TURNING OFF THE HEAT

The Miami Heat had no control over their destiny. They could only wait and watch on Tuesday night as the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards went to double overtime.

The Heat’s chances of making the playoffs were impossibly slim anyway, but the Pacers’ 99-95 victory extinguished them. The Pacers earned a playoff berth with their victory and the Heat, waiting to finish the season on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, vanished from the scene.

It’s the first time since 2008 the Heat won’t be in the playoffs, the first time since the 2005 Los Angeles Lakers that a team in the NBA Finals one year went failed to qualify for the postseason the next.

The Heat went to four consecutive Final Fours and won two NBA titles when LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade made up their Big Three. But James opted out of his contact and returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Bosh was lost to a blood clot in his lung and Wade could not carry the Heat to the playoffs as the Big One. Losing free-agent signee Josh McRoberts in December was another blow and so was the decision by Ray Allen not to return.

The Heat go into their finale with a 36-45 record, which ought not be playoff-worthy anyway. The NBA’s Eastern Conference is stuffed with such bearers of mediocre marks. Indiana is 38-43 and the Boston Celtics, the No. 7 seed at this point, are 39-42.

The Heat never seemed bound for greatness this season. Too many missing parts and too many changes made them a middle-tier team in a middle-tier conference.

They’ll reload. Or rebuild. Or re-Heat. But for the next two months – that time of the season when the Heat could burn up the court – it’s going to be cold and lonely in Miami.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .