The Miami HEAT dropped another home game that they desperately needed to the Denver Nuggets, as they try to finish off a remarkable turn around with a playoff berth. At 11-30 in mid January, the 2017 campaign was virtually dead and a lottery selection was on the horizon. A combination of players coming back from injury and stellar play led to the 7th seed coming into their game versus the Nuggets, but keeping that playoff mentality going for several months is starting to reveal a mental fatigue that is reflected in their recent struggles.
The HEAT got off to another slow start against the Nuggets, but finally woke up late in the 3rd quarter with a run buoyed by several 3-point baskets. They sustained some of that momentum into the 4th quarter, with another barrage of 3’s, leading to their first lead of the night after Josh Richardson brought the crowd to its feet. The issue tonight wasn’t on offense for the HEAT, it was defense. Gallinari and Jokic did pretty much whatever they wanted for Denver in the 1st half, and finished the game off with a dagger 3 and a jumper respectively, that proved to be the difference in the game.
After the game, Coach Spoelstra alluded to the HEAT’s apparent mental fatigue by announcing that he was giving the team the next day off to regroup and get away from basketball.
At this point, it is clear that the Miami HEAT are beginning to run out of gas as a team as the playoff home stretch comes into full view. The HEAT have exhausted a tremendous amount of energy and grit, which has led the team to over achieve in a season that was all but doomed. The problem Miami faces with only 5 games left is.., do they have enough left in the tank to propel them into the playoffs? Four of their five remaining games will be against playoff teams with winning records that are also jockeying for position, so it will take a Herculean effort to win the majority of those contests.
The fear is that their last two home losses may be a sign that the HEAT now resemble a fatigued fighter heading into the late rounds of a fight, hanging on to a slim lead on the score cards. We will find out during Wednesday’s game versus Charlotte, if the HEAT can pull out a late round victory in their playoff fight.