Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler is as confident as they come in the NBA, and he has every reason to be. This season, however, Butler has no room to talk as the Heat struggle to round into form. Following their 107-100 loss to the Thunder on Friday, Jimmy opened up on the state of the team and their prognosis for the battles to come.
“I feel like every team in this league got guys that put the ball in the basket, maybe some a little bit better than others or in a different way,” said Butler in the postgame interview. “I don’t even know who we play next, but whoever we play, I guarantee they’ve got a guy that can score the ball at a high level. And then we’ve just got to do better guarding these individuals as a team, and not leaving guys on an island so much. There’s still time, but damn, not too much time.”
Yesterday’s loss, Miami’s second-straight, pushed the Heat to 6th in the standings, now in a two-way tie with the reeling Philadelphia 76ers. If things continue at this pace, the Heat risk falling into play-in territory, which they were hoping to avoid this year.
Of course, while the Heat were able to make the Finals as the 8th seed last season, they might have had an easier path had they managed to place a few spots higher in the standings. Now, they once again find themselves fighting to avoid the play-in tournament for the second straight year.
With only so much of the season left to go, the Heta may already be locked into the 4-8 range in the East but depending on where exactly they finish could make or break their playoff odds. Regardless, had they traded for Damian Lillard over the summer, they might be in a much better position right now.
Are The Miami Heat Having Regrets Over Passing On Damian Lillard?
You can never count out a team with Jimmy Butler and Erick Spoelstra, but the situation looks pretty dire in Miami right now. As they watch elite teams like the Celtics and Bucks get hot down the stretch of the season, they’ve struggled to battle their demons and it has resulted in turmoil both on and off the court.
The Miami Heat could have avoided this situation had they made a deal for Damian Lillard this past summer. After he specifically named Miami as his preferred destination, the Heat were expected to close the deal on a trade that would unite him with Butler and Bam.
Instead, the Heat doubled down on their role players and bet on guys like Caleb Martin, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and eventually Terry Rozier to lift the team into a top-three spot in the West. So far, only Jaime Jaquez has really worked out for them and injuries to both Terry and Martin have compromised their availability.
Put those concerns with rising competition in the East, and it’s easy to see how one might bet against the Heat this year. Without Lillard (or any true superstar guard to empower the offense), the Heat may struggle to keep pace with some of the top-heavy contenders in the league.
Then again, that’s what everyone thought last year when Miami shocked everyone and beat the one-seeded Bucks en route to a Finals run. Now, all of that is behind them and the odds of making it happen again are dwindling by the day.
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