July 20 – November 8

In 2020, Jimmy Butler’s first year with the Miami Heat, he would lead a dominant Heat team to the NBA finals. They wound up sweeping the first two teams they played in the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the third round, Boston gave them a run for their money, but Miami still beat the Celtics in 6 games. As they went into the finals, they went in as underdogs. The Lakers were able to beat the Heat in 6 games, and they went on to win the NBA finals.

Everything from that moment on went south for the Heat. They would struggle ¾ of the next season, but they managed to pick it up at the end and still sneak into the playoffs. The team they were facing was the Milwaukee Bucks. They were the team the Heat beat in the 2nd round of the 2020 playoffs easily, and the Heat knew that they wanted revenge. The Heat didn’t stand a chance in that series and wound up getting swept 4-0.

As their season ended, a lot of questions were surrounding the team. Is it the head coach that needs to go, or is it the players that need to go out and make this team a championship-caliber team again?

The offseason for the Heat speaks for itself. They went out and filled the holes for their team. They traded for a well-known point guard, Kyle Lowry, but they had to give up Goran Dragic, the Heat point guard for six seasons, and Precious Achiuwa, the center the Heat had drafted a season ago. The Heat gave up on a 1-year player, but they did improve in the point guard position by trading for Kyle Lowry. Heat fans appreciate Goran Dragic, and he will be missed. Kyle Lowry brings great defense as a point guard and can catch fire on offense.

The Heat also signed P.J Tucker, who played for the Bucks and won the championship. He is a dominant defender and will add way more value to the Heat. The Heat also re-signed sharpshooter Duncan Robinson to a five-year, 90 million dollar deal. Duncan earned this contract. He has proven to be a great 3 point shooter and will quickly develop on the defensive side of the ball.
The Heat also re-signed all-star Guard Jimmy Butler to a four-year, 184 million dollar deal. Every Heat fan can tell you that he’s the heart and soul of this team. The Heat signed free agent Markief Morris from the Lakers to a two-year, 20 million dollar deal. He is going to provide good bench depth for the Heat and will bring great defense.

The Heat offseason involved adding depth to the team. They spent the most money out of any team in the offseason. Many sports experts say this team is going to be a threat to every team, and I think they can win the chip this year. The Heat and Bucks have had a lot of history in the last three years.

On October 21st, the Heat opened up their season at home against the defending champions. The Bucks beat the Nets in their season opener. The Heat are looking to start the season off with a big win. The Heat started the game off on a 17-3 run, forcing the Bucks to call timeout. Ever since that moment, the Heat didn’t take the gas off the pedal. They were up 77-44 at halftime. They kept the same momentum in the 3rd quarter and were up 110-72 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Heat could rest the starters and give more playing time to the players on the bench. The Heat ended up winning 137-95 on their season opener. The Heat’s leading scorer was Tyler Herro, who had 27 points. That’s exactly what the Heat were looking to do.

In the Heat’s 2nd game, they played the Indiana Pacers in Indiana on October 23rd. The Heat will be without Kyle Lowry, who played a big role in the heat blowout win. The Heat didn’t get off to a good start, and they were down at halftime 56-46. In the third quarter, they made a comeback but were only down by 1 (64-63). This was a defensive game with not a lot of offense. The Heat were able to force overtime, and the score was 86-86. The Heat showed a lot of heart and fight but played miserably in overtime and lost 102-91.

On October 25th, the Heat had the Orlando Magic at home. The Heat have to flush that game down the drain and get back on the winning column. The Heat are going to have all-star point guard Kyle Lowry back. The Heat got off to a fast start and were up 25-17 at the end of the first quarter. At halftime, the Heat were 57-44. In the 3rd quarter, the Magic came back a little as it was 81-70. The Heat caught on fire in the 4th quarter and ended up winning the game 107-90. The Heat’s leading scorer was Jimmy Butler, who had 36 points. Having Kyle Lowry back gave the Heat the win they needed.

On October 27th, the Heat played the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. The Nets are a great team, and if the Heat win this game, the Heat are much improved. In the 1st quarter, the Heat got off to an aggressive start and were up 29-22 at the end of the quarter. The Nets had a great 2nd quarter and were up 51-49 at halftime. Then the Heat responded and were up 82-74 going into the last quarter of the game. The Heat were able to balance both sides of the ball in the 4th quarter and win 106-93 and knock off an excellent Brooklyn Nets team. Bam Adebayo was the leading scorer for the Heat and had 24 points.

On October 29th, the Heat played the Charlotte Hornets in Miami. The Heat are looking to keep their little winning streak alive. Once again, the Heat got off to a really good start and were up 33-22 at the end of the 1st quarter. The Heat kept that good play and were up 64-48 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter, the Hornets gave the Heat a run for their money and had the Heat right there going into the 4th quarter. The score was 84-77. The Hornets couldn’t make many shots in the 4th quarter, which gave opportunities for Miami, and they capitalized. The Heat ended up winning 114-99. The Heat’s leading scorer was Jimmy Butler, and he had 32 points. On October 30th, the Heat play the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. The Heat play their first back-to-back game of the season. The Heat don’t care if they have back-to-back games they want to play and are already up 38-22 In the 1st quarter. In my opinion, that was the Heat’s best quarter of the season. The Heat didn’t lose a step and were up 67-54 at halftime. The Heat extended their lead in the third quarter and were up 102-79 going into the 4th quarter. The Heat played extremely well in the 4th and earned themselves another blowout win. The Heat won 129-103. The Heat leading scorer was Jimmy Butler on back-to-back nights, and he had 27 points.

The Heat are six games in and are 5-1. If the Heat had Kyle Lowry in that one loss, the Heat could maybe even be 6-0. The team looks much improved, and some people have the Heat coming out of the Eastern Conference this year.

The Heat’s next game is against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas on November 2nd. If the Heat win this game, this will say a lot about their team and how much they have improved. In this game, the Heat started extremely slow, and the Mavericks got off to a 17-7 start, and the Heat had to call timeout. Miami settled down and only lost the quarter 30-24. In the second quarter, the Heat needed to pick it up. They emphatically scored 46 points in the second quarter and were up 70-62 at halftime. Going into the third quarter, the Heat had momentum and still kept their lead. The score was 99-82, Heat, going into the 4th quarter. The mavericks couldn’t find anything going in the 4th quarter, and the Heat easily beat the Mavericks 125-110.

The Heat improved to 6-1 on the season, and their next game is on November 4th against the Boston Celtics at home. The Heat started off the game on a 17-7 run before the Celtics had to call a timeout and regroup. The Heat ended up winning the quarter 24-18. In the second quarter, the Heat could not make any shots, and by the time Erik Spoelstra (Heat head coach) called a timeout, the score was 44-31 Boston. After the timeout, the Heat still could not make any shots as they were 51-33 at halftime. They lost the quarter 33-9 as they were down at halftime by a lot. In the 3rd quarter, the Heat couldn’t find any big momentum changer as the Celtics held their ground and were still up by about 20. The score was 75-57 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Heat cut the Celtics lead to 10 points, but shortly after that, the Celtics went on another run and ended up beating the Heat 95-78. This game was the worst game played by the Heat this season. If the Heat had the dominant shooting they had the first seven games of the season, they could’ve won this game by a lot. The Heat fall to 6-2. As they say, you’ll get them next time, and the Heat’s next game is on November 6th at home against the 7-1 Utah Jazz.

The Heat started November 6th’s game out strong by getting a quick 27-24 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Heat lead got up to eleven points in the second quarter, but the Jazz worked back and cut the lead to 3 at halftime. The score was 55-52 Heat at the half. In the third quarter, the Heat went on another run but this time sustained it. Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo were the three main players in this quarter for the Heat. The Heat were up 87-79 at the end of the third quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Heat caught on fire. Tyler Herro scored ten straight points and forced the Jazz to call a timeout. The Jazz regrouped, but then the Heat erupted again a few minutes later. The Heat were up by 19 points with five minutes left to play. In what seemed like an easy win at that point, the Heat started to give in, and the Jazz went on a 13-0 run, and the score was 112-106. It was 112-93 Heat five minutes ago. Now there is 1:30 left, and the Jazz are back in it. The Jazz fouled, and the Heat went to the free-throw line and made one 0f 2. It was now 113-106. The Jazz wouldn’t go away, and the score was 116-115 Heat. The Heat made both of their free throws, and the lead was 118-115. The Jazz had an opportunity to send the game to overtime, but Donovan Mitchell missed a three-pointer, and the Heat won the craziest game of the season so far. The Heat improve to 7-2 and are second place in the Eastern Conference. The Heat’s next game is on November 8th against the Denver Nuggets in Denver. This game is on the West Coast, so it will be a tough game for the Heat. In the 1st quarter, it was a back and forth offensive battle. The Nuggets were a little better and ended up winning the quarter 30-25. In the 2nd quarter, it was not so good for the Heat. The Heat couldn’t execute on both sides of the court, and they were down 64-49 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Heat did a better job defensively, but this time around, the offense couldn’t make shots, and the Heat were down 91-70 at the end of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter, the Heat couldn’t find any momentum to make a big comeback, and they lost in an ugly game 113-96. In the 4th quarter, Heat player Markieff Morris got ejected for pushing Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic. Jokic was also ejected for coming back and pushing Morris to the ground. Nikola Jokic is being suspended for one game, and Markieff Morris is being fined 50,000 dollars. Also, Heat star Jimmy Butler is being fined 30,000 for retaliating. This game was an ugly one for the Heat.

Through the first ten games, the Heat are 7-3. It was great writing about them, and they’re on pace to have a great season.