Just when it seemed as if it couldn't get any worse, it just did. In probably their most embarrassing loss of the season, the Miami Heat fell to the tanking Indiana Pacers to close out a pretty demoralizing three-game road trip.
Miami is now in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings and three games back of the 6th seed and four games back of the 5th seed.
With just seven games left on their schedule, it's pretty safe to say that the Heat's chances of breaking out of the Play-In Tournament mediocrity are all but done. At this point, there's no guarantee they'll even be able to earn their way into the official playoff field.
The Heat's defense hits a new low
At the center of it all was the Heat's sluggish defense. After being called out by Erik Spoelstra just a couple of days ago, the Heat...didn't respond. Against the second-worst offensive team in the league, the Heat allowed 135 points.
Even against one of the worst defensive teams in the league, the Heat couldn't muster enough offense. In a game that Miami needed to win, they turned in one of the worst performances of the year.
The Heat didn't just lose. They didn't just have a huge letdown at one of the worst possible times. They looked like a team that didn't want to be out there. They looked like a team that had given up.
I won't go all the way to question the Heat's effort, but it's hard not to with how they looked against the Pacers. Mind you, the Pacers are not just a team that is *trying* to lose. They're a team that is was just 1-18 since the NBA All-Star break heading into the game against the Heat.
And, still, the Heat didn't even look like they belonged on the same floor as the Pacers.
This loss will define the season for the Heat
It was as bad an effort as you're going to see from a team that was supposed to be fighting for their playoff lives. It's one of those games that could end up defining a season. And not in a good way.
It's one of those games that should open the door for some big changes this summer. At least it should.
Even before the complete meltdown against the Pacers, this season was already trending in the wrong direction for Miami. It just got a whole lot worse with this unexpected result.