On Monday, March 17, the Miami Heat‘s losing streak stretched to eight games with a loss to the New York Knicks. This is the first time in Erik Spoelstra’s 17-year tenure that the team has lost eight consecutive games.
Once again, Miami’s inability to execute down the stretch cost them. Spoelstra’s team has struggled in the final quarter of games this season. During his postgame news conference, the Heat head coach ensured the blame was shared throughout the franchise.
“We’re all getting tested,” Spoelstra said via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I’ve said this before, including myself, there’s no one that’s absolved from this. I have not come up with enough answers for this team. I have to do a better job. Our group has to do a better job. We have to put our feet into the dirt and hold our ground at this point.”
Spoelstra also made the eye-opening admission that right now, Miami has no answers for its fourth-quarter struggles despite trying everything.
“That’s the thing that we’ve been racking our time, our brains, everything, trying to find solutions for that,” Spoelstra said. “We have not come up with solutions and we’ve pretty much tried everything. That’s why I said, I haven’t been able to come up with solutions for that. This has been one of the biggest challenges of a regular season that I’ve been a part of. And we just have to stay the course.”
Spoelstra’s team currently sits 10th in the Eastern Conference, 6.5 games ahead of the Toronto Raptors. As such, Miami must figure out its issues in the coming weeks. Otherwise it’s unlikely we see Spoelstra’s team in the playoffs this year.
Heat Are Lacking ‘Competitive Spirit’
During a March 15 postgame news conference following the Heat’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the impressive head coach questioned his team’s competitive spirit.
“We lost our competitive spirit there in the second half,” Spoelstra said. “Enough has been said in the locker room, but we have a certain standard of how we expect to play and compete. We did not meet that standard tonight. When we meet that standard, it doesn’t mean that we’re going to win, obviously, we’re struggling to figure out how to win games, but you know, last night (vs. the Boston Celtics), we met a standard from a competitive standpoint tonight, tonight we did not.”
During Spoelstra’s 17-year tenure, the Heat have been known for their gritty approach to the game. They’ve always been well-drilled and willing to claw their way to victory. That’s what’s making this current slide so perplexing for Heat fans.
Andrew Wiggins is Remaining Confident
When Andrew Wiggins spoke to the media on March 15, he remained confident in his team’s chances of figuring things out in the coming weeks.
“I mean, it’s still good spirits, good vibes around the team,” Wiggins said. “You know, we all want the same thing, you know, which is to win, to see something positive in the outcome of these games. So as long as we keep the good vibes, keep that will to try to go there and stay competitive and win games, I feel like we’ll be alright.”
Wiggins missed Monday’s game against the Knicks. However, he will undoubtedly be hoping to help Miami get back in the win column sooner rather than later.
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