ASK IRA: Are Heat heading into the must-win portion of their schedule?

Q: Ira, I know the Heat have to end their losing streak, but isnt the most important game on this trip Sunday in Milwaukee? The Bucks have shown they are just an average team in the East playoff race this season, and if the Heat cant beat them, then what are we doing here? I think they should take note of that game and then decide what to do next.

Sam.

A: I have seen this perspective voiced on several platforms, as if there was an impending decision on whether the Heat should tank or go for the playoffs.

However, that is not the Heat way.

No matter what happens on this three-game trip, while accepting they need to win at least two, and, honestly, all three, the Heat way has been to simply try to find a way to dig out of any hole, with all those upcoming games at home, after this brutal road stretch, perhaps to provide relief.Related ArticlesMiami Heat | Submit your Ask Ira question here!Q: What is your view on giving Kelel Ware more minutes in the fourth quarter? Perhaps his rebounding, defense and shot blocking will help prevent these fourth-quarter collapses that continue to happen.

Peter, Miami Lakes.A: At this point, nothing is more important to the growth and maturation of Kelel Ware than proving he is up to the moment, without being gifted minutes.

It is one thing to have him in the starting lineup, but those closing minutes still have to be earned.

While Kelel certainly adds a unique element to the Heat approach, his overall defense, at least from a team standpoint, still remains somewhat lacking.

So on the days when he is on with that element of his game, fine, play him at the finish.

But when he still is going through his growing pains, there likely will be more productive combinations for a team that needs to win now.Q: It hasnt been talked about much of late, but Erik Spoelstras retooling of the offense and the change of preferred shot profile seems to have been a bust.

It was a contributing factor in Jimmy Butlers discontent and certainly put Bam Adebayo into an early-season offensive funk.

Tyler Herro has stepped it up, but that was probably going to happen anyway.

I think the Heat did it backwards, retro-fitting an offense to a scheme that didnt fit their personnel rather than having a long-term vision and drafting and trading for players that fit that vision.

Ray, Deerfield Beach.A: I think a bit of grace is required here, considering how awful the Heat offense has been in recent years, and how trying to continue to win with twos over threes was leading the team nowhere.

But the NBA also is a league about adjustments, and to their credit, the Heat have made those adjustments.

Now it is a matter of again adjusting, this time to the loss of Jimmy Butler, needing to find a player who can create relief points and get to the foul line.

The question is whether they have such a player..

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