Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin opened up about his team’s struggles this season. Miami has lost four straight games and has won just five of its last 10. The Heat are 35-30 and rank eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.
“It’s a sense of urgency definitely at an all-time high but also staying composed,” Martin told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve done a lot of winning in this locker room.
“So, they’ve been here before. They know how it goes. We follow their lead. We have a lot of confidence in those guys and they have a lot of confidence in us going forward.”
Referring to a couple of NBA betting sites, the Heat hold 12th-ranked odds to win the championship. Sportsbooks are showing better odds for the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.
Asked Caleb Martin about with little to no room for error as there is 17 games left in the season, is the sense of urgency at an all-time high?
“The sense of urgency is definitely at an all-time high, but we’re also staying composed…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/1xT4GvJR8l
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 14, 2024
Neither Tyler Herro (foot) nor Kevin Love (heel) traveled with the Heat on Thursday for the start of their four-game road trip, which begins Friday in Detroit. Bam Adebayo is listed as probable with a lower-back contusion.
“He’s making progress,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about Herro’s injury. “I don’t have anything more for you. But he’s doing everything he needs to do.”
Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin (sprained left thumb) is available for Friday’s game at Detroit
The Heat also remain without Josh Richardson (season-ending shoulder surgery), and with Jamal Cain and Alondes Williams on G League assignments.
Martin is listed as available with a sprained left thumb.
In Miami’s 100-88 loss to the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, it was the same story, different season for Spoeltra’s squad. Adebayo scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.
#MIAvsDET INJURY UPDATE: Tyler Herro (foot) and Kevin Love (heel) did not travel with the team today on the upcoming road trip, they have both been ruled out of tomorrow night’s game vs the Pistons.
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 14, 2024
Jimmy Butler scored 15, Terry Rozier finished with 14, and Duncan Robinson added 11 for the Heat. Denver outscored them 28-17 in the final frame to secure its seventh straight win on Miami’s home court.
The Heat finished 5-of-21 (23.8%) shooting from 3-point range.
“To me, it felt like we passed up some open 3s,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t think it would have been 43 attempts. But certainly, it should have been 10, 12 more. We passed up open ones and then drove it into their size. We certainly needed to take a few more.”
Fortunately, the Heat are 6-1 in their last seven meetings with Detroit. Miami is 4-1 in its past five road games against the Pistons as well. Detroit is also 1-5 in its previous six matchups with a Southeast Division opponent.
