The Miami Heat held an 11-point lead at the end of the first quarter of Monday’s contest against the New York Knicks. Yet, Miami still lost the contest by more than 20 points and picked up its eighth consecutive defeat.
The Heat are now amid their longest losing streak since head coach Erik Spoelstra has been leading the team from the sidelines. Spoelstra has been the head coach of the Heat dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.
Heat youngster Jaime Jaquez Jr. provided a brutally honest assessment of his team after Miami picked up its 39th loss of the season thus far.
Jaime Jaquez Jr.: "It’s frustrating. We’re going through the dark days right now."
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) March 18, 2025
Jaquez didn’t contribute all that much from a scoring standpoint against the Knicks, as he totaled just six points while shooting 3-of-8 from the field despite getting the start for Miami. However, he made his mark in other facets of the game.
The 24-year-old stuffed the stat sheet, as he led the team in rebounds (11) and assists (seven) while also accumulating a pair of blocked shots and one steal.
Jaquez has seen his role with the Heat shrink a noticeable amount compared to his rookie campaign, as he’s averaging 21.8 minutes of playing time as a sophomore. That’s way down from the 28.2 minutes per contest he played as a first-year player.
Jaquez’s Heat have fallen all the way down to the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference at this juncture in the season. Miami is also 2.5 games back of the Orlando Magic for the No. 8 seed in the conference.
Even if the Heat do squeak into the play-in tournament, it’s hard to imagine they’ll play their way into a spot in the 2025 NBA Playoffs if they can’t figure out a way to get back to their identity of being a stingy defensive team. During their current losing streak, the Heat haven’t held any one of their opponents to fewer than 103 points.
The Heat’s next chance to snap their lengthy losing streak will come when they take on the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. The Pistons have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season and hold the No. 6 seed in the East with a 38-31 record.
