The Miami Heat return to court of the crime

It's been a long five and a half months.

You might remember last April -- or if you're a Miami Heat fan, maybe you don't want to.

The Heat returned to the Kaseya Center for Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference first round, after putting up a reasonable fight in at least Game 1 in Cleveland. There was some talk of Miami making it competitive, at least, against the top-seeded team led by Donovan Mitchell.

The Heat didn't come close.

The Cavaliers won the final two games.... by a total of 92 points.

No one on the Heat acquitted himself well in that series, not top players Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, not young players such as Kel'el Ware, not veterans like Andrew Wiggins. And not the coaching staff either. It had no answers.

The Heat headed into the offseason as their fans' boos turned to apathy and a half-empty building.

Monday, they finally return for a game, a preseason visit from the Milwaukee Bucks, with tipoff at 7:30pm. And while the game won't have significance in any standings, it does have some meaning. The Heat need to start earning the faith of their fans back, from the jump. They are coming off a spirited mini-camp, and they have a younger roster, plus a nice addition in Norman Powell.

We will see who takes the floor Monday; the Heat are still dealing with a rash of guard injuries, starting with Herro, but also including Davion Mitchell, Terry Rozier and Pelle Larsson.

And while winning or losing doesn't matter, it does matter that the Heat compete. If only to start to wash away some of the bad taste from the last time on this scene.

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