The Indiana Pacers bested the Miami Heat this weekend. (Mandatory Credit: Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
On the heels of back-to-back 28- and 24-point losses, the Miami Heat have hit their lowest point of the season to date.
It marked the ninth time in franchise history with two consecutive games resulted in 24-plus-point losses. The two defeats were at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the best teams in the West, and the Indiana Pacers, the worst team in the East.
In the midst of this dismal stretch, they are now heading back to the drawing board.
“We want to get back out there, but we have to have a better version of ourselves in terms of mentality, passion, connectivity,” Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said after Saturday’s loss to Pacers. “All that stuff that’s put us in position to win games this year.
“Every team goes through it. Look at what’s going on (in) both conferences. Except for the handful of teams at the top, everybody else is trying to figure out the consistency. We’re in that boat too. We’re trying to figure it out.”
Miami will face a quick turnaround less than 24 hours later on the second night of a back-to-back. And it’s not going to get any easier.
Heat encounter one of their toughest four-game stretches this season:
While the Heat face the 8th-easiest strength of schedule the rest of the season, this upcoming four-game stretch will be one of their toughest.
It begins with the reigning-champion Thunder Sunday evening. At 32-7, Oklahoma City is 8-6 over its last 14 — with three losses alone to the San Antonio Spurs. However, it has lost to Minnesota (by five), Phoenix (by three) and Charlotte (by 27).
They follow that up with three-straight at home against Phoenix, Boston and then OKC again. The combined record of those three opponents is 79-36 (.687).
Heat have struggled against good teams:
(Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/Brandon Dill)
I don’t mean to belabor an ongoing talking point — but the Heat have struggled to beat good teams all season. They are 7-15 against teams .500 or better (13-3 vs. below .500), including a 4-10 record against the top-4 seeds in each conference.
Oklahoma City, Boston and Phoenix all rank inside the top-10 in point differential. In those games, Miami is also 4-10 in those games.
The Heat’s inability to consistently beat good teams is largely indicative of them being mediocre; they can beat up on the bad teams, but typically don’t respond against everyone else.
While they are still trying to integrate Tyler Herro back into the mix, Miami must find a way to stay above water over this gruesome four-game stretch before a five-game West Coast road trip.
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