidence that they had early on when we looked at this group and we're like, "Oh, wow. This is what winning feels like. This is what it a team that remembers that they can do these things uh with joy with uh kind of the the idea that that they're good enough to to figure it all out, etc. And then that they won't just blow these late game leads the way that they did last year. Well, I I don't have that confidence anymore. I even going into this Nets game and I don't I don't know that they can beat the Nets. I think a lot of these games that they've lost over the last five games have been winnable and yet this Miami team just hasn't found a way to respond. And that's that's my biggest problem with it is yet all the all the things we're seeing on the floor, the defense, the offense, etc. That all makes sense. And yet I I'm just looking at this group and I don't see them kind of just fighting with the same urgency that we did earlier in the season. >> If they make 29% of their threes again, they're probably going to lose that game in Brooklyn. >> Fair enough. >> It's just I I don't know what they got and and if they keep missing shot, if they keep missing layups, they're probably going to lose that game. If they're not getting back in transition, they're probably going to lose that game. So you're they're not it's not a must-win. You're right. It's too early, right? It doesn't like if they lose to Brooklyn doesn't mean this team is not making the playoffs, but um it's like a it's like a must win. >> I don't know what >> I really should win. How about >> Yeah. Yeah. Really? Really? You ought to you ought to win this one. Um Cody writes in, "Is Kelair back in the doghouse? It's tough to watch him get uh little fourth quarter run later in the game with Fonteo playing 26 minutes to where's 19. I see where you're going Cody with this. Like why is Fontekio with all of his struggles playing more minutes of Keller? It's a positional thing. It's the fact that Tyler Herro is a late scratch and they elevated Fonteo to the starting lineup. We I don't think that has anything to do with Fonte. I think that's more Eric Spolster trying to keep his rotations intact and being like, well, >> yeah, >> Fonteo sort of on the fringe of the rotation. Let's just elevate him to the starting lineup and that way we keep the bench unit basically in place. Especially if he was thinking I mean Spo did say that Nico had a good few days of practice. So maybe if Tyler Hero were healthy, the plan was always going to be playing Nico over Fentio. But then when Hero was a late scratch, you elevate Fentio into that starting lineup, keep the bench unit intact. So that's where that is. Where's 19 minutes? I mean, I don't know why people think people act like Cow's was playing 30 minutes per game at some point this year. He's the backup center. 19 minutes is a lot for a backup center. I I I would that said, I would like to see more minutes of him and Bam on the court together. We really only saw it for two or three minutes in the first half and that was it. Yeah. Um I don't think conditioning is an issue. I don't think he's in the doghouse necessarily. Like I I think Spo has had a maybe a quicker hook than he should have. Uh but I don't think it's the same thing as a dog. Like a a player truly in the doghouse won't even see the this the floor like what we saw from Nicolola Yoic over the last few weeks. Like that's that's a player in the doghouse. And not even in a necessarily in a bad way. I just he didn't rise to the challenge. And I don't think wear has been put there. And I think Spo and the coaching staff still recognize he has value as the team's backup center. They do need a big out there and there are no other options after Pam Abio. So I think where's going to continue to get playing time. Maybe he's just being a little guarded for a reason. I I don't know. It's something we're have to ask him next time we talk to him. >> Carlos writes in, "Is Giannis really going to want to come to this team?" >> Yes. >> Yes. I think Giannis looks at himself as the uh savior. How about that? Is this group I mean and whatever players are left on this roster following any trade any theoretical trade we should mention that for Diannis is that better than what the Bucks currently have on that roster. Bobby Portoris, Miles Turner, Gary Trent Jr. >> I think I think so. And but this is why it's good that Giannis is injured almost because it gives the Heat a couple more weeks to uh to get out of this uh slump here and and start playing good basketball by the time uh because I don't think anybody's going to trade for Giannis until they see him out there on the court uh after what that injury looked like. Um another listener writes in, "What happened to that other team? You know, the one that was winning and having fun. They're definitely not having fun now, and neither am I watching them." a little bit like what we were talking about earlier, David, but uh like I said, I I still have yet to find the team that plays with a ton of joy in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Uh shots will start going in. They'll start winning games. I think you'll start seeing some of that joy um back with this team. >> Yeah. Um I think we talked about that. I saw I'm glad to see that a lot of those same questions are aligning with our thought as to whether or not this team was one version or the other because it's just been such a >> a strange departure. like they were the talk of the NBA. They caught everybody by surprise and now it's like, "Oh, okay. This is who we thought they were." So, I maybe you're right. Maybe that's a more sensible approach is just to say it's probably something in the middle. >> Malachi writes in, "Is it time to worry about the season or is it still too early?" It's early to worry about the season, but I think it is fair to look at the the Eastern Conference standings. Um, in terms of whether or not they're going to miss the playoffs, I wouldn't worry about that right now. But you don't want to lose ground uh on some of these teams that are sort of in the same spot as you. >> Yeah. Um, you got to figure it out. You got to figure it out and try to just treading water isn't enough. Like you want to I I thought this team was going to again be different. Like I thought they were in the standings. They were winning. They were they were beating opponents the way that we had seen them kind of build towards something and and now with the east as wide open as it is. You you you don't want to lose too much ground. I think that's just essential for this group. >> That'll do it for us today. Thanks for tuning in to Locked on Heat. Make sure you're subscribed. Follow Locked on Heat so you get all of the latest episodes. Find us on Twitter and on Instagram, Locked on Heat. Did Locked on Heat make your Spotify wrapped? Prove it on social media to secure a free month of our brand new Everydayer Club. 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Miami Heat’s five-game skid sparks tough questions—are they contenders or pretenders in the Eastern Conference?

Wes Goldberg and David Ramil break down the Heat’s 106-96 loss to the Toronto Raptors, spotlighting troubling issues with missed layups, poor three-point shooting, and the team’s heavy reliance on role players like Simone Fontecchio and Norm Powell. With Tyler Herro sidelined by injury and Bam Adebayo trying to shoulder the load, is Miami missing a true go-to scorer for late-game situations?

The hosts analyze Erik Spoelstra’s lineup shifts, Kel’el Ware’s minutes, and Nikola Jovic’s scary elbow injury, while debating whether this offensive slump reflects a temporary cold streak or reveals deeper roster flaws. Listener questions on Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors and Heat playoff chances add intrigue, as Brooklyn looms as a critical matchup to stop the slide. Can Miami rediscover their rhythm—or is mediocrity their new reality?

0:00 – Heat’s Offensive Struggles
13:55 – Who Are the Real Heat?
25:59 – Must-Win vs. Nets & Listener Questions

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