"Man we've got to get some stops" - Jimmy Butler opens up about Miami Heat's biggest weakness l NBA News
The Miami Heat managed to hold onto and steal a close win from the Washington Wizards, with the final score being 128-124. While this may seem like a normal win on the surface, truth be told, the Heat should have done far better, and they knew it. Multiple players from the franchise spoke about their disappointing performances after the game, which will be our topic of discussion in this NBA news update.
There is a lot to talk about here. Let's get started.
NBA News: Miami Heat players admit they should have done better against the Washington Wizards
Coming into this game, the Washington Wizards were dealt with two massive blows. Not only did Russell Westbrook have to be sidelined due to a quad injury, but Bradley Beal also couldn't play due to health and safety protocols.
This essentially meant that the Wizards had no superstars on the floor, and due to the sheer difference in talent, they should have been blown out by the Miami Heat. Instead, Jimmy Butler and crew let this be a close game and almost allowed the opposition to steal the game from them.
Speaking to the media after the game, Jimmy Butler had this to say on the matter,
"I feel like we all are pretty locked in on the offensive end. No matter what lineup you put out there it's been hard for us to get stops defensively...man we've got to get some stops."
As the Miami Heat star puts it, the offense was never the problem during this game. In fact, Butler and Tyler Herro had very impressive performances on that end, scoring 26 and 31 points, respectively.
The issue here was the frankly poor defensive effort displayed by the franchise, and it showed. During the fourth quarter, the team couldn't buy a stop when it mattered most, which resulted in the opposition almost coming back from a 17-point deficit.
Overall, the Miami Heat were lucky to come away with the victory during this game. But if the team wishes to make the playoffs in a very competitive East, they need to work on this weakness immediately, or they could end up having to miss out on the postseason entirely.
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