Jimmy Butler Disappointed with Miami Heat Not Playing Hard

Last season, the Miami Heat surpassed all expectations and made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Following that fairytale postseason run, many expected the same type of run from Miami this season as well. However, so far, the Heat are struggling to find their touch during the first half of the season.

Recently, they fought tooth and nail against the Boston Celtics, but couldn’t ice the game in the dying minutes. After this defeat, the Heat are now 3-4 in their first seven games of the series. One can’t help but wonder- was the 2020 postseason a fluke?

Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler on how the team can improve

Everybody around the league is aware of the team culture in Miami. They value hard work over everything, which was one of the reasons why they could put together a stunning run last season. Jimmy Butler talked about their slow start in the post-game media conference. He said:

“There’re no excuses to not playing hard and not finishing possessions. We’re not playing the type of basketball that we say we are. The culture that we say that we have. We ain’t doing that, nobody is, not me, not Bam [Adebayo], nobody.

“We gotta get back to that, if we wanna win that’s how we’re gonna have to play… but we better figure out real soon.”

Having a poor start to the season can have a drastic effect on players’ confidence. But the question is, is it too soon to judge the Heat’s season expectations right now?

Should the Heat press the panic button?

It is true that the team has had a slow start to the season. But honestly, they still have a long way to go in the season. Currently, they are just one game behind the .500 record, which is not that bad of a start.

Miami just need to take a step back and figure out where they are lacking behind. If they struggle to perform even after that, then the team should be a little concerned. What are your thoughts on the Heat’s current performance?