Throughout the 2022-23 NBA season, there have been a lot of questions asked about the overall quality of the Miami Heat. However, according to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, none of those questions are being asked within the walls of the organization.
According to the championship-winning coach, the Heat know that they have some good going on South Florida.
“Our record is probably deceiving to everybody on the outside,” Spoelstra said. “[But] we have something good going on.”
The Heat were just one win away from advancing to the 2022 NBA Finals last season. They engaged in a seven-game battle with the Boston Celtics, but ultimately fell just short, losing 100-96 in the game.
Though the Celtics are once again one of the best teams in the NBA, the Heat have not been able to establish themselves as a particularly strong unit as of yet.
Following their Monday night loss to a Memphis Grizzlies team that didn’t have star guard Ja Morant, the Heat are now 11-13 on the season.
The Heat had a great opportunity to get back to .500 in that game, but they dropped the ball and lost 101-93.
To make matters more frustrating for fans was that in the game prior to Monday’s matchup, the Heat had seemingly earned a signature win by defeating the high-powered Celtics. That win felt like something to build on. Unfortunately, that ended up not being the case.
Still, outside opinions are not all that matters, and Spoelstra seems to clearly believe that the team is moving in the right direction.
The good news is that the entire NBA is wide open this season, and the Heat’s 11-13 record is not yet a major hurdle when it comes to them ultimately getting back into the playoff discussion. In fact, the Heat currently sit at the No. 9 seed and would advance to the play-in tournament if the season ended today.
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see of the Heat front office makes any major changes to the roster. While the developments of crucial players like Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro have been great to see lately, there are still some pretty evident holes within the team’s roster.
If Spoelstra and the Heat are serious about trying to advance to the Finals this season, they may also have to get serious about finding ways to patch up and strengthen their roster for the eventual playoff push.