Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 118-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns (27-20) on Monday night at Kaseya Center to begin a quick two-game homestand.
The Heat (24-23), which has lost seven straight games, continues the homestand on Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings:
This is the Heat’s first seven-game skid since late in the 2007-08 season — a season that Miami finished with the NBA’s worst record at 15-67.
The Heat traded Shaquille O’Neal to the Suns during this rough season.
This is also the Heat’s first seven-game skid since Erik Spoelstra became the head coach prior to the 2008-09 season.
There has never been a team that won the NBA championship after dropping seven straight games during that respective regular season.
“Obviously, if you’re in this kind of hole right now, the level of urgency, concern is extremely high,” Spoelstra said.
“We’re just not doing it consistently hard enough, tough enough, with enough resolve with the things that come at you in an NBA game.
Not only was it the Heat’s seventh straight loss, but it was the third straight defeat by double digits. In fact, five of the seven losses during this skid have been by double digits.
Monday’s game wasn’t close, as the Suns led by as many as 28 points. Phoenix led by double digits for the entire second half.
The Heat’s offense was again bad, shooting 39.3 percent from the field. The Heat finished 14 of 36 (38.9 percent) from three-point range, but shot just 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) on threes through the first three quarters before getting hot late.
The Heat’s defense was also bad, allowing the Suns to score 118 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the field.
