There's no getting about it: the Miami Heat have fallen into a trap after losing four consecutive games to Philadelphia, Golden State, New York, and Brooklyn on Saturday night.
To make matters worse, they are now tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics, whom they will meet on Wednesday in Boston. During the Heat's last four losses, a total of 33 All-Star appearances were missed, including Joel Embiid, James Harden, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Julius Randle.
Despite having the advantage on paper, Miami was consistently outperformed and even outclassed by teams without a first, second, or even third choice, with the exception of Brooklyn.
To summarise it all, the Heat's hopes were hurt by a poor defensive effort. Miami's view of being in title contention, which had been gaining some good media attention in recent weeks, has now become a fallacy to many.
The team is mired in one of their worst four-game streaks in recent memory, thanks to a slew of late-game meltdowns, a revolving door of injuries, and a struggle to properly integrate players or lineups.
Now, ahead of the rest of their schedule, they face a team that has been accused of being a doppelganger.
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