Another loss for the Miami Heat came at home against the Milwaukee Bucks, one of the hottest teams in the league, carries on with their alarming slide, which is about injuries, but also about this team possibly relying on old legs to carry it through an entire season.
The Heat lost 91-79, their fifth loss in seven games, which drops them to sixth in the conference. Four of these losses have been by double digits, with the Heat scoring over 100 points just once in the last six games. They shot just 36.5% from the field in the loss to the Bucks, with Dwyane Wade being held to just two points, and the team in general looking helpless whenever Chris Bosh (23 points) wasn’t on the floor. Their only win recently has been against Denver, a game in which Wade didn’t play.
Goran Dragic has been out for four games, Beno Udrih is injured as well. The bench, this time comprising Amare Stoudemire (6 points), Justise Winslow (2 points), Gerald Green (6 points) and Josh Richardson (3 points), looked ineffectual and kept looking to a worn out Wade for answers. The Heat were better without Wade, who might need a little bit more rest, and in his current state, fatigued, slow and easy to match up against, is doing more harm than good.
Hassan Whiteside scored 23 points while grabbing 18 rebounds. He is a statistical juggernaut, but the Heat are limited at times because of him, although considering who they have on their roster, there isn’t any other option. He does lead the NBA in blocked shots (3.9 per game) and is almost an automatic double double whenever he plays more than 25 minutes. But what the Heat need is some playmaking in the backcourt, which at the moment is their weakest spot, and might continue to be like this for a while.
Rolling the film back to last season, the Heat’s collapse and eventual missing of the playoffs began midseason. At some point Bosh, with a life-threatening condition, was shut down and the Heat made a move for Dragic while Whiteside emerged out of nowhere. The Heat missed out on the postseason as their impressive rebounding from LeBron James leaving them went down the toilet. They had a solid start to this season too, but right now, it seems too much like deja vu, which means there isn’t going to be a happy ending.