What Has Gone Wrong On The Miami Heat’s Five-Game Losing Streak?
The Miami Heat are riding their worst losing streak of the year after a 143-110 loss Thursday night to the Boston Celtics.
So what has gone wrong for Miami over the past five games?
Let’s start with the Heat’s inability to defend at the three-point line their past few games. Opponents are converting 47 percent of their shots from beyond the arc during the skid. Teams shot just 25 percent from deep during the Heat’s previous three-game win streak.
It all started with a blowout loss in Toronto against the Raptors. The Heat could not defend the three-ball, with the Raptors making 20 of their 38 shots from deep. That was the most amount of triples Miami had given up all season at the time. Gary Trent Jr. went 8 of 9 from three.
Three-pointers also cost the Heat a victory two nights later. Miami fell 109-108 to the Atlanta Hawks. The game was sealed by a Dejounte Murray triple to give the Hawks the lead with two seconds left. Atlanta also shot an above-average 43 percent from deep that night.
Even the Memphis Grizzlies without many of their stars were able to shoot 47 percent from three Wednesday. Miami’s defense was the worst one night later against the Celtics. The Heat broke their season record for the most threes allowed in a game, a mark that had been set at the start of the losing streak nonetheless. Boston made 22 triples Thursday.
Miami’s scoring has also struggled recently. The Heat failed to reach 100 points in three of their past five games. Miami has shot 43 percent from the field and just 33 percent from deep during the stretch.
There is no real scapegoat for the team’s current woes. Could it be the untimely injuries? Maybe it’s the roster adjustment? Maybe Miami is just playing teams that they don’t match up well against. The Heat have now fallen into a play-in spot, a spot in the standings that they wanted to steer clear of.
The schedule moving forward doesn’t get much easier. The Heat play the New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings next, three teams with playoff aspirations and quality rosters.
Casey Fahrer is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at caseyfahrer716@gmail.com.
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