The Miami Heat opened the 2026-27 NBA season 0-3, and that is the record that is now driving every conversation around them. Losses to the Timberwolves, Pistons and depleted Hornets have left the Heat staring at an early hole before the first week is even finished.
That is why the Knicks Record search term is showing up in a wider week of NBA overreaction: people are trying to decide which early numbers matter and which ones do not. In Miami's case, the record is real, and it is ugly enough to matter today because the Heat have already banked three losses while the rest of the league is still sorting itself out.
There is some reason to separate the bad luck from the bad play. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been averaging nearly a point a minute, and the Heat have still been outscored by 54 in his 88 minutes. They have also been hurt by poor three-point luck and by work on the glass that has gone the wrong way far too often. Even with that, the team has kept opponents away from the rim, and some of those shooting numbers should not stay this extreme forever.
Andrew Wiggins has been part of the problem. He really struggled, and Pelle Larsson took his minutes in the fourth quarter against Charlotte. Brandon Miller then hunted Wiggins in the closing minute, drew a foul and put the game away. That sequence fit the broader picture for Miami: the Heat are not just losing close games, they are getting targeted in moments that decide them.
Erik Spoelstra has already tried to patch the fit by staggering Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, but the offense has looked sped up when both are on the floor. Nick Richards is out of the rotation, Bobby Portis is the backup center, and Nikola Jovic has already seen his minutes dwindle. Davion Mitchell has looked great, but one good stretch from one player has not changed the fact that Miami has been obliterated on the glass and started the season in a place it cannot afford to stay for long.
Through three games, the Sixers have shown how hard it is to slow a team that keeps pushing in transition, but Miami's more immediate concern is simpler: if the rebounding and shooting do not turn quickly, the 0-3 start stops looking like a small-sample wobble and starts looking like the kind of hole that can cost a playoff spot.
