The Miami Heat have lost five games in a row at American Airlines Arena and now face a stretch featuring five more contests at home.
Thus far on their seven-game homestand, the Heat have lost to the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards. Those losses added to a stretch of eight losses in nine tries at home. Overall, Miami is only 4-9 on its home court which is the main reason for the team's losing record.
The poor stretch at home comes as a surprise for the Heat. This is a team that had traditionally played its best ball at home with often dominant results in the standings. It has been the opposite in the 2014-15 season though with the Heat struggling in the majority of the contests.
This will not be an easy week for Miami to change its fortunes with multiple talented opponents coming in to visit.
It all starts on Sunday when the Boston Celtics step onto the court with a 10-14 mark. That record is not much worse than Miami's 12-15 mark and Boston sits directly behind Miami in the conference standings. The Heat thanks to their poor play at home are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
On Tuesday, the Heat will meet the Philadelphia 76ers who are having a historically bad season. Should Miami fail to top Boston, this should be the game that it ends its home skid. The 76ers have not only lost most of their games but have not even been competitive. If the Heat focus and put out effort, they should have an easy win.
Thursday is the game that nearly everyone in the basketball world is waiting for. LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers will come into Miami. This will be the first regular season contest for James against the Heat since he opted out of his contract. The two teams played an exhibition game in Brazil during the preseason but this is sure to have more fanfare.
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On Saturday, one of the best teams in the NBA will be hosted by the Heat. The Memphis Grizzlies have a 21-5 record as of Sunday morning. This is going to be a difficult game for the Heat and likely their toughest of the week. A win here while possible would appear to be unlikely especially with a depleted Miami roster.
The long stretch at home will come to an end on the following Monday when the 10-19 Orlando Magic visit. Orlando is currently on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go but is still within striking distance. Earlier this season, the Magic fell to the Heat in a game played in Orlando.
The Heat will play seven of eight games on the road after the homestand. That currently looks like a stretch that Miami should be looking forward to.
