Five conclusions from Miami Heat’s elimination from 2025 NBA Playoffs
The Miami Heat have been eliminated from the 2025 NBA playoffs after losing by 55 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After a shaky end to the regular season that saw the Heat go on both a 10-game losing streak and a seven-game winning streak, Miami were able to hold onto the 10th seed and a Play-In spot.
After fighting through the Play-In tournament, the Heat clinched the eighth seed to reach their sixth consecutive postseason, writes Florida News Blitz’s Oliver Carter.
Jimmy Butler is sorely missed
Following the blockbuster mid-season trade of Jimmy Butler for Andrew Wiggins, the Heat struggled to find their footing.
After the death of his father, the Texan requested a trade out of Miami.
After months of back and forth between Jimmy and Heat general manager, Pat Riley, a trade was finalised between Miami and Golden State.
Despite Tyler Herro managing to take a leap earning his first ever All-Star selection and the acquisition of former Toronto Raptors point guard Davion Mitchell, the Heat couldn’t fill the gap left by the six-time All Star.
The immediate impact of his departure was shown over their next 20 games, losing 16 and winning just four, while the Warriors managed 15 wins to just three losses in that same period.
Butler was the main man in Miami’s historical 2023 season, in which the Heat managed to make the NBA Finals after being in the Play-In, becoming the first team to do so.
After beating the Bulls for a third consecutive year and facing the Hawks for a second time in three seasons, the South Beach natives scraped into the eighth seed once again.
The Heat faced off against Cleveland, a team boasting the Defensive Player of the Year, Evan Mobley, superstar Donovan Mitchell and All Stars Darius Garland and Jarett Allen, without a superstar of their own.
Miami knew it would be a tough series, with many fans expecting a sweep - but the manner in which it happened was frankly embarrassing, losing by a cumulative 92 points across the final two games of the series and being beaten by 37 and 55 on their home court.
What happened to Bam Adebayo?
Following back-to-back All Star appearances and a fifth consecutive appearance on an all defensive team, Bam was expected to step up.
Having averaged 20.4 points per game in 22-23 and 19.3 in 23-24, with Jimmy Butler ageing and Tyler Herro’s injury struggles, many fans expected Adebayo to become the main man in Biscayne Bay.
However instead of the expected jump in production, Adebayo ended up averaging less points than his prior four seasons at just 18.1 as well as having his worst shooting year at just 48.5% having never previously dropped below 51%.
The drop in field goal percentage can be attributed to Coach Erik Spoelstra encouraging more three point attempts from the New Jersey big man, averaging 2.1 attempts from beyond the arc, compared to last seasons 0.6.
Despite the silver lining of the up-tic in three point volume, Adebayo’s performance in the playoffs has to be criticised.
Whereas in prior seasons Bam had seen a jump in scoring in the postseason, this year he averaged less points, steals, blocks, field goal and three point percentage.
Fans will hope that the former 13th overall pick can bounce back from this tough season and have a much larger impact.
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Role player struggles
Once a team that boasted multiple incredible role players, Miami has struggled in recent times to fill the gaps left by the departure of the second options.
Players such as Caleb Martin, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent, who on paper don't look that impactful, made a big dent in the identity of the Miami Heat since their departure.
The historic run to the 2023 finals saw Caleb Martin in heavy contention to win Eastern Conference Finals MVP over Jimmy Butler, Gabe Vincent with multiple game saving shots and Max Strus having 25 point explosions off the bench.
The role players on Miami’s current roster haven’t been good enough, three point specialist Duncan Robinson is viewed as overpaid by many NBA fans as he hasn't been able to match the highs of the 2020 season that earned him the current contract.
Jaime Jaquez Jr was a revelation as a rookie last season, however has seen a massive slump in output as a sophomore, struggling to shoot from beyond the arc.
And worst of all Terry Rozier, the former Hornet, was a consistent 20 point per game scorer during his time in Charlotte, but this season in Miami has dropped massively to just 10 points a night on 39% from the field.
This terrible production paired with few assists and little defensive help has seen the Ohio native dropped from the team altogether.
Davion Mitchell !!!
While most Heat role players haven't been good enough, the mid-season acquisition of Davion Mitchell looks like the main silver lining in an underwhelming season for Miami.
After joining the Heat off the back of the Jimmy Butler trade, Davion has bought the intensity that South Beach needs.
The self proclaimed ‘Heat Culture’ the team boasts on their city edition uniforms seemed lost until Mitchell arrived.
While he doesn't bring much scoring impact across his career, Davion has earned the nickname ‘off night’ as he is so good defensively that he forces opposition guards to have an off night.
The defensive intensity, hustle and occasional clutch shot making has quickly made Mitchell a fan favourite in Biscayne Bay.
Is Pat Riley settling for mediocrity?
This season marked the third straight year of Play-In appearances, a massive decline from the 21-22 season which saw them as the first seed.
2015 NBA finals MVP and former Heat player Andre Iguodala has been quoted as saying “Pat doesn't believe in tanking, he doesn't believe in rebuilding.”
Tanking, the practice of purposely building a bad roster in hopes of getting better draft picks to build in the future, is a heavily debated topic around the NBA.
While some teams such as the Wizards haven't had a winning record since 2018, others, like the OKC Thunder had a few down years and are now seen as the best team in the NBA.
Riley hates the idea of losing on purpose and tries to keep the Heat in contention every year.
However with the current roster and few trade assets, the Heat are struggling more and more each season to contend in the Eastern Conference.
Whilst on paper the Miami roster doesn’t look too bad there are many glaring weaknesses, mainly three point shooting which can’t be addressed in a single off season.
Riley’s refusal to allow the Heat a down year to build toward the future leaves them in a sort of NBA purgatory, not good enough to win the title, but just good enough to make the playoffs.
This leaves Heat fans wondering if the team has any hope in the near future and feeling that the team is directionless.
Riley also isn’t willing to take risks on big trades to push for a championship, leaving Miami somewhat directionless.
With an important off-season ahead, fans will hope that the team can find direction, possibly new star players and re-sign Davion Mitchell to a new contract.
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