If The Miami Heat Had Better Players They'd Be A Really Good Team

The Miami Heat got their backs blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, and the worst part of it all? The guy doing most of the damage was someone named Ty Jerome. Yeah, you heard that right. Ty. Jerome. How in the world does a guy named Ty Jerome drop 28 points in 26 minutes? I don’t have the answer. But I do know this—if the Miami Heat actually had better players, they’d be a damn good basketball team.

Now before everyone loses their mind over this “groundbreaking” analysis, let me explain. Every team in the league has its flaws. Some need better coaching. Some need more length or size. Others need more consistent shooters. But the Miami Heat? They just need better players. That’s it. Plain and simple.

The most frustrating part about being a Heat fan over the last five years has been watching this team somehow find success with a roster full of nobodies—just to get completely outclassed when it really matters. Whether it’s the Eastern Conference Finals or the NBA Finals, the outcome is the same: we get manhandled by teams with actual talent.

Now imagine, just for a second, what this team could’ve accomplished if they had gone out and gotten legitimate stars. We’ve missed out on everyone—from Damian Lillard to Kevin Durant. Year after year, the same story repeats itself. All Miami has needed is one real difference-maker. Just one. And yet, Pat Riley has sat on his hands, seemingly unwilling to make the moves that could take this team over the top.

Instead, we keep “running it back” with the same group that already wasn’t good enough to win it all. And every offseason, we add even more undrafted, no-name players to the mix like that’s some badge of honor. Newsflash: gritty, hardworking role players are great—but they’re not enough to get you a ring in today’s NBA. You need talent. Top-end, undeniable talent.

And so, when we inevitably lose a guy like Jimmy Butler, we’re left with a roster that gets the brakes beat off them by, again, a guy named Ty Jerome. It’s embarrassing. It's not coaching. It's not a spacing issue. It’s not even about effort. It’s about the fact that the roster just isn’t good enough.

Until Pat Riley wakes up and realizes that feel-good stories and underdog mentalities only get you so far, this team is going to keep hitting the same wall. The Miami Heat don’t need a culture check or a new coach. They just need better players. Period.

And until that happens, we’re just going to keep getting embarrassed by guys we didn’t even know were in the league.