Category: Miami Heat Blog

MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 110-96 victory over the Golden State Warriors: – Yes, what was left of the Warriors fought the good fight for longer than could have been expected. – Far longer. – So, yes, there was an NBA level of competition on Wednesday night at Kaseya Center. – But in the personality-driven NBA, fans come for more. – They come for Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green. – They got none of that. – Yes, rest matters. – Yes, three games in four nights for an older roster is challenging. – But the NBA knew Curry was unable to play...

Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 140-132 loss to the New York Knicks: – This is not because of the Karl-Anthony Towns first-half takeover. – Because he has done that to the Heat over the years even when the Heat have been whole. – Even when Bam Adebayo has been available. – But lack of size eventually catches up. – So if Adebayo isn’t available, as he wasn’t again on Friday night at Madison Square Garden, it leaves Kel’el Ware alone in the center rotation. – Because Nikola Jovic is not a power player. – Just not. – No matter how much the Heat’s rotation states...

SAN ANTONIO – Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 107-101 loss to the San Antonio Spurs: – Andrew Wiggins has spent the bulk of his career deferential. – Because save for his early years with the Minnesota Timberwolves, there mostly was something better alongside. – That certainly was the case with the Warriors. – The case alongside Tyler Herro with the Heat last season. – And then alongside Norman Powell at the start of this season. – Thursday, there was no Herro, no Powell, and not the jet fuel that had been Jaime Jaquez Jr. to start the season, with Jaquez...

MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 115-107 victory over the New York Knicks: – This Jaime Jaquez Jr. thing is real. – Cast one moment Sunday at power forward. – Another at point guard. – Versatility on demand. – And efficient versatility. – He has made it very easy at the start of this season to forget who he is not. – (Enough about the 3s.) – (And enough about the comparisons to Jimmy Butler.) – He has made it about what he stands as. – An embraceable attacking presence. – The very type of energy this roster and this system needs. – Of all the factors in...

MEMPHIS – Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 146-114 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies: – This wasn’t as much about a really big thing as it appeared at the outset. – Yes, Kel’el Ware was in the starting lineup alongside Bam Adebayo. – And, yes, that had Nikola Jovic playing off the bench. – But what it did was balance the rotation. – Davion Mitchell has proven a capable playmaker with the first unit. – But Dru Smith isn’t that with the second unit. – This way, Jovic gets to orchestrate, without also having to be deferential to Adebayo. – Remember, this all will...

ORLANDO — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 125-121 loss to the Orlando Magic: – The previous math, the one we mostly saw in the preseason, appears to be back. – Even after a statistically dominant preseason by Kel’el Ware. – Even after coach Erik Spoelstra stressed how willing a pupil Ware has been. – In Wednesday night’s first half, either Bam Adebayo or Ware. – But neither together, with Adebayo playing 16 minutes over the first two quarters, Ware the other eight. – And so it went through the Heat’s high-energy opener. – Playing out the same way in the...

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Monday night’s 138-83 NBA playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers: – Eventually there will be more context to this moment and this season. – Eventually there will be more context to Erik Spoelstra referring to all his team had to endure during the regular season, references that clearly went beyond losses. – Eventually there will be candor about, even at 37-45, a roster maxing out what was available with those two play-in wins. – And eventually most should come to appreciate how missing the lottery actually was beneficial, since it means...

CLEVELAND — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 121-112 NBA playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers: – By the time Bam Adebayo launched his fifth 3-point attempt midway through the second period, it was clear the Heat would try to win this one over the top. – But when it came to over-the-top 3-point shooting, there was no keeping up with the Cavaliers early on. – Especially during the second-period barrage by Cleveland that afforded the Cavaliers needed breathing room. – With an NBA-playoff record 11 3-plinters in that quarter. – Eleven. – As in 33 points alone...

CLEVELAND — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 121-100 NBA playoff loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers: Related Articles Cavaliers wear down overmatched Heat in 121-100 rout in series opener Dave Hyde: Heat play hard, but can they get a game (or two) off Cleveland? – For years, the question seemingly was how to get Jimmy Butler help. – Does it now turn to how to get Tyler Herro help? – When it comes to shot creation for the Heat, there is Herro and …? – Sunday it basically was a case of there being no bad shots...

ATLANTA — Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 123-114 overtime NBA play-in victory over the Atlanta Hawks: – Cliche’, yes. – But the Heat wanted it more. – And, in the end, it showed. – For some, a No. 8 seed stands as a consolation prize. – As in, why put yourself through a best-of-seven gauntlet against the Cavaliers, faced with overwhelming odds? – A reasonable supposition. – But for the Heat this was different. – And not for making the playoffs from the No. 10 lottery seed. – But rather because to the Heat this was something tangible. – A climb from the...