Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Miami Heat

[ElectricMayhem]

The Miami Heat were stymied by Boston's defense in game 7. We shall now cut them open and see what's inside...

Here is the data from last year's Post-Mortems:
Post-Mortem Results I: GM Confidence Meter
Post-Mortem Results II: Coaching Confidence Meter
Post-Mortem Results III: Performance Compared to Expectations
Post-Mortem Results IV: Rising/Treadmill/Waning

Team Name: Miami Heat
Record at Time of Death: 53-29 (.646)
GM: Andy Elisburg (2013-) (President: Pat Riley)
Coach: Erik Spoelstra (2008-)

Offensive Rating: 12th
Defensive Rating: 4th
Rebound %: 9th
Turnover %: 28th

GM: Change or keep?
Coach: Change or keep?
Relative to expectations, how did they fare this year?
Rising, falling, or treadmill?
If you were in charge, what would you do this offseason?

Notes:
Players under contract next year:
Jimmy Butler ($38m)
Bam Adebayo ($30m)
Kyle Lowry ($28m)
Duncan Robinson ($17m)
Tyler Herro ($6m)
Gabe Vincent ($2m) (Partially Guaranteed)
Max Strus ($2m) (Partially Guaranteed)
Omer Yurtseven ($2m) (Partially Guaranteed)
Haywood Highsmith ($2m) (Partially Guaranteed)

Team Options:

Player Options:
P.J. Tucker ($7m)

Free Agents:
Udonis Haslem
Markieff Morris
Dewayne Dedmon
Victor Oladipo
Caleb Martin
Javonte Smart
Mychal Mulder

Dead Money:

Previous Post-Mortems:
30. Orlando Magic
29. Detroit Pistons
28. Houston Rockets
27. Indiana Pacers
26. Oklahoma City Thunder
25. Washington Wizards
24. New York Knicks
23. Portland Trailblazers
22. Sacramento Kings
21. Los Angeles Lakers
20. Charlotte Hornets
19. San Antonio Spurs
18. Cleveland Cavaliers
17. Los Angeles Clippers
16. Brooklyn Nets
15. Atlanta Hawks
14. Chicago Bulls
13. Denver Nuggets
12. Toronto Raptors
11. New Orleans Pelicans
10. Utah Jazz
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
8. Philadelphia 76ers
7. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Milwaukee Bucks
5. Phoenix Suns
4. Dallas Mavericks
3. Miami Heat

[Mak]

Butler does not have a player option anymore, he signed a huge extension. Championship window almost closed for Miami unless they make some kind of crazy move. Robinson contract is horrible and Hero will have to be paid. Maybe it is not too late to trick someone and package Hero + Robinson and picks for some other star? Not sure how Lowry and Butler do better next season a year older.

[Ballerhogger]

It’s going be rough for them they have no cap space . Just keep it as is ….

[payton2kemp]

Need to find a 2nd go to star player that can be relied upon with Butler to score. Gona have to give up a bunch of picks/Herro and bad contract to get it done, maybe Lillard.

[dockingsched]

Keep it as is and try again but Butler and Lowry aren’t getting younger and I wouldn’t count on Bam keeping a legitimate scoring option to take some weight off of Butlers shoulders.

[bearadonisdna]

It was oladipo with the out of control play in the ecf

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Assuming father time finally wins and Lowry becomes a bench player / PJ becomes washed, they have a maxed out roster that is a 5-8 seed next year.

Then again, Miami will probably tamper, get fined with a 2035 second round pick and get Dame on a discount to give them that extra boost to put them back in ECF contenders.

[Rapaz]

Trade Herro

[Liver_Pooty]

Worst home crowd I've ever seen in a game 7.

[ElectricMayhem]

Butler does not have a player option anymore, he signed a huge extension.

Thank you .Edited.

[R-DAWG]

Miami lacks skill on the offensive side of the ball. Even their best players - Butler, Lowry and Bam - aren’t exactly smooth offensive players. Watching the game tonight, they just struggled to score - how many short jump shots did Bam miss in the 2nd half?

At the end of the day, it’s very hard to get to the finals and win a championship with only one star. And it’s very hard to get a 2nd star. Jimmy is going to be 33 next season, so the window with him playing at an elite level has 2, maybe 3 years left.

But absent of a star forcing his way to Miami, I think you need to find a way to improve the offensive skill level.

[bearadonisdna]

Too injured , wasn’t good enough with Herro out and relying on bench guys like straus vs elite competition

[RoyceDa59]

That missed Butler 3 might have been his best chance at the finals. Everything was aligned for the Heat this year.

Next year I fully expect a healthy Milwaukee, Nets, Philly & improved Boston to be favoured over Miami in the East.

They likely need to make a move to bring in a legit scorer to compete while Butler is still in his prime.

[willywazza]

It's time for Udonis Haslem to vacate that roster spot and officially become an Assistant Coach.

Need to use his spot for a promising young player or crucial role player that will actually get minutes to contribute.

[Ni Da Ye]

Why was Herro not played much lately?

[R-DAWG]

That missed Butler 3 might have been his best chance at the finals. Everything was aligned for the Heat this year.

Next year I fully expect a healthy Milwaukee, Nets, Philly & improved Boston to be favoured over Miami in the East.

They likely need to make a move to bring in a legit scorer to compete while Butler is still in his prime.

I said before the playoffs that at their best the heat were not as good as Brooklyn, Boston, Milwaukee and Philly at their best. But you knew you were getting miamis best.

[Ugly Duckling]

im not necessarily saying fire spo, but man did he do a bad job in this game

[Roscoe Sheed]

Have to give them credit for fighting hard- they should have lost in 6. As mentioned above, they just don't have enough offense. Also, they are relying on players who are too long in the tooth- particularly Lowry and Tucker. Didn't help that Herro was out too.

[Triple M]

I don't think they are waning or a treadmill team, but they are probably not a rising team too.

[BK_2020]

Is Herro really worse than Oladipo? And Duncan Robinson worse than Strus? They should blow this team up.