5 things that went wrong for Miami Heat in the 2020-21 NBA season
The Miami Heat's season ended on a rough note. After making the NBA Finals the year prior, there were high expectations for the team in the 2021 NBA playoffs. But they were swept and eliminated in the first round by the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Heat require a serious roster upgrade to rectify the errors they made this year. Injuries and COVID-19 protocols plagued many teams this season and the Miami Heat were one of them.
Let's take a look at 5 issues that the Miami Heat had to deal with in the 2020-21 NBA season.
#1 Miami Heat were one of two teams that had the shortest offseason
The Miami Heat reached the 2020 NBA Finals and, due to a lockdown caused by the pandemic, played until October 2020. The 2019-20 season ended around the time a new season would normally begin and the NBA wanted to restart the new season as quickly as possible. They agreed to commence the 2020-21 season in December 2020 which marked the shortest offseason in North American professional sport history.
The 72-game offseason was one of the reasons why the Miami Heat got off to a slow start this year. They started off the season 6-12 and their talisman Jimmy Butler missed out due to injury for a major part. LA Lakers' LeBron James stated the repercussions of starting the season too early this time around and mentioned how players would face injuries, which is what happened to the Miami Heat.
#2 Jimmy Butler's injury
Jimmy Butler was hurt when the 2020-21 NBA season started and played just 6 of the first 18 games. As a result, the Miami Heat started their campaign with a 6-12 record. The slow start meant they began below the playoff spots and had to work their way up.
Butler was injured a few more times later in the season and missed a total of 20 games. Given how he is the Miami Heat's driving force and does everything for the team, Butler was a major miss for the side.There was also a point during the season where nine or more players were ruled out due to injury for the Heat and they evidently struggled to cope.
Butler spoke about his inconsistent season in an interview with Bally Sports and mentioned how injuries were derailing their mission.