It’s almost unthinkable.
But the Miami Heat — who advanced to the NBA Finals as recently as 2023 — will take a 10-game losing streak into their matchup against the visiting Charlotte Hornets on Sunday night.
Miami (29-41), which is struggling through its longest losing streak since 2007-2008, should have a shot of finally winning on Sunday.
That’s because Charlotte (18-52) has one of the three worst records in the league. Further, the Hornets are just 7-27 on the road.
Then again, the Heat are having major issues, too, including a losing record at home (15-19).
In Friday’s 102-98 loss to the visiting Houston Rockets, Miami got just eight points from its leading scorer, Tyler Herro.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Houston geared its defense toward denying Herro, who shot 3-for-11 from the floor, taking just one 3-pointer.
“They are up and into him,” Spoelstra said when asked about how Herro is being defended. “We have to find different ways to get him cleaner looks. But this is an incredible growth opportunity for him. He is seeing all the different schemes that the very good players get night in and night out.”
On the positive side for the Heat, Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points on Friday, including a 20-point second quarter that was the best period of his career.
“You can see the possibilities,” Spoelstra said of Wiggins, who was acquired on Feb. 6 as part of the Jimmy Butler trade.
“He can do a lot of things our team needs. He can create his own shot. He can get downhill. He spaces the floor. And, defensively, he fits right into our system.”
Meanwhile, the Hornets — despite a 35-point loss to the host Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday — are actually enjoying their second-best stretch of the season.
Charlotte is 4-4 over its past eight games, and that includes a win at Miami on March 10 and a stunning upset of the New York Knicks on Thursday.
In the win over the Heat, Charlotte got 35 points from Miles Bridges as the Heat blew a 17-point lead.
On Thursday, the Hornets got 25 points and eight assists from LaMelo Ball. Charlotte made 15-of-32 on 3-pointers in that game.
However, in the loss to Oklahoma City on Friday, the Hornets got outscored in the paint, 64-26.
“It starts with LaMelo’s activity,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said when asked what his team has done well over the past eight games.
Ball, a 6-fiit-7 point guard who has played in just 46 of Charlotte’s 70 games, leads the Hornets in scoring (25.4) and assists (7.2).
When Ball is healthy, the Hornets are a better team. But this is his fifth NBA season, and he has played more than 51 games just once.
Injuries have hit the Hornets hard this season, and that includes forward Brandon Miller, who is out for the season.
Miller, a 22-year-old rising star, was the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He averaged 17.3 points as an All-Rookie pick last season, and he averaged 21.0 points in 27 games this season before going down in January due to a wrist injury.
Without Miller, there’s a lot of pressure on players such as 6-7 forward Bridges and 7-0 center Mark Williams.
Bridges is tied for second on the team in scoring (21.0) and second in rebounds (7.7). Williams, despite ranking only seventh on the team in minutes played per game (25.9), is first in rebounds (10.1) and blocks (1.3).
