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While nobody expected Andrew Wiggins to replicate the production of Jimmy Butler for the Miami Heat in the postseason, many expected him to play much better than he did against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wiggins did not play well when the Heat needed him as the third option behind Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. Brendan Tobin of 790 AM The Ticket expressed how frustrating it was to see Wiggins seemingly lack interest.
“And then, Andrew Wiggins,” Tobin said. “I just don’t think you could have a guy look like he wanted to be on the Miami Heat any less than for a team that was expecting something from him. They were infused with the whole thought of the Jimmy Butler trade was, we’re getting nothing.
We’re going to get something. And the facts are that dude who was cosplaying No. 22 when he came here gave you worse than nothing.
He gave you apathy on top of a bunch of DNPs. The best part of that trade was Davion Mitchell. Andrew Wiggins was awful in his time here.
Looked like he didn’t give a rat’s (expletive).” Against the Cavaliers, Wiggins averaged 11.5 points, 3.
3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on 37.2 percent shooting and 35 percent from three-point range.
All of those categories were significant drop-offs from the regular-season averages. As the Heat pursue a star player to replace Butler, Wiggins may not remain in their long-term plans. PAUL PIERCE CLAIMS PAT RILEY IS “SINGLE-HANDEDLY” RUINING HEAT CULTURE Despite being one of the primary figures who built the Miami Heat into a successful organization, Pat Riley is facing considerable criticism following two consecutive first-round exits.
On the Speak show for Fox Sports , Paul Pierce explains why Riley deserved most of the blame for the Heat’s recent shortcomings. “I feel like Pat Riley is kind of like single-handedly tearing down Heat Culture,” Pierce said. “You run the face of the culture in Jimmy Butler out, and you see him in Golden State thriving and having an opportunity to push Golden State to the next round.
You have got to understand that other superstar players watch this. They’re talking in locker rooms. They talk on All-Star weekend.
They talk in the summer when they’re working out like ‘man, do we want to go down there and really play under the Heat Culture with these types of things going on?’ I really believe some things have to change within the Heat Culture. They have to revamp it, realign the rules, get a new memo, or something.” Pierce was one of the first people to publicly call out the Butler and Heat tenure, which faced more tension behind the scenes than most expected.
As of now, the Heat’s success since 2020 appears to be attributed mainly to Butler. JEFF TEAGUE ADAMANTLY SAYS PAT RILEY NEEDS TO RETIRE AFTER DISGRACEFUL PERFORMANCE Losing to a superior team is one thing, but getting blown out at home in a must-win elimination game by 55 points is another thing entirely. On the Club 520 Podcast show, Jeff Teague reacted to the Miami Heat’s beatdown at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“They should retire Pat Riley right there,” Teague explained. “It’s time to go, Pat. I feel them, though.
This is my theory. You know y’all not about to win, so why the (expletive) we got to travel back to Cleveland? Yeah, let’s just look like we can’t compete. Like, let’s not make it close.
I mean, we were trying the first three games. We lost. But the last game, let that (expletive) cook bro.
I legit would have walked into the locker room and said, ‘(expletive), I know y’all are not trying to fly back to Cleveland for one more night.’ If we’re playing good that first quarter, let’s go to work. We're hoopers now.
We like to play. But if they start beating our (expletive), take me out.” The most significant offseason move the Heat made last year was signing Alec Burks.
All things considered, he was solid throughout the year. But it was clearly not enough, even if the Heat had kept Jimmy Butler. With more clarity regarding Butler's future absence, the Heat will need to make several moves to compensate for his departure.
Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X @bryantownesjr11.
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