The Miami Heat, the defending Eastern Conference champions, find themselves in danger of not having a guaranteed playoff spot as they carry a 28-28 record, a game and a half behind the sixth-place New York Knicks. And for a team hoping for a return trip to the Finals, they’ll have a lot on their plate when the Brooklyn Nets pay them a visit on Monday.
The Heat are coming off one of their most disappointing losses of the season, falling victims to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves. It was an upset victory for the T-Wolves who only have 15 wins to their name.
"You just think we're such a good team, and then reality hits us, we're humbled,” said Heat star Jimmy Butler, who had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in a losing effort. "And I'm glad. Because that's what this game does to you, home, away, no matter what opponent you're playing against, you just stroll into the game thinking you're nice, you're good, this is what happens. If we don't fix it, I hope it continues to happen to us."
Butler is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Nets due to a right ankle sprain, but he didn’t mince words on how much his team needs to improve.
"We don't deserve to win,” he went on. "Whenever we take these teams lightly, we don't do what we're supposed to do on the defensive end. We just look bad, as a whole, as a group, as a unit. It's not good basketball.”
Newly acquired Victor Oladipo has yet to make a significant impact in Miami because of a nagging injury. The high-flying guard went limping to the locker room following a dunk in the Heat’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month. He has only played a total of four games for his new team and has missed the last four due to right knee soreness.
The Heat will need to find all the inspiration they could get when they face the Nets, who are currently the second seed in the East with a 38-18 record.
The Nets continue to use the regular season to experiment with different lineups. They have begun the process of moving on after LaMarcus Aldridge announced his retirement due to a heart ailment earlier this week.
James Harden will sit out his sixth straight game to nurse a right hamstring strain. The Beard remains the league leader in assists with 10.9 a game and his scoring of 25.2 points per outing will be missed by his team as well. The Nets continue to be undermanned in the guard position as Chris Chiozza is recovering from hand surgery, while Tyler Johnson is dealing with right knee soreness.
But a team with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is hardly ever short-handed. Durant had 25 points and 11 assists in the Nets’ 130-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets while Irving chipped in with 12 points, six dimes, and three steals.
The Heat are desperate for any win that they can get right now with 16 games left in their schedule. It will be interesting to see if Butler’s words have lit a fire under his teammates and if this will be enough to push them into the playoffs. The Nets, on the other hand, have health and chemistry as their main priorities heading into the tail-end of the regular season.
Catch the Nets as they take on the Heat, 3:30 AM on NBA TV Philippines or NBA.smart.
