Podcast: Are fixes for Miami Heat’s defensive issues on the roster or is it trade time?
If you have been looking for a reason to panic about — or at least pick some nits with — the Miami Heat this season, now is the time. The Heat is suddenly mired in its first losing streak after dropping back-to-back games in New York. A road loss to the Brooklyn Nets is excusable, but the 124-121 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden not so much.
All the issues which have plagued Miami at times throughout the year crystallized with the two-game losing streak. The Heat’s defensive woes are more glaring than ever after the Knicks and Nets pulverized Miami in the paint to pull off a pair of upsets.
We have spent the past few weeks talking circles around the issue on the Heat Check podcast. This week, David Wilson and Anthony Chiang, the Miami Herald’s Heat beat writer, dive headfirst into diagnosing what is causing Miami’s recent downturn and what it can do to fix it.
It all starts with Justise Winslow’s lingering absence. The power forward made a brief return to the lineup in the Heat’s win against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, but he was quickly went back to the sideline after his back injury flared up again. The best fix for Miami’s defensive problems is to get Winslow back on the court.
The bulk of the episode, though, is dedicated to sorting through trade possibilities for the Heat. Miami, strangely, misses Hassan Whiteside. Can the Heat (27-12) find the rim protector it lost when Miami traded the star center to the Portland Trail Blazers last year? If not, is there anything else the Heat can do on the trade market to fix its most glaring weaknesses?
We wrap things up by talking about the most fun story of the week: Jimmy Butler’s beef with Pacers forward T.J. Warren. The star wing has the March rematch with Indiana already circled on his calendar and so do we.
This story was originally published January 14, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
