Was Miami Heat's Loss To Orlando Magic "Worst" Of Season

Shandel Richardson | 5 Hours Ago

Dec 20, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra reacts to a call by Oklahoma City Thunder referee Mark Lindsay (29) against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat fans are still upset about the recent loss to the Orlando Magic.

The Heat were outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter after leading by much as 25. They were without Jimmy Butler but the Magic had their issues, too.

They were minus their three best players, stars Franz Wagner and Paola Banchero and rising player Jalen Suggs. Moritz Wagner also sustained an early injury that knocked him out of the game. Then Wendell Carter Jr., was ejected.

It is why some are calling this the Heat's worst loss of the season. As did Ethan Skolnick of Five Reasons Sports Network.

"Essentially you're talking about five of the eight players in Orlando's mix ... unavailable," Skolnick said on his podcast. "I don't want to hear that Jimmy Butler did not play. It does not excuse what happened in the fourth quarter."

After showing promise of late, the Heat are right back to being questioned for their inconsistency. They won six of eight before the recent three-game skid. All of the criticism could have been avoided by closing out the Magic game.

A team with stars Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier and young rising players like Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nikola Jovic should be able to hold off a depleted Magic roster.

"The guys on the court should've done enough to close out that game and they did not," Skolnick said.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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