The Miami Heat are enduring a NBA season full of ups and downs, plagued by inconsistencies and off-court distractions, including the recent trade drama surrounding Jimmy Butler. With the team struggling to find its rhythm, All-Star guard Tyler Herro recently acknowledged the unusual nature of this stretch of the season.
Speaking to The Miami Herald, Herro addressed the challenges the team is facing and the areas they need to improve after the All-Star break. “It’s a weird part of the season right now,” Herro said. “We just made a trade, and some guys we rely on are dealing with illness. You really can’t control that. But our disposition and the way we came out could have been better. Our energy and effort—especially defensively—needed to be higher.”
Herro also pointed to the team’s recurring struggles in closing out games. “I feel like that’s been the case over the last week or so,” Herro continued. “We’ve been in positions to win, but there are moments where we lack effort, attention to detail, or just get too relaxed. We’re right there in these games, but we need to figure out how to sustain a full 48-minute performance so we can start closing them out.”
Heat falter against short-handed Mavericks
Miami is coming off a disappointing loss to a depleted Dallas Mavericks team that was missing key stars Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, P.J. Washington, and their newest acquisition, Anthony Davis. Despite Herro’s 40-point performance, the Heat struggled without Bam Adebayo, further highlighting their lack of consistency on both ends of the floor.
Frustration growing in Miami
Following the loss, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra did not mince words about the team’s mindset. He admitted that emotions in the locker room are running high as frustration continues to mount.
“Everybody understands the urgency right now,” Spoelstra said. “There’s not a single person in that locker room who doesn’t feel it. We’re disappointed. We’re frustrated. This is humbling.”
Despite the struggles, Spoelstra remained confident in his team’s ability to turn things around. “We’re going to correct this,” he continued. “We have enough experience with these situations. Our guys are fully aware of what needs to change. We’ll take a few days off, the staff will go to work, and I promise—we’re going to fix this.”