The 2022-23 NBA season has seen a lot of big teams get off to slow starts. The Warriors and Clippers, two teams that many expected to see face off in the Western Conference Finals, are 3-4, while the Nets and the Heat are 2-5. Miami tends to get overlooked even when they’re doing well, so it’s not a surprise that a lot of people aren’t talking about their struggles, as compared to the other three teams we mentioned.
Miami’s defense has really seen a big dip, as they were 4th in defensive rating last season but are just 18th now. That’s not the biggest reason they are losing, however, as it is their offense that is really struggling. The Heat were respectable on that end of the floor last season but are a complete mess this time around as they rank 24th in offensive rating.
Jimmy Butler Thinks The Miami Heat Will Win The NBA Championship
While their offense is struggling, it is certainly not because Jimmy Butler has regressed in any way. He is still giving them the same production that he did last season, but almost everyone else has seen their numbers dip a little bit. Butler is confident though, that they’ll get it fixed and said he doesn’t care about their poor start.
via The Athletic:
“We’re still going to win the championship, and I don’t care what nobody says,” Butler says about his Heat while shaking his head. “Count us out. We’re going to win the f***ing championship. I’m telling you. I don’t give a damn that we started 2-5.”
The Heat do deserve some respect in the sense that you can’t completely count them out, as this is a team that knows what it takes to have success in the postseason. They made it to the NBA Finals in 2020 and nearly made it back there this year, as Butler missed the shot that could have potentially won Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Celtics.
Still, the front office clearly knew that this team needed more firepower, which is why they were chasing Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell in the offseason. It is now up to guys like Tyler Herro, who got his big extension, to step up and help out Butler. Paul Pierce also had a suggestion for Miami to turn things around, as he said they should have Kyle Lowry coming off the bench, as he is getting up there in age. A similar move of sorts helped the Lakers when they decided to have Russell Westbrook come off the bench, and perhaps it could help the Heat as well.
