In 2020, the Miami Heat reached the NBA Finals inside the Orlando bubble only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Three years later, the Heat reached the championship round but once again came up short against the Denver Nuggets in five games.
What’s the common denominator in their two playoff runs? Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo carried much of the offensive load both times, but seemed to wear down as the Finals wore on.
While the Heat received contributions from late round picks, undrafted free agents, reclamation projects and more, those feel good stories weren’t enough to get them over the hump in the end.
Not Enough Consistent Help
In their 94-89 Game Five loss, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 41 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Both played 40+ minutes with Adebayo logging 44 minutes.
The rest of the Heat roster?
Gabe Vincent shot three for 13 from the field in 22 minutes. Duncan Robinson had five points across 17 minutes. And Max Strus had 12 points but shot one for six from the three-point line.
By contrast, Finals MVP Nikola Jokic, had 28 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists. Michael Porter Jr. also chose the right time to come out of his shooting slump to finish Game Five with 16 points and 13 rebounds, and Jamal Murray put up a 14/8/8 statline in the series clinching game.
Butler wrapped up the 2023 playoffs with averages of 26.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.8 steals. Meanwhile Adebayo averaged 17.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, on 48.1% field goal shooting. Together, they formed a dynamic one-two punch. However, the game of basketball has five players on the court. And the Heat’s role players, who shone so brightly against Boston and Milwaukee, just weren’t consistent enough in the Finals to be relied upon.
With that in mind, many NBA insiders now believe the Heat will be looking to bolster the Butler-Adebayo duo with new reinforcements.
A Busy Offseason for Miami
Looking at the Miami Heat payroll, Butler, Adebayo, Robinson, and Nikola Jovic have live contracts until 2026. Injured guard Tyler Herro is locked up until 2027. The rest can either enter free agency this year or will be expiring contracts in 2024.
Strus and Martin can become free agents if Miami doesn’t want them back. Injured guard Victor Oladipo also has a $9.5-million player option he can pick up for the 2023-2024 season. Overall, the Heat could potentially lose six players to free agency this offseason. That’s where the trades to acquire another star could come in handy.
Prior to the start of the 2023 NBA Finals, some believed the Heat needed to trade for Damian Lillard of the Portland TrailBlazers. Lillard’s future in Portland remains uncertain with the Blazers star recently selling his Portland mansion. Reports also claim Miami tried to trade for Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets. Irving ended up with the Dallas Mavericks, but could theoretically join them via free agency this year. Whether Irving would fit in with the “Heat Culture” in South Beach is another matter entirely.
However, a trade for Lillard would require the Heat to send a big name or a warchest of picks back the other way. Neither of which they have ample amounts of at the moment.
While adding an All-Star calibre guard to the mix would undoubtedly make Miami a legitimate contender next season, the fact of the matter is that Denver won the series because of their points in the paint. The Nuggets outscored the Heat by an average margin of 13.6pts per game when it came to buckets down low. A figure which was the largest differential of any postseason game this year, and the largest Finals disparity since the year 2000.
It would be easy to dismiss that stat and assume that Jokic did all the damage. But while the Serbian big man was effective in the paint, it was actually Aaron Gordon who led all scorers in the restricted area with 44pts across 5 games.
With that in mind, would it make sense for Miami to target a Draymond Green, or Brook Lopez type player this offseason? Christian Wood, Dwight Powell, and Jakob Poeltl could also be on the team’s radar if they’re serious about adding some size beyond Bam in the front court.
Add in rumours of James Harden having some interest in Miami, and Heat fans will have no shortage of storylines to keep them occupied until next season. Or at least until the NBA draft on June 22nd.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Joe Glorioso. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.