Heat defense has fallen off the map - Hot Hot Hoops

Miami Heat (Mandatory Credit: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

Nearly three weeks ago, the Miami Heat were riding high. They were winners of seven-straight, 10 of their last 12 and 11 of their last 14, putting themselves in serious contention for a top-5 seed in the East. Despite being shorthanded, there was more rotational clarity, more two-way versatility and they looked like a team believing they could make a run in the East once the calendar turned April.

We still haven’t reached April, but the Miami Heat have suddenly crashed back to earth — hard. They have lost six of their last seven and own the league’s sixth-worst NET Rating over that span. That’s better than only the Kings, Wizards, Nets, Bucks and Grizzlies. The majority of those teams are tanking. The Heat are not — at least not intentionally.

The root of the cause has been its play on the defensive end, where the Heat have seemingly lost their identity. And there’s no better proof than the Heat’s latest 149-128 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“It’s extremely disappointing,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve put in the time. The guys have put in blood, swear and tears to develop a top-4 defense two weeks ago. And we need it the most is when we’ve let it disappear. It’s unacceptable.”

The Miami Heat defense has fallen off a cliff:

The Heat defense has dropped to No. 9 after being a top-5 unit earlier this month. Over the aforementioned seven-game sample — a small, but noteworthy one — they are No. 28, surrendering 124.9 points per 100 possessions.

The Heat defense — its physicality, discipline and relentlessness — has long been the identity of this team under Erik Spoelstra. But it’s crumbled at the worst time. According to Cleaning The Glass, five of the Heat’s worst six games defensively this year have all been within the last two weeks, allowing at least 130.9 points per 100 in those contests.

“At this time, it’s not like we’re trying to fabricate something out of nothing,” Spoelstra said. “We have five months of great defensive habits and we’ve put in a lot of work to develop those habits and develop pride in (our) defense. It would be one thing if we had the 20th-ranked defense for months and I’m saying, ‘Hey we have to defend.’ Literally two weeks ago — or less than — we had the fourth-ranked defense.

“We have it in us and when there’s the most pressure is when we need it the most right now. I hope we’re taking it to heart. We’re much better than (that).”

The worst part this recent trend is that it’s coorelated with the Heat’s health; they’re now fully healthy, yet the results yield as if they’re limping to the finish line. Their preferred starting lineup — Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Bam Adebayo — are merely mediocre (115.4 DRTG; 45th percentile) defensively, despite possessing three above-average defenders at their position, including one of the league’s best in Adebayo.

Their healthy group has continuously dug itself deep holes that’s become too insurmountable to overcome. With less than 10 games left, that’s an issue — a big issue. Miami is just two games out from the No. 6 seed in the East with little margin-for-error, suggesting it will almost be a sure-fire play-in team — again.

Heat defense has fallen off the map – Hot Hot Hoops

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