The Miami Heat is not used to being in this position.
Wednesday night’s 119-104 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers dropped the Heat (29-36) seven games under .500 for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
The reeling Heat, which has dropped five straight games, is now one loss from falling eight games below .500 for the first time since beginning the 2016-17 season with an 11-30 record. And next up on the Heat’s schedule is a matchup against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics on Friday at Kaseya Center (7 p.m. FanDuel Sports Network Sun and NBA TV).
“It just takes a win,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “You can’t overwhelm yourself with everything. The schedule, who we’re playing, all that stuff. We’re at our best when we don’t fear anyone.”
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After facing the Celtics, more challenging games are ahead for the Heat. Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers marked the start of a six-game stretch against teams with a winning record.
Following Friday’s home game against the Celtics, the Heat travels to take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and New York Knicks on Monday before returning home to host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and Houston Rockets on March 21 to end this difficult stretch. The Heat is just 8-23 this season in games against teams that entered Thursday with a winning record.
“We just got to stay with it,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “I know it’s getting old hearing that. But that’s our job is to stick with it. I think these last couple games, our spirit hasn’t been at the level it needs to be. Obviously, wins and losses can affect emotionally. But I feel like right now is a time when we need to come closer, be as close as we’ve ever been from top to bottom. Being able to come in and just lean on each other, try to turn this thing around.”
This losing streak essentially has the Heat locked into the NBA’s play-in tournament, which features the seventh-through-10th-place teams competing for the final two playoff seeds in each conference.
The Heat enters Thursday in ninth place in the Eastern Conference — 7.5 games behind the sixth-place Detroit Pistons for the East’s final playoff spot that doesn’t require having to go through the play-in and 6.5 games away from completely dropping out of the play-in and playoff contention.
While taking part in the play-in tournament for the third straight season appears inevitable for the Heat, there’s a difference between finishing in seventh and 10th place. The seventh- and eighth-place teams get two opportunities to win one play-in game to clinch a spot in the playoffs and the ninth and 10th-place teams need to win two straight play-in games to qualify for the playoffs.
The Heat has 17 games left on its regular-season schedule.
“We still have the opportunity to put ourselves in a position to get into the play-in and then get back in the playoffs,” Herro said. “That’s what we want and everyone in the locker room feels confident about a first-round matchup. We just have to continue to get better and don’t let these last five games or week or so really define who we are or the season that we’ve had. We just got to continue to stay with it.”
LARSSON’S IMPACT
There weren’t many bright spots for the Heat in Wednesday’s 15-point loss to the Clippers, but rookie Pelle Larsson provided one.
Larsson, whose playing time has fluctuated throughout the season, didn’t produce the best stat line with 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-5 shooting on threes and one assist in 28 minutes off the Heat’s bench in Wednesday’s loss to the Clippers. But Larsson sparked the Heat with his energy on the defensive end, finishing the defeat with three steals and with the only positive plus/minus on the team at plus-5.
“The most inspiring moments were when Pelle came in,” Spoelstra said after Wednesday’s loss. “He had the crowd really inspired, the team inspired and we just need a whole lot more of that — one through 15 — all the way through.”
Larsson also was responsible for the play of the night on the Heat’s side Wednesday, diving to the court to battle multiple Clippers players for a loose ball before coming away with the hard-fought steal. Still down on the court, Larsson tossed the ball to Terry Rozier and Rozier capped off the action-packed sequence by making a three-pointer to cut the Heat’s deficit to four midway through the second quarter.
“That play at halfcourt is one of the best plays I’ve seen,” Spoelstra said. “The teams were trying to call timeout, I think he got three loose balls on one possession and then it leads to a Terry three. You feel like those plays then can inspire a whole lot more. That’s what we’re accustomed to.”
Larsson’s memorable hustle play on Wednesday was inspired by a hustle play that he didn’t make in the Heat’s Feb. 5 win over the 76ers in Philadelphia.
“I remember a play I had in Philly, when the ball was on the floor and I didn’t dive on it and that kind of haunted me for a little bit,” said Larsson, who was selected by the Heat with the 44th overall pick in the second round of the 2024 draft. “So I’m glad I got that one back.”
Heat teammates were impressed by Larsson’s effort against the Clippers.
“It was a huge, huge spark,” Heat forward Andrew Wiggins said of Larsson. “We needed every second that he was on the court. When he’s on the court, his energy is contagious with how hard he plays, the way he plays. He goes on the court and gives it his all. He played great tonight, gave us a lot of great things.”
Herro added that “everyone felt Pelle tonight with his inspiration on hustle plays and defensively being everywhere.”
Larsson, 24, has played double-digit minutes in 28 games this season. But he has also received 19 DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) this season.
If Larsson continues to provide the type of energy and spark that he did Wednesday, more consistent playing time off the Heat’s bench could be coming his way.
“Whoever brings the energy is the one deserving,” Larsson said. “I thought I brought the energy tonight. I was just trying to help the team.”
INJURY REPORT
The Heat remains without Alec Burks (lower back strain), Josh Christopher (G League), Nikola Jovic (broken right hand) and Dru Smith (Achilles surgery) for Friday’s home game against the Celtics. The rest of the Heat’s roster is expected to be available for the contest.
The Celtics listed Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement), Kristaps Porzingis (illness), Jayson Tatum (right knee tendinopathy) and Derrick White (left knee contusion) as questionable for Friday’s game in Miami. Al Horford (left big toe sprain) is probable to play.