Tyler Herro’s recent comments are at the heart of the Miami Heat’s organizational problems.
At the start of the NBA offseason, it was believed that the Miami Heat, after an embarrassing first-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics, would be aggressive in their quest to reshape their roster. However, that didn’t happen. In fact, the Heat didn’t make many roster upgrades this offseason. The only handful of additions Miami made to their roster this summer involved drafting two players (and bringing in a few undrafted players) and signing Alec Burks. That’s it.
It’s almost as if the Heat don’t see themselves the same way the rest of the league does. And Tyler Herro’s recent comments (via Mat Issa) That seems to echo what the organization may be trying to sell the team — that this is a team that still has the ability to make a run in the Eastern Conference if it can stay healthy.
“We’re not healthy yet. But we believe that when we are healthy, we’re going to have a very strong team – a team that’s strong enough to make a run in the East and ultimately win the NBA title.”
– Tyler Herro
However, I can’t help but wonder if this message has become stale. And that might be the Heat’s biggest organizational problem: They’re living off past successes that the team can’t come back from.
The Boston Celtics are clearly superior to the Heat on paper, and it’s safe to say that Miami is probably also ranked below the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and maybe even the Orlando Magic. If the Heat can stay healthy this season, which could be an impossible task for an injury-prone team, they won’t even be ranked in the top four of the conference.
There is no guarantee that the Heat will make the playoffs, much less compete for a championship.
In theory, you want a team to be confident. But there can come a dangerous point where a team is no longer confident. It can reach a point where it becomes so confident that it loses track of reality. And the Heat’s lack of movement, its refusal to reshuffle its roster, and the incessant comments that spew unfounded confidence (and not just from Herro) seem to suggest that the organization may be at that point.
If the Heat truly believe this team can compete and finish higher than a 5th or 6th place finish in the Eastern Conference, that’s pretty worrisome. At this point, it’s not unreasonable to worry that the NBA game has passed Riley by.
Miami may be in for a rude awakening this season. That may be what it takes for this organization to truly step back and reevaluate every aspect of its roster. With time on Jimmy’s side and a hugely flawed supporting cast around him and Bam, it’s hard to be optimistic about the Heat heading into the season.
The Heat, surprisingly, may be the only ones who haven’t noticed.
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