The Miami Heat faced the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night at the AmericanAirlines Arena, walking away with a devastating 125-122 loss. The game went into overtime, with the Timberwolves scoring the first six points, holding off the Heat long enough to pull out a win. Jeff Teague scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 22 points, but even though they both played a strong game, they were unable to defeat the Timberwolves.

The Heat has had a trying season, the Miami Herald reported. Erik Spoelstra has been under a lot of heat himself, for various issues ranging from Dion Waiters' contract, to continuously playing Josh Richardson and Justice Winslow, despite their inconsistency on the court.

Top five trials so far

After assessing the Heat's performance so far, here are the top five struggles they have faced during the 2018 season.

  • 1. Offense. Miami has struggled to keep offenses from scoring, which has caused them a few key games like the Timberwolves and the Spurs. Overall, opposing offenses have been averaging 50.0 Points Per Game against the Heat, which is 9.5 points higher than last season. This could be due to Hassan Whiteside missing five consecutive games because of a bone bruise in his left knee and with his return still unknown, future games rea not very promising for the Heat.
  • 2. Bam Adebayo. Or, more specifically, the questionable trust that Spoelstra has placed in Adebayo, who is still very much a work-in-progress. Spoelstra has started Bam at center, despite having Jordan Mickey or Kelly Olynyk, who both have higher points-per-game than 20-year-old Adebayo. During his first NBA start, Adebayo recorded four points and eight rebounds within 20 minutes; according to miamiherald.com, Spoelstra defends his decision to start Adebayo, stating, "I really wanted to leverage some speed and quickness with our starting lineup.”
  • 3. The defense line. One consistent struggle the Heat cannot seem to overcome is getting to the free throw line. With the heat averaging 16.3 free throw attempts per game, they are in the bottom three in the league. Even though they got 17 out of the 18 free throws against San Antonio, it is still very low compared to the Spurs' 30 free throws per game.
  • 4. The sixth man. Tyler Johnson had a rough performance during the first three games, averaging 7.3 points on a 29.6 percent shooting. He pulled it together, finally, when the Heat played the Spurs, but it has not been enough to help the Heat outscored their opponents.
  • 5. Dion Waiters. It is only a week into the season and Waiters is already suffering from an ankle injury. He still finished with 17 points and five assists against San Antonio, but the season is young and fans are nervous about the rocky situation.

Fans continue to be patient

Only time will tell if the Heat will be able to overcome these struggles, and loyal fans continue to support their team in hopes of a better season.