Why getting swept in first round is exactly what the Miami Heat need

The Miami Heat fell to a 124-87 defeat against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. Cleveland now holds a 3-0 lead in its opening playoff series. 

The Heat was always the underdog in this matchup. They qualified for the postseason via the play-in tournament, having finished 10th in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland, on the other hand, was first in the conference after a dominant season. 

The problem is, in recent years, Miami has been incredibly successful when fighting with its back against the wall. Of course, that was before Jimmy Butler left. Now, Erik Spoelstra's team is a shell of the one that made the 2023 NBA Finals. 

What's worse is that Spoelstra's team is one game away from suffering the humiliation of a sweep. 

"We wanted to be here," Tyler Herro said in his postgame news conference. "We were the 10th seed. We had two games to win on the road. We could have let go of the rope then...We wanted this. We wanted to be in the playoffs...It's not time to let go of the rope. We're going to play until the final buzzer...That's who we are as an organization. We want to compete and we're not going out 4-0." 

Team president Pat Riley has overseen a significant talent drain in Miami over the past two years. That regression was a big part of Butler's frustrations with the franchise. Perhaps being swept in the postseason is the shock to the system the Heat's front office needs. Hopefully, that will spur Riley to push the reset button and begin rebuilding. 

Miami can't continue to hope a star player falls into its lap. It's time for the franchise to begin planning for the future. The Cavaliers' current roster is a prime example of what patience and humility can produce. Sometimes, it takes a humiliating defeat to ignite the desire for change. Heat fans should certainly be hoping that is the case.

Because another year of minimal changes to this roster would be nothing short of malpractice.