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Heat Double Bonus: Is Miami Searching for Panic Button After Recent Losing Streak?

For those who don't think it's the right time to panic, let us notice that Miami will play five of its next seven games against teams who are currently ahead of them in the playoff standings.

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Three weeks ago on this very website, I wrote a column asking if the Miami Heat could get hot in time for a late season run into the NBA playoffs - at the time, Miami held the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Since then, the Heat have gone 3-4 with four straight losses. The worst of those, without a doubt, came Saturday night when Miami found itself losing to a Charlotte Hornets team with one of the worst records in the entire NBA.

Is it time for the Heat to panic? If not now, I'm not sure when.

Sure, Miami has plenty of talent on the roster when they are playing their best. On paper, there is no reason why a team with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro should ever think they would not make it to the postseason. As of Monday, the Heat are currently in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

On the flip side, Miami has losses this season against San Antonio, Detroit and Charlotte - three of the four teams with the worst records in the NBA this season - and did nothing at the trade deadline in an effort to get better.

The Heat did make a big name acquisition last week by adding forward Kevin Love, who is currently in his 15th season in the league. Love rewarded Miami by scoring a total of zero points in his first game last Friday and 13 points in his second game on Saturday.

For those who don't think it's the right time to panic, let us notice that Miami will play five of its next seven games against teams who are currently ahead of them in the playoff standings. At this point, the Heat are just four games ahead of the Washington Wizards - the team who right now would be the "first team out" in the Eastern Conference.

With just 21 games left in the regular season, Miami is not in a place where they can just coast into the postseason. As of now, the Heat would have to win at least one "play-in" game just to make it into the postseason. Gone are the days of the 'Big Three' era with LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh along with quality role players.

This is a Miami team who is going to have to decide just how bad it really wants to be a playoff team. More importantly, it's going to have to ask itself if it can be one of those teams that wakes up at the right time.

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