Inside The Heat

Pacers vs. Heat Takeaways: Heat Continue Inconsistency With Disappointing Home Loss

Jake Elman

Jan 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) goes up for a shot past Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Jan 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) goes up for a shot past Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat (17-15) continued their inconsistent season with a disappointing 128-115 home loss to the Indiana Pacers (17-18).

1. What home court?

In hindsight, maybe the Heat’s underwhelming victory over the Pelicans on Wednesday was a sign of things to come. Miami didn’t blow out or dominate a dismal New Orleans team the way one would expect a healthy Heat team to, especially at home.

Indiana led 38-25 at the end of the first quarter and eliminated any hopes of a Heat comeback with a 41-point third quarter. Tyrese Haliburton scored 33 points and dished 15 assists in making Miami’s defense look lost. 

The Heat have been up-and-down all season. It appears the same problems that plagued them in the final months of 2024 are continuing into the first days of 2025.

2. Jimmy Butler stays quiet … too quiet

Butler scored nine points on only five shots Wednesday night, his first game since Dec. 20. It was easy to write off the quiet performance and 25-minute outing as the Heat easing him back into action following the five-game absence.

So much for that idea. Butler recorded nine points, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals Thursday night; Indiana outscored Miami by 27 points when Butler was on the court. 

The most alarming part is Butler took six shots. Arguably the Heat’s second-best player has only taken 11 shots in his last two games. That’s a massive problem, and it’s one the Heat must address if they intend to keep Butler through the season's end.

3. Bam is back! Maybe

After two-plus months of offensive regression, the Bam Adebayo of old may finally be back. Adebayo recorded 20 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes Thursday night. 

Most importantly, Adebayo hit eight of his 12 shots; the three-time All-Star has made 17 of his last 26 shots, an important achievement given his prolonged shooting issues. On a night with few positives for the Heat, they can at least be encouraged about Adebayo’s offense.

Also of note: fan favorite rookie center Kel’el Ware posted a career-high 25 points in 21 minutes. Maybe we’ll see a starting five featuring Adebayo and Ware shortly.

4. It’s time to determine the real Miami Heat

The Heat play 16 games across 31 days in January. The next few weeks will go a long way in telling us if the Heat are a legitimate playoff contender, a middle-of-the-road squad destined for the Play-In Tournament, or a team that should wave the white flag and prepare for next season.

Nights like these make us think the Heat fall into the latter two categories. 

The Heat can’t get out of their own way, and the never-ending Butler trade saga may finally be wearing this team out. If the Heat can’t take down the dismal Jazz (7-25) and Kings (15-19) in the next few days, it might be time to seriously start reconsidering how far this team can truly go. 

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Jake Elman works as a contributing writer to Miami Heat on SI. He can be reached at jakeelman97@gmail.com or follow him on X @JakeElman97.

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Jake Elman
JAKE ELMAN

Jake Elman is a veteran sports journalist and graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s journalism program. In recent years, he has covered the NFL for EndGame360 and served as the sports content lead for ExpressVPN. He also covered the Lane Kiffin years at FAU for the Palm Beach Post.