On Sunday, the Miami Heat lost to the NBA’s lowest-ranked club by statistical standards, marking their third straight defeat.
The Miami Heat lost to the NBA’s poorest statistical club, the Washington Wizards, 110-108, on Sunday, their third straight loss. The Heat have encountered yet another obstacle as the season was starting to pick up steam. The Heat were put to the test on both sides of the court, and in the end, their failure to convert shots that fell outside of the arc tormented them.
For a significant portion of the first quarter, Washington had the upper hand. The Heat took them up on their challenge to play a hard game from the off. 62 of Miami’s 108 points were scored in the painted area by the end of the contest. It appeared as though there would be a dogfight that ended beneath the rim, but the Wizards reverted to their three-point shooting in the second half.
Miami finished the game with a 30.3% long-range shooting percentage and just 10 triples. In the second half, the Wizards converted 11 of their 16 three-point attempts. They made the game an old-school vs. new-school contest.
“In the final moments, they secured theirs. Much of that also occurred in the two games before. Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the Heat, remarked, “We missed some shots, they hit theirs.” “Down the stretch, they did get into a comfortable groove. I felt that they were investing a little bit too much into their game.
Almost every member of the Heat’s starting lineup had a difficult shooting evening. Four of Duncan Robinson’s thirteen shots came from beyond the arc. The Heat’s bench made 11 of their 23 field goals attempts, while Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier combined to shoot 0 for 7 from beyond the arc. Not much of a ball movement at all.
Washington concluded with 35 assists while the Heat finished with 20 assists overall with no player with more than four assists in the game. For the Wizards, Tyus Jones had 16 of his own. Miami’s offensive line raised serious concerns. There was no lead guy like Jones to take command of the offence and provide crucial assistance in the closing moments.
“We have got to sustain the right level of play, man. We got to have a way that we want to play and we got to go out there and do it to a tee,” said Terry Rozier. “We understand in this league it is the best players in the world, but if we got a plan and we can execute it, we are tough to beat.” Spoelstra and Miami pride themselves on their defence. They attempted to play their own style of basketball in the second half, pushing their way into the paint, but foul trouble hurt the Heat’s chances to rally for a victory. These last couple of games we get away from our identity of who we are.”
The Heat will remain in South Florida for their upcoming game on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions. In addition to being a rematch of the NBA Finals, this is a critical opportunity to move up in the East rankings. Rozier talked about how the Heat occasionally lost their identity. Early in the season, this could have been acceptable, but time is running out.
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