The Miami Heat have lost nine games in a row, taking their season from bad to worse and putting them 11 games under .500.
During a recent “NBA Today” spot, franchise legend Udonis Haslem, who spoke with Heat stars Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, was asked by ESPN’s Malika Andrews to describe the mood in the locker room. He used the words “frustrated” and “disappointed.”
He then said that Herro and Adebayo are getting a “crash course in leadership” right now because “everybody in the locker room is watching them.”
“Frustrated, disappointed,” Haslem said of the mood in the locker room, “but obviously, these guys understand that they’re getting a crash course in leadership right now. Everybody in the locker room is watching them right now, and everything they want out of this is on the other side of doing the hard thing. They gotta get through the hard things to get to the other side of it.
“Once they get to the other side of it, it’ll be a little bit of sunshine. Right now, I know they can’t see that, but this is building them up for something greater. They still have 13 games left. There still is a chance, if they can go on a little run right here, to get out of this hut right now, but they gotta continue to stay together, and one thing I know about Spo (Erik Spoelstra), this is when he’s at his best.”
Adebayo and Herro are two of the longest tenured players on the Heat roster, and they’re also two of the team’s top talents. As such, they can safely assume that their teammates are going to be looking at them when things get tough.
That’s especially true since star forward Jimmy Butler is no longer in the fold. The Heat lost him and his veteran presence when he was traded to the Golden State Warriors near the deadline.
This has turned into one of the worst seasons in franchise history for the Heat, who are now 29-40. They do currently hold a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference somehow, but even if they were to survive the play-in and reach the first round of the playoffs, there wouldn’t be much hope for a meaningful run.
The Miami Heat currently have the 7th-worst winning percentage in any season in franchise history pic.twitter.com/4liMFVcsCZ
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCom) March 20, 2025
Haslem, despite his role with ESPN, remains a part of the Heat organization, so he likely has a very good pulse on what’s going on within the walls of the franchise. He won three championships with Miami as a player and would surely love to see the team return to glory, but that seems far away right now.
Barring some major changes, Adebayo and Herro will be important pieces for the Heat heading into the future. Adebayo has had a difficult season, but Herro appeared in his first All-Star Game last month. The franchise will need both of them to play at the top of their games moving forward.
