Miami Heat: When Hopes Are Dashed

A week and a half ago, Miami Heat fans were excited about the prospect of their team making the playoffs. I had even written about the new and enhanced team, with Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade (who was playing better than he had played in a long time) and Hassan Whiteside.

This three-headed monster had a supporting cast, and they were winning tough games. It seemed that they were even going to get to .500, something that they have not done since the beginning of the season.

More from Miami Heat

It was not meant to be.

And it is a tragedy, to be truthful, because the team had potential. It seems that the fates have decided that they are not going to allow this team to be successful. Injuries have continued to pile on top of one another. The irony about it though is that Wade has been able to keep relatively healthy throughout the process, and he was the biggest question mark. Chris Bosh found out that he had a blood clot in his lungs earlier in the season, and that put him out for the rest of the season.

It isn’t just him though. Hassan Whiteside needed 10 stitches on his hand when the Heat played the Milwaukee Bucks, and while he has played three games since, it was clear that his hand was not 100 percent. So he sat down during the game against the Indiana Pacers. Chris Andersen has also been sitting during this time due to a foot injury that has caused him to miss time and not play his best. That means that both of Miami’s big men have been out leaving Udonis Haslem to fill in for them at the center position.

Haslem has performed admirably, but he cannot guard bigger players the way he needs to. Haslem is listed at 6’8″, but he is probably shorter than that. He also isn’t as spry as he once was either.

Against the Pacers, Michael Beasley went down after his knee buckled and had to be taken back to the locker room. He hyperextended it, and is expected to make his return on Tuesday along with Andersen and Whiteside, but he didn’t return for the rest of the game. This has been the story of the season for the Heat who have lost the last four games.

I will be alone in stating this: the Miami Heat should still look to make the playoffs. At this point in the season, tanking would be the dumbest idea anyone could do. Making the playoffs would allow the season to go on and would allow the team to get healthy. If healthy, the team could still do something in the playoffs. It is not as though this team is the Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat aren’t bad, they just haven’t had very much good luck this season.

Yes, everyone has injuries, but not this much. Which other team has had a player that has sustained potentially life-threatening injuries? Which other team has lost both of their centers and still made the playoffs? The answer to these questions is none.

The Heat have undergone a lot of adversity, but that doesn’t mean that the season needs to be over. Their season has gone back and forth between despair and jubilance, so why give up that dance? Right now, the Heat are in the midst of the wilderness, but at the end of the week things can seem okay again.

With their players returning, who knows?

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

More from Hoops Habit

Home/Miami Heat