5 Heat observations from Miami’s longest win streak of the season

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The Miami Heat (34-41) have responded to their lowest point since 2008 with their longest win streak of the season.

For weeks — including Miami’s recently snapped 10-game losing streak — head coach Erik Spoelstra remained adamant that his team was close to a breakthrough. It was hard to believe when Miami couldn’t maintain big leads or close out tight games, but its payoff has been evidenced by a season-high five-game win streak by an average of 20.4 points.

Although the Heat haven’t faced a gauntlet of dominant teams in this stretch, it’s helped keep their postseason hopes alive as they sit out 2 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Hawks (36-38) for the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. By climbing to at least eighth in the East, the Heat could have at least two cracks at securing a playoff berth in the Play-In Tournament, should it lose in the 7-8 matchup to decide the seventh seed.

As recently mentioned, the Heat could keep their top-14 protected 2025 first-round draft pick by missing the playoffs, but they’ve shown no interest in intentionally bottoming out on a maybe, especially with Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro doing their best to lead a strong finish.

Here are five positives to the Heat enjoying their best stretch of the season:

Bam Adebayo’s shooting touch is crucial

As team captain, Adebayo has been adamant about his team “not letting go of the rope.” Even at Miami’s lowest point of the season, he remained steadfast in his squad focusing on the simple things to turn things around, whether it’s rebounding, controlling possession or consistently defending.

But there’s one underrated X-factor for the Heat: Adebayo’s shooting.

He entered the season with the ambition of spacing the floor. It yielded mixed results earlier but has come around in recent months. Since the All-Star break, Adebayo is shooting 40.6 percent from deep in 22 games after making under 30 percent of those looks prior. He’s also thriving from other spots on the floor in that time, making 73.8 percent of his shots from the restricted area, 48.2 percent from midrange and hitting 44.1 percent of his jumpers.

Adebayo’s rhythm is finding its stride at the right time. He’s shooting 53.3 percent from deep during this five-game win streak. Adebayo prides himself on doing a bit of everything for the Heat, but floor spacing is a huge variable for providing his squad more room for error.

Kel’el Ware will be really, really good

Drafted No. 15 overall last year, Ware has shown immense promise when granted extensive or consistent playing time. Of course, first-year players will have their ups and downs when adjusting to the pro game, but Ware never lacks confidence even as he learns. It’s one of the things his teammates and coaches admire most about him.

Spoelstra often touts players needing to give coaches a reason to give them playing time. Ware’s combination of shot-blocking, rebounding, interior scoring and jump-shooting are crucial tools to him being Miami’s starting center longterm. His 12 double-doubles are the most by any Heat rookie since the 1989-90 season (Sherman Douglas, 18).

During Miami’s five-game win streak, Ware missed five of his six 3-point attempts, but his focus has been on making easy shots around the rim and controlling the glass. He’s averaging 11 rebounds in this span, including his fourth consecutive double-digit rebound game on Monday. The Heat are 5-2 when Ware and Adebayo each grab at least 10 boards in a game, including wins in each of the last five such outings. On Thursday, Spoelstra touted how important it is for his starting frontcourt to set the tone for the rest of the team.

“It’s not just those two. Those guys will rebound,” Spoelstra said. “It’s one of the biggest needle-movers for us, when we rebound. And it’s on both sides of the floor. Offensive rebounding, we’re really working on that as well, trying to get ourselves second-chance opportunities. But when we defend and we rebound, our record is amazing. They know how to rebound, so it takes a full effort.”

Safe to say Bam is proud of Kel’el after that poster 😂 pic.twitter.com/gTth1xdB48

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 1, 2025

Pelle Larsson is already a reliable contributor

The 2024 second-round pick has shown promise throughout the season. Larsson has only started four games and is averaging 13 minutes per outing, but he’s stood out when Spoelstra trusts him to play big minutes.

He’s averaging 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 30 minutes in his last two games. During Miami’s hot stretch, Larsson improved the team’s net rating by plus-8.4 points in 71 minutes of playing time, including the Heat having a 127.7 offensive rating with him on the court during that span.

Whether it’s scoring, spacing the floor, driving to the basket, defending or just scrapping for the ball, Larsson has drawn rave reviews from teammates, coaches and fans who love his approach to the game. His growth is another example of Miami’s knack for scouting gems that simplify its program.

“To me, it started with Pelle,” Adebayo said of his rookie teammate after Monday’s win over the Wizards. “The young kid was really getting in the paint, putting guys in the basket. We need that from him: that bulldog mentality. We had Davion [Mitchell] out, so he stepped in that role.”

Pelle Larsson: Momentum Shifter 📈 pic.twitter.com/cMOCkyjAfV

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 30, 2025

3s can change a lot

In recent months, the Heat have had the NBA’s worst offense as they adjusted to life without Jimmy Butler. For the most part, they were confident in the shots they created, but there seemed to be a lid on the rim for a while.

That lid seems to have lifted in recent weeks.

During Miami’s win streak, the Heat are shooting a red-hot 46.9 percent from deep, trailing only the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder’s mark of 47.5 percent in that time. More importantly, the Heat are thriving on efficiency and volume of late (15.2 made 3s per game rank eighth in the NBA).

Since March 23, Miami has the NBA’s fifth-best offense and ranks first in net rating (plus-21.8). To reiterate, this five-game win streak hasn’t included the most intimidating slate — the Charlotte Hornets, the Golden State Warriors without Stephen Curry, the Play-In-bound Atlanta Hawks and lottery-hopeful Philadelphia 76ers and Washington Wizards — but the Heat have lost enough winnable games this season to find more solace in the process before splitting hairs anywhere else.

“It feels like we’re really connected,” Herro said after Monday’s win over the Wizards. “It feels like everyone is covering for each other and we’re all playing really well off each other right now.”

Trust in coach

Throughout the season, Spoelstra has maintained public support of his players by noting the team’s effort and maintaining accountability for everyone (including himself). Miami could certainly be in a different spot if even half of its blown leads were maintained, but the team has done a great job of staying connected even during low points.

A crucial part of that is Spoelstra not throwing anyone under the bus and undermining their confidence. He speaks with his team in private, of course, but he’s maintained the same public sentiment throughout the season, especially in recent weeks: The team was closer than difficult losses would indicate.

Spoelstra has consistently tinkered with lineups and adjusted gameplans in accordance with what’s in front of him. Has he batted 1.000 on every choice? Absolutely not, but he’s also one of the first people to acknowledge that while maintaining an optimistic attitude for a team trying to find its way into the postseason and create a new long-term identity on the fly. Now, the Heat’s schedule will toughen as the regular season draws to a closer. Their next three games are against winning squads, but getting through matchups against the defending champion Boston Celtics, Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks could help the Heat finish the regular season on a high note before seeing what the postseason has in store.

“It’s an opportunity for us,” Herro explained on Monday. “We’re on a five-game win streak. We’ve been through a bunch of different obstacles this year. Heading into Boston, everybody knows how hard it is to get a win in Boston. We’ve built a lot of confidence throughout the last five games and feel like we have an opportunity to keep it going and get a tough win on the road.”

(Top photo: Reggie Hildred / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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