Former Miami Heat center Dexter Pittman has a new home. Pittman, who won a championship with the Heat in 2012, has signed with Mexican team Halcones de Xalapa for the 2023-24 season, according to HoopsHype.
After playing college basketball at the University of Texas, Pittman was selected by the Heat in the second round (32nd overall pick) of the 2010 NBA Draft. He stuck around with Miami into the 2012-13 campaign, and he was part of the 2011-12 team that ultimately bested the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the NBA Finals to win the league title.
In addition to playing with the Heat, Pittman also spent time as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks. He last appeared in an NBA game in 2014 with Atlanta. Nearly a decade later, he’s still playing professionally.
Meanwhile, the Heat are looking to recapture the success they had during that 2011-12 season. Nearly two months into its current campaign, Miami sits fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with a record of 15-11. Considering the slew of injury issues they’ve had to deal with, the Heat have actually had a pretty impressive start to the season.
Tyler Herro has appeared in just eight games for the Heat so far this season due to an ankle injury, and other key contributors like Bam Adebayo have also been forced to miss time. It has been somewhat difficult for the Heat to establish rhythm and consistency as a result of the absences, but they still have a winning record and are right in the thick of the playoff picture in the East.
Moving forward, the Heat just have to hope that they can overcome their injury issues and get their guys back out on the floor in order to establish some consistency. They received some positive news on Sunday in that regard.
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro will be available tomorrow vs. Timberwolves.
Kyle Lowry (soreness) and Dru Smith (knee) ruled out.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) December 17, 2023
Miami has six games remaining before the calendar flips from 2023 to 2024. Those contests will come against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors and Utah Jazz.
It’s not the easiest stretch of games, but the Heat will try to end the year by stringing together some wins in order to build some momentum to bring into 2024.
