Miami Heat lose again; it’s officially time to panic

It’s officially time to panic for the Miami Heat. 

After losing a third-straight game, this time by blowing a 17-point lead against the New York Knicks, it’s hard to not feel a sense of panic around the Miami Heat. In their last eight games, the Heat is now just 3-5 and their bad habits are starting to become a trend.

With just a couple of weeks until the playoffs, the Heat is not playing the brand of basketball that you want and is losing its grip on the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. If they’re not careful there’s a chance that this team could fall all the way to the fourth seed – the Boston Celtics, who sit in the fourth seed, are just one game back of the Heat.

After the game, the team said all the right things. It was either a combination of the late-game issues are fixable or that the players need to step up with effort and execution late, specifically, that’s what Jimmy Butler echoed.

No panic. Nothing close to that yet, at least not from the Heat themselves. However, it’s hard not to look at how the team has played the last couple of weeks and not have that sense of feeling. Especially considering how just a few weeks ago, many were calling this team the best team in the East.

With the way the team is playing now, that can’t be further than the truth.

Their issues are even more glaring in late-game situations. In clutch situations this season, the Heat has the fifth-worst offensive rating in the league – and worst among projected playoff teams. Their defense also falls off a bit in late-game situations and is only 12th in the league in clutch situations.

For three quarters against the Knicks on Friday night, the Heat was responding and doing so in an impressive way. However, it was almost as if the Heat remembered all their issues once they went up 17 in the fourth and fell back into their old habits.

And it won’t get any easier for Miami as they host the Brooklyn Nets Saturday night. How will the Heat respond this time? Considering it’s the second night of a back-to-back, there’s a good chance it gets a bit worse before it gets better.