"Cooper Flagg, welcome to Miami" - NBA fans react as Heat flirt with lottery finish after dropping 8 consecutive games

The Miami Heat's struggles in their post-Jimmy Butler era continued on Monday as they got blown out 116-95 on the road against the New York Knicks. Following the reeling squad's Eastern Conference-worst eighth straight loss, NBA fans remarked on its rest-of-season outlook and potential 2025 NBA draft lottery appearance.

After blowing an early 13-point lead, the Heat fell behind by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter. They allowed Knicks wing Mikal Bridges to score a game-high 28 points on 10-14 shooting (71.4%).

Meanwhile, Knicks forward Josh Hart chipped in his franchise record-tying eighth triple-double of the season (12 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists).

Miami struggled to generate consistent offense, scoring 95 points or fewer for the third consecutive outing. With its lopsided defeat, it fell 10 games below .500 (29-39). Moreover, its eight-game losing skid marks the longest of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra's illustrious career.

Miami has gone just 4-15 since trading Butler to the Golden State Warriors in a five-team trade on Feb. 6. Conversely, during that span, Butler's Warriors have started 14-1 with him in their lineup.

Following Monday's loss, fans on X/Twitter touched on the impact of the Heat moving on from Butler.

"They need their Jimmy," @thaofficialkat said.

"The Miami Heat need a dynamic player like Jimmy Butler. They should trade for him in the offseason, LMAO," @KensingtonSwizz wrote.

"They're missing Jimmy Butler bad," @ChosenJuan_23 said.

Meanwhile, others speculated about the franchise throwing in the towel on its season and boosting its odds of landing college hoops phenom Cooper Flagg.

"Pat Riley (is) going to pull the plug. They'll be in the lottery most definitely!" @hoopsenjoyer515 wrote.

"Miami is perfecting tanking," @Hcp1Hcp said.

"Cooper Flagg, welcome to Miami," @WadexFlash wrote.

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Erik Spoelstra on Heat's second-half woes amid 8-game losing streak

After his unprecedented eighth consecutive defeat, Erik Spoelstra touched on his team's second-half struggles.

The veteran coach noted that his coaching staff has been unable to rectify the problem despite their persistent efforts.

"We have not come up with solutions, and we've tried everything," Spoelstra said. "... This has been one of the biggest challenges of a season I've been part of."

With only 14 games remaining, Spoelstra is running out of time to help his squad get back on track.

Nevertheless, the Heat (29-39) remain ninth in the East, five games ahead of the 11th-placed Toronto Raptors (24-44). Thus, they could stumble into a play-in finish.

Miami's next chance to snap its losing skid comes on Wednesday when it hosts the Detroit Pistons (38-31).

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