After one-half of this current chaotic whirlwind of an NBA “season,” the Miami Heat find themselves at 18-18. It was more of a matter of survival for Miami in the first lap around the track. They somehow pulled through and endured countless COVID and injury-related absences. Going through portions of the season playing 2-way guys major minutes and having all of their offseason signings contribute little to nothing in the process. But thanks to the East not running away from them amid the chaos, they held on and still have their sights set on homecourt in the first round. All of this thanks in large part to their alpha in Jimmy Butler. It only seemed appropriate that Butler, who survived his own Covid-related absence, would be the rope that led them out of the dark well they were stuck in. The man who came to the Heat because of its ethos and identity continues to be the engine that drives the team through every grueling mile.

How much have the Heat relied on the man they call Jimmy G Buckets? Their record with him so far sits at 14-8, which would put them near 3rd in the East. But without him, they are a measly 4-14, which puts them in the same class as the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. Although many of those games also featured quite a few of the other important Miami teammates being out.

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Still, it’s pretty apparent just how much Miami has relied upon their All-Star to make their team go. His importance can also be felt when he’s not on the floor in games he plays in, mainly on the offensive end. The team sports a 110.9 offensive rating when he’s out on the court, compared to the 104.2 they have when he sits. The difference is even more noticeable when you watch the film. Jimmy’s ability to get downhill despite defenses knowing his cruel intentions for the rim is masterful. And when that rim pressure isn’t there, the offense gets stuck with constant aimless passing around the perimeter, hoping something eventually cracks. It has definitely helped to have Goran Dragic back to be that downhill threat off the bench, but relying on an aging point guard with a million miles on him to be that guy is a dangerous game.

Miami needs to find that same identity, or at least a facsimile of it when he’s sitting and Dragic isn’t available, which is likely due to where he is in his career. Butler plays every minute with such a constant intensity that would make John Malkovich cry in his sleep. You can’t lean on him to this extent this early in the year when you expect him to take it to another level come playoff time. Not to mention that those Tom Thibodeau minutes can leave a mark on you.

Thankfully for Miami, Erik Spoelstra has monitored his minutes quite well, to the tune of 33.1 minutes a game. But in those 15 minutes and games that he’s not out there, the team can’t seem to keep that same identity. This is where Bam Adebayo comes into play. Bam, as Jimmy calls him, is the heart and soul of the Miami Heat. They need Adebayo to be that facsimile, especially in the inevitable games that Jimmy Butler will miss. Everyone and their mother knows that Bam can and should become the heir apparent to the Heat franchise and can be more than a facsimile. Hell, he’s probably that right now, and he might be the only one who doesn’t know it. Everyone knows it’s frustrating and certainly isn’t helped when Adebayo continues to end Zoom Pressers with “I need to be more aggressive.” Fans forget how painful growing pains can be until you’re experiencing them.

The Heat are a team of equal opportunity offense, but even Jimmy knows when it’s time to go into the do-it-yourself kit and give a jolt to an otherwise dead possession. Bam needs to find that kit himself and keep the team well above the tidal waves that hit them when Butler sits. It shouldn’t be a tsunami-like hit every time he goes to the bench, especially with Adebayo still being at the helm of the levees. That might be the final step the team needs to take to hit another level in the second half of the season.

I would love to see Miami run more reverse pick-and-rolls with Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson, forcing the defense to react to the near 6’10 bull that handles the ball and can make the smart pass whenever the opposition reacts. It’s not that Bam can’t bend a defense without Jimmy; it’s about the opportunities and willingness to do so. Last season Bam’s on/off numbers looked a lot better to the tune of a 5.0 net rating when on the floor. But those numbers have dipped considerably down to -0.4 this year. Both due to teams scouting the Adebayo-Robinson dribble-handoffs and Bam playing plenty of games with less than ideal rosters on the floor. Those handoffs don’t have the same juice, and it’s why I implore the team and Bam to try new avenues that could propel them to greater heights. It’s frustrating for fans because they have seen Adebayo answer these questions in spurts dating back to last season’s playoffs. Hopefully, the young ever-growing jewel of the team’s eye can realize it himself soon enough.

So much of this shouldn’t be on Adebayo’s shoulders but the rest of the team as well. Everyone needs to fill those gaps in their own way. Last season Miami had 8 guys who played major minutes contribute a positive net rating, compared to this year’s 3. Plenty can be attributed to guys playing a few spots too high in the rotation leading to a less than ideal distribution of minutes. In my opinion, a trade or two might help to shore up some of these problems, but it’s also up to the guys on the floor to do their part. It doesn’t matter how they do it, but they need to find that same balance and calm that comes when a guy like Butler steps on the floor. Or at least something close to it.

Miami shouldn’t take these Jimmy minutes for granted. What he’s doing is something special and rare. The only other players to put up at least 20-7.5-7.5-1.9stls on 57% True Shooting are Michael Jordan in 1988-89 and Magic Johnson in 1980-81. Don’t let these ever fleeting seasons fly by without a proper show of appreciation. This is the player who chose to make Miami his home because he identified with so much of what they do. Now he’s the team’s entire identity on a nightly basis. Miami needs to reward him even more by echoing that identity and carrying that torch he keeps lit with his burning fury. The Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler have become synonymous with each other. To survive the second half of the season, they need to make sure the relationship is more symbiotic than codependent. Jimmy won’t let this team down, and it’s up to them to do the same for him.

Marco Romo will be found on Twitter again soon. We promise.

Miami has now hit the 20 game mark of a 72 game season, which is when most teams would normally have an idea of what they are. For the Heat, that hasn’t been the case for reasons out of their hands. But things aren’t as simple as merely blaming COVID protocols. Questions and frustrations are starting to add up at a rate that can’t be ignored. And now they find themselves at 7-13 and tied for 11th in the East in this bizarre NBA season.

*record scratch* *freeze frame* Yup, that’s the Miami Heat. You’re probably wondering how they ended up in this situation. For starters, the team has had 14 different starting lineups already, and Jimmy Butler has played only 8 games. They’ve had to play Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Chris Silva more minutes than anyone should feel comfortable with. It’s not even that they’re getting minutes, but that they’ve been relied upon to do more than what they’re capable of in their prolonged stints. That’s been the tip of the iceberg that continues to threaten to sink the Miami Heat season. But the time for excuses has seemingly run its course on the fanbase. No longer does anyone want to hear about “getting everyone back” and seeing what you have. The very same glaring holes the team had coming into the season are still there. The same holes you had even before a game that should never have happened in D.C. started a protocol tailspin into sports hell.

“What you have” is a defense that is still struggling to contain dribble penetration and giving up 3s at an almost historical rate. Not to forget the turnover and rebounding problems that have lingered and stuck around like an unwelcome houseguest. Losing to the Magic and squeaking by teams like the Wizards, Hornets, and Kings on a nightly basis isn’t going to calm anyone’s worries. That very first game of the season against the Orlando Magic was a precursor of things to come. A game where they had everyone on hand yet allowed 113 points and gave away the ball like a Panda Express employee giving free samples at the mall. That game showed the flaws that are still apparent to this day.

While it’s true that the team has been hit hard by COVID protocols, it shouldn’t blind people to the fact that they aren’t good enough as is. They haven’t proven it in their limited time out there. Even going back to last season, the team was at .500 when the calendar flipped to 2020. It was until the team finally answered their questions at the Power Forward position and started a reinvigorated Goran Dragic when they reached its best and most cohesive form. A form that found the perfect balance of defense and offense they wanted all along. That form eludes them now, as both the team and fans clamor to fill those very same gaps that they had filled before. They didn’t answer those questions in the offseason as they struck out on every free agent power forward that would help their current situation. They were hamstrung by wanting to leave space for the 2021 offseason, which was supposed to have some major stars available. But now that all those stars are off the table, it makes it all the more frustrating that you were left with an empty plate. A plate that includes a generous portion of Moe Harkless that hasn’t filled up a starving appetite.

So you can understand the frustration being shared amongst everyone involved as time runs out in a shortened season filled with so many uncertainties. They just saw you go to the Finals and come within 2 wins of another title. Please don’t blame them for having even just an ounce of expectations for you. The organization itself knows competing for a title is first on their mind, especially after their comments that spoke of owing it to Jimmy Butler to win now. So why shouldn’t fans feel the same way? They’ve seen what a championship-contending team looks like — and what they see out there is a team in desperate need of a tune-up.

There’s a certain point where a never-ending avalanche of questions overwhelms you as you continue to struggle for answers. You can’t find yourself staring at a 9-15 record before a 7 game west coast road trip is at your doorstep. And that’s what everyone is afraid will happen unless things change in the immediate future. There is a genuine and terrifying chance that things could get even worse soon. You want to hopefully get the ship somewhat afloat before the sinking can even begin. You can imagine just how frustrated the actual players must be. They want to win as desperately as any Miami Heat team before them. But the answers are more than likely not on the team, which could be tough to swallow for them as they’ve grown so close together. The timelines of some of the player might not line up with where the Heat want to be. It’s why you see so many people clamoring for a trade. The answer could lie in a move similar to the Jae Crowder and Andre Iguodala trade of last season. It might have to be even more moves than that, to be honest.

Are you willing to wait until the trade deadline to possibly find that answer? You might be too late at that point, which adds even more throbbing to the headache. Make no mistake about it; if the team wins a few more in a row in the current “soft part” of their schedule, many of the same questions will still be there. It will just be a nice bandaid to a hemorrhaging patient. You’ll still need the tourniquet and sever what isn’t working. Most of the time, it feels like people want a trade just for the sake of a transaction, but this team is in genuine need of a change-up. Maybe it’s for the long-desired PJ Tucker along with Victor Oladipo? Or even a guy like Otto Porter Jr or Thaddeus Young, along with a swing at Lonzo Ball, might help. At this point, it’s just about who, not when—someone to spark that same magic and fill those gaps that you got at last year’s deadline.

Hopefully, things will get better soon, but you can’t simply hope. There will need to be some action. Whether that’s improved play on the court or a move that’ll reignite everyone, it needs to come soon. Time is ticking on not only this season but for the clocks of Jimmy Butler’s best years and Goran Dragic’s waning career. The frustration around this year will soon either be put to a stop by the team, or it’ll boil over into a wasted year that no one wants. Hopefully, the team and organization soon figure out how to stop the dam from breaking before the drowning starts.

Marco Romo (@Marco_Romo) is a new contributor to Five Reasons Sports Network.

KZ Okpala’s major motion picture with the Miami Heat is just about to go into year 2, but it feels like we’re still waiting for the opening credits. The fans feel like they want to see a closer look and better understand the case at hand. When will they get to see the story truly unfold? Answers seem to get hazier as the fog of a weird season continues to make this harder to see.

Taken with the 32nd pick in the 2nd round of the 2019 NBA Draft after a solid sophomore showing with Stanford, Okpala was seen as a reach by many experts. But the Miami Heat were in love with him and traded multiple future second-round picks to select the versatile Forward. Reports would later come out that they had him right after Tyler Herro in their overall draft board. The team was seemingly in love with the young and raw talent. His athleticism and length seemed to have caught the eyes of the scouting team. They saw so much potential that could eventually be unearthed by the famous Miami Heat developmental staff. We’re now into KZ’s second year as a pro athlete, and he has yet to etch a role out for the team that took a chance on him. While that’s understandable for a player taken in the 32nd slot, something still seems to not sit right with Heat fans. It’s hard to imagine why Okpala hasn’t been given much of an opportunity in a year where you need youth and seem to be down at least four players every other night.

Maybe it’s just the usual impatience from fans? They want to see the shiny new toy that Erik Spoelstra can unleash on the unsuspecting basketball universe. And you know just the type of magic the Coach can make happen out of seemingly nothing at his dispersal. Yet, the “shiny new toy” remains kept in the sealed package despite what seems to have been a more than willing taker. It could always be a case that has to do with more of what we’re not seeing. After all, Coach Spoelstra and the organization have always been big on showing in practices just how bad you want that playing time. Even with all that, there are still minutes there up for grabs because the choices aren’t very plentiful at the moment. You can’t blame the fanbase for wanting to see what the team saw when they took somewhat of a gamble when they selected him. The team kept lauding him as a first-round pick that they stole right from under the league’s noses. Especially after the same fans just finished watching Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn start almost all of last season despite them being an undrafted second-year player and a rookie.

Granted, those guys are a lot older, but NBA experience isn’t easy, no matter the age. But Tyler Herro and Precious Achiuwa seem to have had quite an easy time when getting at least constant bench minutes as rookies. To go even further back at examples like Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, who both found roles so early in their careers despite one of them spending so much time in the D-League (now G-League). KZ himself spent all of last year in the G-League developing his game almost the same way Richardson did. So shouldn’t a player who was touted as being almost equal to Herro prospect-wise be getting a much longer leash? Or it could be that Okpala was just hurt the most by not having a Summer League or regular Training Camp to work out even more of the rawness he still has. There are so many factors that fans keep going through in their heads that’ll eventually have them spinning out of control.

So far, it’s been an endless cycle of getting a taste of what Okpala could be, followed by a quick DNP the next day. And those tastes have left the fanbase craving more. Like an excellent teaser trailer of a crowdfunded movie, you want to see the full version of what so many people invested in. It’s always been on the players to force the coaching staff’s hands by showing them what they can do when they get opportunities. It’s hard to argue he hasn’t done as such. He’s shown you glimpses at that player you know he can become. He’s improved his shot, expanded his dribbling ability, and gotten so much stronger. The defensive skills have been the most promising, and that’s something “Heat Culture” has always preached. Okpala has made his mistakes here and there, but every player needs to have their growing pains sooner or later. Especially someone you’ve indicated will be a part of your future.

There is the argument that the team needs win-now players to see the floor to counterbalance the amount of youth getting such critical roles. Hence why you’ve seen players like Andre Iguodala and Moe Harkless continue getting those minutes instead. Even with that, I still think it wouldn’t hurt to showcase a guy like KZ in a year where it’s almost like a preseason half of the time. The worst case is that you’re taking minutes away from guys who will become more critical for possible trade bait or future playoff minutes. It’s a sort of fork in the road that Miami finds themselves in where they’re looking at both the win-now and future. There’s also the argument that the staff is trying to protect him from any deal he could be attached to in the future. While I can see where that’s coming from to an extent, I don’t think the Heat staff operates in that sort of manner.

It could very well be a case that he isn’t ready. And that may be the hardest pill to swallow for fans and even the staff itself. He may still be too raw and immature (basketball-wise) to have out there. It’s a difficult thing to let sink in because of how much you’ve been hearing about him. The fans have been fed this idea that he’s such an invaluable commodity of the future. Like a folk story, everything they’ve heard seems to look better in their heads than the actual reality. And fans don’t want their reality to crumble before them. But if he continues to play well in the minutes he gets, they’ll be right to keep asking questions.

For Okpala, one thing is for sure in that he’s going to keep trying every single time he’s given a chance. Miami always drafts guys who are willing to become the best versions of themselves. If the minutes continue to be uneven and uncertain, he’ll be there waiting to seize the opportunities, as slim as they may be. Even if his current role is slightly murky, he’ll make sure his future is bright in some capacity. He’s in the right environment and with the right people to do so. Soon he won’t be a mystery, but a thriller that you’ll need to see the endgame of. Hopefully, the ending doesn’t disappoint because you have all the right cast and crew on hand.

Marco Romo (@Marco_Romo) is a new contributor to Five Reasons Sports Network.

Miami has become the new sexy pick for best free agency destination after the Heat’s run at the NBA championship in the bubble this season. With the new-found popularity, the Heat will have some tough decisions to make when looking to improve the roster.

5. Demarcus Cousins

Despite being injured for the better part of the past two seasons, when healthy, Boogie Cousins is one of the most skilled big men in the league. His ability to shoot, pass and be a presence in the post should all be attractive lures for Miami. If Cousins buys into the now famed Heat culture and improves his fitness level and conditioning, the Heat could grab a steal. A year in the Heat organization could also help Cousins recoup some of the value he has lost due to injuries. He was in line for a max contract that never materialized after he ruptured his Achilles in 17-18 while playing for the Pelicans.

Does Boogie to Miami interest you at all? #HEATTwitter

— Royal A. Shepherd (@RoyalAShepherd) October 14, 2020

4. Victor Oladipo

Oladipo has made it apparent that he wants to win now. He has also expressed, albeit less overtly, his love for the city of Miami. At his peak, Oladipo is an all-star level two-way player that adds scoring, defense and some playmaking ability to a team. However, according to Ethan Skolnick on the Five on the Floor Podcast, Oladipo’s behavior in the bubble has raised some eyebrows about whether or not he is a winner. His injury history is also an area for concern — returning from a torn quad tendon in January. He averaged 14.5 PPG on 39 percent (32 percent from 3) shooting in 19 games.

3. Christian Wood

Brady Hawk has already detailed everything I wanted to in his article on Wood’s fit with Miami. Over Detroit’s final 13 games as the starting center, he posted numbers of 22.8 points and 9.9 boards on 56.2 percent shooting and 40.0 percent from three. Prying Wood away from Detroit will not be an easy task considering his breakout season following the trade of Andre Drummond. However, there is a chance and that is all Miami can ask for.

2. Jrue Holiday

Point of attack defense has been an area of concern for the Heat dating back to the beginning of the season. Holiday is an immediate upgrade in that area and many more. Not only is he an elite perimeter defender, but also a capable combo guard that can both facilitate the offense and score the ball. The 30-year old’s averages of 19.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists will fit in nicely with the current Heat squad. Holiday has also recently been recognized by several of his peers on various platforms as one of the most underrated player in the league. We all know where those types of guys can find a home.

1. Giannis Antetokoumpo

The reigning back-to-back MVP is at the top of every team’s wishlist. Rightfully so. His gawdy averages of 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game and recent earlier-than-expected playoff exits (you’re welcome) have GMs around the league salivating at the opportunity to acquire his services. Miami is believed to be amongst the frontrunners to land him should he decide to part ways with Milwaukee, along with Dallas, Toronto and Golden State. What the Heat offer Giannis is a ready-made championship contender that fits his style of play. In turn, Giannis gives the Heat another star to pair with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

Royal Shepherd (@RoyalAShepherd) has written for several major newspapers, including the Tallahassee Democrat and the Augusta Chronicle, and now contributes to Five Reasons Sports.