The Miami Heat’s morale has reached a low point.
The team is 2-5 throughout the month of February. The All-Star break struck at a perfect time for the Heat to figure things out. Many of the personnel hope to get back on track as the team fights for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. One player who expressed optimism to the media was Jaime Jaquez Jr
“Immediate team goal is to get back on a winning streak,” Jaquez said in a Rising Stars postgame interview. “That’s number one. I don’t think we finished the break at all the way we wanted to. So coming back after the break, it’s a new mentality that we have to have as a team.”
Tyler Herro also spoke regarding how winning Saturday’s Three-Point Contest gives the Heat something positive to think of.
“Honestly, I think the record isn’t what we want it to be, but I feel like there’s a breath of fresh air around our locker room, our arena, our city,” Herro said after his victory.
“I think it’s well before this trophy was won. I think there’s a breath of fresh air just around the whole organization, and I’m happy to represent us and be here for our organization and our city, just to represent and win this competition.”
The Heat currently sit three games below .500 with a 25-28 record. Now, the Heat find themselves just outside the playoff picture at the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. That is still good for a play-in spot as it stands but the Heat’s potential sixth consecutive playoff appearance could be in jeopardy if the team doesn’t turn it around.
REID ENDORSES BILLY DONOVAN FOR HALL OF FAME
Eric Reid has been the voice of the Miami Heat since 1991 as the play-by-play announcer.
Prior to joining the Heat, Reid started his broadcasting career as the radio voice for Providence College’s men’s basketball team from 1982 to 1988. During his six seasons with the Friars, he called games featuring Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, who played for Providence from 1983 to 1987. Donovan was a key player under head coach Rick Pitino and helped lead the Friars to the Final Four in 1987.
Donovan was recently named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Along with his announcement as a finalist for the Hall of Fame, Providence College will be retiring Donovan’s jersey on Saturday night. Reid praised Donovan and his accomplishments in an X post Saturday afternoon.
Donovan has been a coach for almost three decades. He started his coaching career as an assistant under Pitino at Kentucky before getting the head coaching nod at Marshall in 1994. After two seasons, he left Marshall to become the head coach at Florida, where he would lead the team to two NCAA championships along with two other Final Four appearances.
He left college basketball to join the NBA in 2015. He joined the Oklahoma City Thunder to coach Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook before parting ways with the franchise in 2020. Since 2020, Donovan has been the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.
Donovan’s storied career is an important one and Reid can say he has been following his career since the very beginning.
ARISON NAMED FINALIST FOR 2025 HALL OF FAME CLASS
Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison has been named a finalist for induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Arison has continued to serve as one of the driving forces behind one of the NBA’s most winningest franchises.
Arison took majority control of the franchise in 1995. Since then, the Heat have won three titles in 2006, 2012 and 2013. One of Arison’s first moves with the organization was bringing in Hall of Famer Pat Riley to become the team’s head coach. Riley was one of the best coaches in basketball at the time, helping lead the Los Angeles Lakers to four championships prior to joining the Heat.
After Riley led the Heat to a championship in 2006, he converted to a role in the front office. He and Arison have been the leading executives for the organization since. One of their first moves in collaboration was promoting then-assistant coach Erik Spoelstra to the head coaching role. Since Spoelstra’s promotion, the Heat have been one of the winningest teams in basketball. They have won two championships along with another four Eastern Conference titles under his reign.
Arison’s influence over the franchise has earned him a spot along the likes of Heat icons. There are nine members of the Hall of Fame with Miami Heat ties. Listed below are the members and the year they were inducted: