Miami Heat looked like a lifeless team throughout their first round matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They showed little to no sign of fight even in Game 4 as they faced the danger of getting swept, which they eventually did, but the fashion in which it happened was shocking.
The Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Miami Heat a 138-83 defeat in Game 4 to complete the sweep and advance into the next round.
This was the Heat’s second consecutive first round exit and Dwyane Wade believes it is due to the absence of Jimmy Butler.
Bam Adebayo even made an interesting comment on Pat Rile, who will have to make big moves to revive the team in the offseason.
However, former NBA player Paul Pierce believes the resolve might need something even more than just a few moves.
Pierce believes Riley has to make changes to the Miami Heat
Pierce represented the Boston Celtics during his tenure in the NBA and went toe to toe against Riley’s Heat team several time.
He knows what it’s like to play against the Heat culture and stated things needed to change if the team was to get better.
Pierce said: “It’s either Rile’s needs fresh air or Rile’s is got to get the update on the download for the Heat culture.
“You got to get that new update if you want people to come to Miami. If you want to turn it back around, you got to update the culture, because that culture right now is running people away.
“I was watching Bam and he even said, ‘There’s gonna be changes from the guy with the [grey hair]’ it look like the Heat culture is dead, they got to push the reset button on that, you know what I’m saying, change the rules.”
Miami Heat need a big offseason
Fans have all had their say on Riley potentially leaving the Heat after another below par season for the franchise.
The 2024-25 campaign was full of controversies mainly surrounding Butler, who wanted a max-extension, but was denied the same by Riley.
Butler and Riley both locked horns, but in the end, the former got the move to Golden State Warriors and is on a franchise that loves having him around, while Heat struggle.
With Butler on the team, they were always battling in the playoffs, sometimes even bunching over their weight, especially during their run to the NBA Finals in 2023.
After everything that has happened, the Heat are left without a primary star, but what makes it a little better is that they have a lot of pieces who they could use to execute a deal.
Now what Riley does is up to him, but if he does not make moves, the fans would not be happy as that will leave the team with nothing to compete again next year.
