To say the least, 2016 has definitely not been the year for the Miami Heat. From being on the finals for four consecutive season and winning the National Basketball Association championship in 2012 and 2013, the Heat are nowhere to be found in the Eastern Conference playoff race. And for the first time in recent years, Miami looks to be rebuilding.
After bowing out in the second round of the playoffs last summer, there had been much optimism surrounding the Heat with a veteran Dwayne Wade, an All-Star in Chris Bosh, an up and coming defensive bulldog Justise Winslow, a flourishing centen in Hassan Whiteside and a steady playmaker in Goran Dragic on the fold.
But after the Heat did not want to invest to Wade anymore and with Bosh still being sidelined behind blood clot issues, it was downhill from there for the former NBA champion team. And now, they are entering 2017 tied with the Los Angeles Lakers as the teams with the most losses this season at 25 defeats, The Sun Sentinel reported.
To make things worse, the Heat are the second team with the worst losing streak in the league at five games, just behind Los Angeles Clippers' six-game skid. Miami may be on its way to rebuilding and starting with shipping Dragic might spark good change in the organization as he is touted to be one who will be traded once the trade deadline in February comes. Dragic looks like already in his peak and he has a depreciating value and the Heat could use him to acquire other assets.
Despite the Heat's dismal season, the organization is thinking for the long run by signing head coach and two-time NBA champ Erik Spoelstra into an extension, NBA.com reported. Spoelstra is now in his ninth NBA season and is the second-longest tenured coach behind San Antonio Spurs' Greg Popovic.
Watch the video below to see the Heat's latest game against the Boston Celtics where Isaiah Thomas dropped 52 points: