The Miami Heat were looking to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics in Game 4. While they were disadvantaged with injuries to top players like Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler, Miami just had one of the all-time worst starts to a playoff game in history.
This is not hyperbole, as the Heat scored just one point for over half the first quarter until they made their first field goal of the game with 3:22 left on the clock. No team has had a start to a game like this in the last 25 years, let alone the #1 seed in the East.
Naturally, this performance is also one of the all-time worst ones in Heat’s franchise history. This is a team with a wealth of championships and deep playoff runs in recent history under the same head coach, so this is a true one-of-a-kind performance by Miami in Game 4:
The Heat did not make a shot until 3:22 left in the first quarter.
That's the longest drought without a field goal to start any playoff game over the last 25 years. pic.twitter.com/lPAZIDaY4x
— ESPN (@espn) May 24, 2022
The Heat have had no offensive flow in this game outside whatever Victor Oladipo has been creating for himself. Jimmy Butler is evidently moving slower as he tries to play through a knee injury. The lack of Tyler Herro is evident, as Herro has been the Heat’s best scorer all season long.
Miami’s roster is known to be one of the best in the league when all the pieces are together. However, they are looking horribly disjointed this game and unable to find answers around the Boston defense. The poor momentum is making them defensive liabilities as well.
If any coach can turn a team in a situation like this around for Game 5, it’s Coach Spo. Ideally, they can come up with some more ways to be offensively proficient and not have to rely on Jimmy Butler being a hero or Tyler Herro being available.
