Miami Heat: Only playing team ball will earn them a ticket to the 2019 NBA Playoffs

The Miami Heat only have four games left to clinch a spot in the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is retiring this summer.

That should be reason enough for the team to make the 2019 NBA Playoffs.

Unfortunately, that’s not quite how it works.

With the team currently sitting at 38-40 and ninth in the Eastern Conference, clinching a spot is going to be an uphill battle — especially as there are only four games left in the Heat’s 2018-19 regular season campaign.

Miami will face the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road Friday night, head north to take on the Toronto Raptors on Sunday afternoon, come back home to host the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, and finally get back on the road against the Brooklyn Nets the very next evening.

As of Thursday, they’re half a game behind both the 8-seeded Orlando Magic and 7-seeded Nets, and one game behind the 6-seeded Detroit Pistons.

And oh yeah — they’re once again without Josh Richardson, who just happens to be their leading scorer, for at least two weeks with a groin injury.

Still, all hope is not lost. They just have to make sure that from here on out, it’s all hands on deck.

The Heat have never had a problem staying true to their “next man-up” mentality. When Richardson, Rodney McGruder and Justise Winslow were all sidelined, guys like Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters stepped it up.

The problem is, they haven’t exactly done that in unison, and one man alone cannot be responsible for the entirety of Miami’s success.

So with Richardson out, Dragic will have to shake off his 11-point performance from Wednesday. Winslow will have to find a rhythm that works to contribute more than four points, and Kelly Olynyk will have to attempt more than six shots.

Similarly, with the team losing not just a sharpshooter but an elite defender to boot, Hassan Whiteside will have to stay out of foul trouble, and James Johnson will have to find a way to consistently lock down his opponent, even on switches.

Never mind that Adebayo and Dwyane Wade have to keep doing what they’re doing by playing high-energy, high-level basketball.

In this final stretch, there’s no room for egos (say, Whiteside wanting more minutes). There can be no hero-ball (an undeniable Waiters speciality). There mustn’t be any forced moves (a la Johnson and/or Olynyk).

Every shot must be intentional. Every zone must be methodical. Every moment must be well thought out. And not just by one, two or three guys, but by the team as a unit.

With only a week of play remaining for the Miami Heat, it really is now or never.

All for one, and one for all.