Category: Miami Heat Blog

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 121-110 victory over the Detroit Pistons: – Heading into the All-Star break, the concern was home for Heat didn’t mean heightened hope. – That’s when the Heat not only lost three of their four home games before the break, but lost them to the likes of the Bulls, Hawks and Jazz. – The concern was the current ongoing stretch of home games might not necessarily be optimized. – Now? – Concerns allayed. – A five-game home winning streak, – A 21-11 home record. – Sunday’s game opened a four-game homestand, with matchups to...

Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 128-120 victory over the Charlotte Hornets: – No, the Hornets’ youth was not lost on Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. – Not with what Kon Knueppel, Brandon Miller and Charlotte’s other recent lottery picks have delivered amid this Hornets revival. – But Spoelstra also used his pregame platform to note what the Heat have done with their youth. – With options otherwise limited on this night, with Norman Powell, Andrew Wiggins and Simone Fontecchio among those out for the Heat. – So, like many other coaches who have faced the Hornets in...

MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 126-110 victory over the Brooklyn Nets: – With the Heat now past the quarter pole of their remaining games, coach Erik Spoelstra was asked pregame about the balance of getting his players on the court while also being mindful of not having nagging injuries linger. – “We’re going for it,” Spoelstra said, as if reiterating his team’s every-game-matter mantra.. – He added, “I know at this time of year, everybody’s kind of dealing with something.” – As is the case for the Heat at the moment, with Norman Powell (groin),...

Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 124-117 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers: – This was the lesson the Heat will not heed. – Dealing with injuries, the 76ers took a gap year last season. – After winning at least 47 games the previous four seasons, they stepped back to 24-58. – As in 13th in the East. – As in positioned well enough to land the No. 3 pick in the lottery. – As in able to land VJ Edgecombe. – As in the No. 3 rookie scorer. – As in the NBA rookie leader in steals. – Yes, Tyrese Maxey is the engine and Joel Embiid is the size. – But Edgecombe has...

ATLANTA — Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 128-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks: – For now, it appears it will start with the stagger, with so many options back in play for Erik Spoelstra with an injury-free roster. – Which not only makes it appear it will be either/or with Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware, but also plenty of a similar either/or approach with Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. – Neither Herro nor Ware started in this one, making the stagger easier for Spoelstra. – In the first half, only in the later stages did we see Herro and Powell together. – To...

WASHINGTON — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday’s 132-101 victory over the Washington Wizards: – For Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, the moment at hand is one positioned between indifference and desperation. – Sunday, he found his team facing a Washington team prioritizing lottery seeding to the degree that no one is quite sure when recent trade additions Trae Young and Anthony Davis will make their Wizards debut. – That included the Wizards coming off a Saturday loss in Brooklyn, when just about anybody and everybody of note was held out in a loss to the Nets. – Then,...

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 134-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls: – So Pelle Larsson for Giannis Antetokounmpo straight up? – Of course not. – Because the Heat also would have to add salary to make the trade work. – Not, not  a suggestion of Larsson as any sort of make-or-break addition to a potential Heat bid for Giannis. – But when considering the Heat’s young players, including the travails of Kel’el Ware, the real story might be what the Heat have made out of Larsson. – At this point, too efficient and effective to seemingly be moved out of the...

Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 124-112 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder: – A night after having the entire primary rotation available for just the fourth time this season … that number remained at four. – This time it was Norman Powell out of the mix, sidelined by lower-back soreness. – Ironically, less than a day after Powell was talking about the importance of the team’s core finally getting minutes together. – And so, as midseason approaches this week, we still don’t know about what works. – Even as we learn what doesn’t. – With Powell out, it had Pelle...

INDIANAPOLIS — Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s 123-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers: – Based on Saturday night’s start, the debate remains whether your best lineup means starting your best players. – An early 25-point deficit will do that. – No, it did not look good. – And it was about more than the early 3-point misses. – It was about how off Norman Powell was. – As in the leading scorer who had kept the Heat afloat amid Tyler Herro’s absences. – Erik Spoelstra often talks about how you have to make the opposition play your game. – But with Kel’el Ware out of...

Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 118-112 victory over the Detroit Pistons: – Put aside the shooting for the moment. – Because this wasn’t going to be about the shot making of Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware. – This was going to be about whether the Heat could hold their own against the Pistons’ incredible bulk. – Yes, Jalen Duren was lost for the night for the Pistons in the third quarter. – But by then, the Heat showed they wouldn’t be pushed around by Duren or Isaiah Stewart. – Who have done plenty of pushing around this season on the Pistons’ pathway to the top...