Five takeaways from the Heat’s 103-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night at Wells Fargo Center, which dropped Miami into fifth place in the Eastern Conference and only a half game ahead of the Pacers and Bucks in the playoff race:
1. Something needs to change with the Heat’s starting lineup. Miami’s Platinum group (the bench) outscored the starters 57-40 and nearly rallied the Heat all the way back from a 28-point fourth quarter deficit. That was the good news.
The bad news? The starting unit continues to stink. Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson and Josh Richardson combined to shoot 15 of 42 from the field (35.