How do the Miami Heat fix this? No easy answers

There is no denying it, the Heat has been atrocious recently. They are on a seven game-losing streak and have fallen into the play-in positions in the standings. The Heat cannot afford to be a play-in team again. Changes need to be made for them to become relevant in the Eastern Conference again.

The question is what are those changes? Let’s talk about that. 

Lineup change?

The Easiest change the Heat can make is a lineup change, and we all know which one would be best. Starting Duncan Robinson for Tyler Herro makes sense in many areas. The change would have nothing to do with who is a better player and it would not be an indictment against Herro. The basis of the change would be simple, Robinson is a better fit for the starting lineup. The Heat have been terrible to start games, especially on the offensive end. There has been no flow, and everything looks forced. They are trying to make something work that has proven it cannot consistently produce results. Adding Robinson to the starting lineup fixes multiple issues. First, the offense looks fluid whenever he is on the court. There is more off-ball movement, and the ball is shared more. The defense does not have the luxury of standing still and it opens up opportunities for quality shots. Robinson also has great chemistry with others in the starting lineup and can play off of them to generate easy looks. As for Herro, he would go back to a role that he excelled at early in his career. With the second unit, he would be able to play the style he prefers and handle the ball more often. There also would not be as much pressure for him to fit in with the other stars. It opens up the freedom in his game and his creativity, without taking away from what the other stars do best. I genuinely think Herro can be a super sub and dominate with the second unit. It would be odd to have your third-best player come off the bench, but hey it worked in the past. I mean he won 6th Man of the Year; he knows how to come off the bench. 

Another filler trade?

The Miami Heat made a trade and received Terry Rozier. I believe this helps several of their problems and we will see this pay off once Rozier plays a couple more games with the team. The Heat still have issues though and could look to make another move. The most logical guy to be included would be Caleb Martin, mostly due to his contract situation and the arrival of Jaime Jaquez Jr. His contract size is decent, and he is set to become a free agent, he has a player option for next year but will certainly decline it. The Heat might not be able to afford him in the offseason and could lose him for nothing. Martin is a talented player that teams could use to be a spark plug on their team. There would be plenty of suitors for him, whether that be contenders or lottery teams looking to flip him for a 1st round pick. The Heat could use his contract as the basis to look for upgrades in weaker aspects of the team. The Heat desperately need more size and trading Martin could bring that in. He could also get you a backup PG to sure up an area that has been lacking all year. There would be many avenues the Heat could go with this. The next few games will be massive. If the Heat continue to slide then a trade almost certainly has to be made, and it would almost certainly include Martin. If you are someone who enjoys using trade machines, I would start looking for PGs or PFs around the NBA who are close to Martin’s contract. 

Time to blow it up?

Now here is the hard conversation, is it time to blow it up? No, I am not talking about trading Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo, which is something that should never happen, (I am looking at you, Ethan.) The way most teams improve is by moving their third best player for a better player or better fit. So that brings us to the trade machine king himself, Tyler Herro. I want to make it clear; I like Herro and do not want him gone. With that said though, if the Heat want to win a championship a trade might need to be made and Herro would be the guy that makes the most sense. Some of the reasons were mentioned earlier, but he also would be able to get you a very good player in return. No matter how many times people tell you that Herro does not have worth that is simply not true. He is an excellent young player who has shown he can be a 20-point scorer, numerous teams could use his services. The biggest issue with trading Herro is if there is anyone available that is worth giving up Herro. It is not worth it to trade him for mediocre players or even good players. If you trade Herro, you need to get back an equal or greater player in return. I am skeptical the Heat would be able to find a trade before the deadline, but if they flame out in the playoffs then all bets are off. 

Jimmy Buckets, our only hope?

The Heat desperately need a superhero to save them if no lineup or personal changes are going to be made. Thankfully, we have one on the squad. During his time in Miami, Jimmy Butler has been known to be one of the best playoff performers in the NBA. He has consistently had all-time performances and has put the team behind his back when they have needed him the most. This year it seems like Butler will need to channel his best earlier and help this team claw out of the play-in seeds. Unfortunately, the Heat have not received the same Butler this year that they have had in the past. He is not as active on the court and looks disengaged too many times. Even his post-game answers have been different recently. He looks frustrated and tired. I have to question if missing out on Dame and Jrue is weighing on him. The good news for Heat fans is that Jimmy Butler had his most “Jimmy Buckets” game of the season, in the Heat’s last game against the Knicks. Though the 4th quarter did not go well (at all), this was the first game that Butler asserted his will in a way we are used to seeing. He attacked mismatches and took them to the post. He was engaged on defense and playing with heart again. He led the big comeback in the 3rd quarter and was doing everything for Miami. Though like I said this did not lead to a win this time, Jimmy Butler needs to do more of that. He needs to be selfish; he needs to demand the ball and look to score. The takeaway from every game should be that Butler was the best player on the court. If the Heat want to make a deep run in the playoffs without making any changes, it falls all on a familiar face in Jimmy Buckets. 

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