CAN’T STAND THE HEAT

The Miami Heat bump and thump along in this trying season, a low-octane version of what they once were.

Used to be the question was if they would repeat as NBA champions. Now it’s if they will make the playoffs.

Tuesday night’s 89-88 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks hurt in a lot of ways. One, it was the Heat’s third defeat in a row. Two, it dropped them 2 ½ games behind the Bucks (35-36) for the sixth of eight playoff slots in the Eastern Conference. Three, they blew a 16-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost on Khris Middleton’s ridiculous 3-point buzzer beater. Four, the Heat scored a pitiful nine points in the fourth quarter and were outscored 18-3 down the stretch.

Worse, the Heat have two more games on the road, starting tonight against the Boston Celtics (31-39 and holding on to that final playoff slot) and then on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks (53-17). The Heat (32-38) wouldn’t even be a playoff contender in the rugged Western Conference.

Having lost LeBron James as a free agent, then Josh McRoberts to injury and Chris Bosh to a blood clot, it’s no wonder the Heat struggle to compete. Oddly, if the playoffs began today, the Heat would be seeded seventh in the Eastern Conference and would play the No. 2 seed – the Cleveland Cavaliers and the aforementioned Mr. James. But again, they’re just one game up on the Celtics and 1 ½ games ahead of the Charlotte Hornets. These are uneasy times.

After four consecutive years in the NBA Finals and a pair of championships, the Heat are reduced to pedestrian status. And they’d better watch where they walk.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .