The joke the past few years has been that it can’t be a Miami Heat game if it’s not a clutch game.
Time after time, contests came down to the final five minutes with the game within a five-point margin one way or the other, which is how the NBA statistically defines “clutch” time.
The Heat led the NBA in 2024-25 with 195 clutch minutes and — in part because of Jimmy Butler’s petulance, suspensions and then departure — were a dreadful minus-61, third-worst in the NBA.
This season, however, has been a bit different. The Heat have ventured into clutch time in less than half their games (25), which entered Wednesday’s play tied for 20th in the NBA. They’ve played just 80 clutch minutes, which ranked 27th in the NBA, ahead of only the Wizards, Nets and Lakers, and only a little more than half of the league high (their next opponent, Philadelphia, with 147).
They are minus-20 in those minutes.
Philadelphia, by contrast, is plus-47.
Why aren’t the Heat especially good in the clutch? A lot of reasons. They don’t have an elite creator, or someone who gets to the line consistently — that was Butler’s superpower. They’re small, so sometimes finishing possessions is a problem.
But also, one player who used to be efficient in clutch situations hasn’t been at all this season.
That’s Bam Adebayo.