The Miami Heat entered the Eastern Conference playoffs as the league's top-ranked team in three-point field goal percentage. But their shots from beyond the arc haven't come close to falling with a trip to the NBA Finals up for grabs. In their 93-80 home loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the East Finals on Wednesday, the Heat attempted 45 threes and somehow made only seven.
To make matters worse, Miami hasn't been receiving enough production from Jimmy Butler, who's battling knee inflammation. The veteran swingman scored only 13 points on 4-of-18 shooting in Game 5, and since aggravating the injury in Game 3, he's averaged 9.5 points. In fairness to Butler, his teammates have also underperformed. Kyle Lowry and Max Strus shot a combined 0-for-15 in Game 5, and according to Elias, that's the worst 0-fer for a starting backcourt in a playoff game since starters were first tracked in 1970-71.
"I'm sure Butler is injured -- I'm not questioning that at all. But, he's out there. I think we have to say that, if you're going to be out there, then you've got to be good enough to play," NBA on TNT reporter Jared Greenberg explained to the Reiter Than You show on Thursday. "We can't use the injury as an excuse. Especially in this matchup, when the Celtics have as many guys, if not more, who're banged-up. Key guys. Jayson Tatum's shoulder is messed up.
"So, if we're not going to give Tatum a pass, why are we giving Butler a pass? This Heat roster, which we thought was so good, there's some glaring issues to it... I don't know. I think there's a lack of support, right now, around Butler, which is making his offensive issues from last night more glaring... It wouldn't surprise me if this series goes seven. And based on how the series has gone, we're likely to see a much different Miami team tomorrow night."
The Heat, which clinched the conference's top seed with a 53-29 record, will play Game 6 against the Celtics on Friday night (8:30 ET tipoff) at TD Garden. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, Miami has just an 11-percent chance to reach the NBA Finals and just a 6-percent chance to win their first NBA title since 2013. Both teams met in the 2020 East Finals, and the Heat won, 4-2.
The entire NBA playoffs conversation between Greenberg and Reiter can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Reiter Than You show on Twitter @sportsreiter and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.