"But their loss against Minnesota - their second in four days to them - continued to reinforce a truth that's been the case for three years: When pinned against longer, deeper, more athletic teams, the Heat can't overcome the hurdle in front of them. Recent exceptions to the rule are the Denver Nuggets - who were without Nikola Jokic for the second half - and the Detroit Pistons. Those were good wins - very good wins."
"Better yet, each of the Heat's last seven losses has come to teams with a winning record. All but one have come by double digits, with two by 20-plus points. They re-found their identity to close the 2025 calendar year. Yet, as we've seen time and time again, when the pace begins to slow down, the Heat's offense can't consistently function. That largely happens against good teams. And that happened again versus the Timberwolves."
Miami suffered a 28-point loss to Minnesota, its worst defeat of the season and a second loss to the same opponent in four days. The Heat dominate weaker opponents but struggle against longer, deeper, more athletic teams, evidenced by a 7-15 record versus .500-or-better teams this year and 13-2 versus teams below .500. Over three seasons Miami is 38-72 against .500-or-better opponents. The offense falters when the pace slows, with 17 turnovers, poor paint shooting (19-of-47, 13-of-26 at the rim) and an 85.6 halfcourt offensive rating (17th percentile).
Read at Hot Hot Hoops - Miami HEAT NBA Blog
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