First Half:
It was Jimmy who’d sink a three to start things off in this one, which would start a back and forth battle against the Lakers with Bam (he hit a three) and DLo trading punches (not real punches, buckets.) Miami’s offense flowed well early with everything running through Bam, Jimmy and Tyler.
Bam’s evolution was on clear display tonight with him playmaking, spacing and being ultra-agressive. While the Heat took the lead briefly, the Lakers got out on a 12-2 run leaving Miami reeling but still in striking distance. Led by Jimmy and Bam and a well times Jaquez three the Heat would steal back the lead.
The Lakers of course struck back but with Duncan hitting shots and flawless from the field, Miami stayed within two to end the first quarter.
Josh Richardson opened the second quarter with a three to take the lead back, as the second unit surged with Jaime and Duncan creating for Thomas Bryant.
The one notable negative early was Herro not being able to get into his groove. He was 2-6 tonight and just unable to find the touch he’s showcased in the first handful of games. However, even without Herro dominating on offense Miami was able to get contributions from other like Jaquez Jr. who showcased his talent on both ends to keep the Heat ahead. Thankfully, Herro would find his shooting touch mere moments after I wrote this paragraph.
The Heat struggled to stop LeBron in transition because he’s LeBron James, but otherwise was decent on defense even with the Lakers tying things up. With Jimmy, Highsmith and Lowry getting involved on offense Miami was once again able to steal back the lead to close the half.
Second Half:
Miami really struggled to guard the paint in this one and that was on display early as the Lakers tied things right up off easy buckets. Miami just couldn’t slow down LA who at one point in the third shot an efficient 57% from the field. Thankfully Bam continued his midrange mastery, while Herro also continued to score well. But it’s hard to stay ahead when you have the LeBron threat looming and he kept the Lakers uncomfortably close.
The Heat were able to get second chance buckets, and deliver in transition (yes you read that right) to create an 11-0 run and get the lead up to twelve. The Lakers would push back with LeBron attempting to Yam it up on Duncan’s head, but still manage to take a 11 point lead into the fourth quarter.
Miami aimed to finish this one strong despite this season’s tendency to falter in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Lakers ended up surging with LeBron leading the charge. Austin Reeves also contributed cutting the lead down to six while calling his own isos.
The Heat regained its composure with Jaquez Jr. playing some smart basketball to get the Heat back out to 10. With Bam notching a triple double, DLo getting ejected, and Davis not returning it was up to LeBron to try and mount a comeback. The Lakers once again got within six, and with Tyler getting Teed up at the worst possible times things started to progressively get worse. Suddenly “Let’s go Lakers” chants were audible and things seemed precarious at best.
A well-timed cocktail of Herro threes, clutch Jimmy buckets, would get the Heat back out to 10, but still LeBron and the Lakers lurked. With the Lakers compiling a 9-1 run, and LeBron making it look like it was 2014 things didn’t look great for Miami.
Leading by only one the Heat delivered a handful of questionable possessions, allowing the Lakers a shot at the win with 8.9 seconds left. A missed shot at the win by Reddish allowed Miami to escape defeat by the skin of its teeth. A good win, but these fourth quarters need some cleaning up asap.
Not to be lost from the last two wins is the change of Kevin Love out of the rotation, something I advocated for. Kevin wasn’t available for the Wizards game but he was for the Lakers. HH and then JJJ seem to be the new rotation. That is much better and I am hoping it is the pattern we will use going forward. Love was a great player, and I wish we had him 5 years ago, but not now. Both HH and Jamie have some upside that may become even more important as the year goes on.
Absolutely agree. Many of us felt the same. Nice locker room guy, but younger, more athletic players are needed.
lowry get pt if rc coach?
Not as easy as you might feel it is, but I’m not a fan of him being in the closing group. He may still be a smart player and the only true pg, but he provides very little offense or defense. I’d rather see Duncan there, with Butler, Herro, or Bam handling.
kev love good 610 size vs big teams might need him if theres a big slow pf
Several different sites list him at 6’8”.
6 8 100% scrub.
The first 3 quarters were the best of the season. Everyone was in sync. Very good ball movement, rebounding, 3 point shooting and defense. It looked like Heat Playoff basketball. JJ, HH, Bryant and Duncan look like solid rotation players. Good defensive efforts all the way around.
During the fourth quarter the team fell apart. Turnovers up the a**. Lucky the Lakers missed several shots. That’s two near misses out of 3 wins (remember Detroit game)?
Lowry continues to perform like a second unit PG. 33 minutes and 5 points just won’t cut it.
At this point I would like to see Spo start RJ, JJ, Jovic or Dru at PG and bring Lowry off the bench. Needless to say, Heat will not be a contender until they have a good two-way PG.
Nonetheless, I am happy to see the Heat getting their act together just before a long road stretch. Hopefully, they will continue to gel on the road.
GO HEAT!
Start RJ? Start RJ?!?! I just want him to get minutes, forget starting. 😉
Shout out to Jim Mora and “Playoffs?”
Seriously though, I think those guys are a ways away from being trusted every time they happen to get some playing time. That’s okay because there is time for them to develop and we can’t be losing more games trying to get guys built up in October/November. I think it can be done properly in a way where they get some time here and there while trying to climb back in the standings. Come February early March we’ll know if either RJ or Dru developed enough to contribute in any game they enter.
JJJ aka Heat Lifer is a season long rotation player, though a little concerned with rookies playing that many more games including playoffs.
Back to “Heat will not be a contender until they have a good two-way PG.” At this point, I think JJ would make a better starting PG than Lowry. Remember positionless basketball. Between Butler, Bam and Herro, Heat enough ball handlers to give JJ a chance to learn the position. He can’t hurt you on defense. IF PAT ISN’T GOING TO TRADE FOR A PG, SPO CAN TRY THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX.
None of our young players is ready for such role. Remember, it takes years of average and bad games from Vincent to become productive starter.
I cant remember a single thing in past years, that everybody at this site are in the same side about it. We all know Heat needs a quality point guard. I m sure Spo and Riley knows the same. The problem is, that the rest of the league knows the same too, and price for one would be enormous. Thats why nothing show up yet.
There is maybe another indication. Goran is still available, and in Miami. Maybe he is waiting for point guard trade, which incudes Lowry.
Goran is second unit PG or spot offensive player and bench mentor at best.The Heat need a starting two-way PG. It does not need to be a great PG! At this point, average (with potential) would be good.
I was thinking Lowry would be a part of a deal for a starting level point guard, and then Heat would need backup point guard. This could be Dru or even Hampton, with Goran serve as mentor or insurance or both , if none of those are not ready yet for such a role.
You didn’t mention a trade involving Lowry. I would go with Goran for second or third option and as mentor while RJ and Dru develop.
The only players to record a game with 20+ PTS 20+ REB 10+ AST 2+ STL 2+ BLK 1+ 3P over the last 40 seasons.
Bam rules.
Bam was awesome, even hit a 3 pointer, and the D he put on Ad …before street clothes got hurt again was great. Hopefully BAM finally wins Dpoy this year 🙏.
I know people want to try to interpret each game so far and predict doom. That was the case in 2021. That did not end up being the case in 2023. A season is like a recipe. You have to see how it cooks. That could be a course correcting win last night and I kind of like having this 9 of 10 on the road coming up. It seems the Heat tend to find themselves as a team on the road. Let’s see if they can do it again.
Caleb can’t come back soon enough. He will help with a lot of our weaknesses. Still, this was our first win against a decent team, albeit one missing its star player for most the game and without another good one due to ejection , and with two more decent players injured. And we barely won as the Lakers had excellent looks for the dagger.
Some good things happened and a lot of bad too. JJJ is going to be more helpful than not as he plays smart bb, has quick hands, and can do a lot of things except make three pointers. Lowry had his best game, which is still barely acceptable. Jimmy, Bam, and Ty played well and so did Duncan, but no one could make the late basket.
The truth is this still is a undermanned team, and Jimmy is in the early part of his decline that Kyle is well into. JRich offers little. I still think this is a 30 win team in what is clearly Jimmy’s last effective year. We need to make a trade, perhaps either Jovic, or JJJ, and throw in a draft pick, get another offensive threat, or we will struggle. This was a lucky win, one that can encourage us in that we aren’t far away from being highly competitive. But, one that also serves as a measuring stick that we don’t have enough.
u do realize same team was in finals if jimmy can play like last night most of the games we should be a top 4 seed and then comes playoff jimmy lets spin it that way.the season can go good if jimmy really cares.
It’s true, none of my doom and gloom gets any traction with this audience because you can rightfully point to last year. And, to be honest, I thought the same thing last year, except I had a smidgeon more hope before because I kept hoping a healthy Oladipo would return. Anyway, I see everyone’s point, except I am still worried. To play devil’s advocate, I am concerned that Jimmy will need more load maintenance and we improved with Bryant but got worse losing Gabe (JR and Strus are about a wash). I do think JJJ and HH help a little, but overall, we are about as good as last year except Jimmy is a year older. And, we barely made the playoffs last year. I don’t now how in hell we were able to beat the Bucks, Knicks, and Celtics last year. But, the Bucks and Celtics are better this time around.
I am not saying we are terrible, just that we need more. I feel like we need to do it for Jimmy. He is why we got so far last year. I believe that no other one player could have taken our team that far.
I know my thoughts are not the most encouraging to hear. I hope we somehow figure out a way again. And, no matter what happens, go Heat!
ty and dunc are better players this year.bams a better player.jimmy will prob pick and choose when to be great.jjj looks like a baller.as others have mentioned pg needs to be fixed but this is a better team than last years.losing jrue holiday a heat killer dont think milw any better.i think bost starting 5 is best in bball but after that theres not much else.conclusion get a decent pg heat can beat anybody
A whole paragraph without disparaging any member of the team or calling anybody a mean name! And so positive! Wow! I’m impressed. Very good comment.
bout 30 sees gloom and doom way to early and for no reason.7 games no caleb.jimmy finally having a jimmy game.improvement with lots players.i believe i mentioned lowry suks had to get 1 negative comment in there.but alls looking ok in heat land.last year the finals and bunch players have improved.we shall see but to early to make gloom and doom judgements30 doesnt know how we beat bucks knicks celtics he needs to talk with playoff jimmy he will tell him
BTW, Dame has had some not so great offensive games already. I think he was like 5 for 15 from the field last night, and with his defense, that’s not too efficient.
all athletes not named lebron or brady after 15 years start to decline.
If your not good, than you should be lucky.
That was weird.
Still solid game except last 5 minutes. 3:4 is a slow start, 2:5 before long road trip is the reason to push a panic button.
Hi-May and Highsmith both looked great out there tonight
the sarcastic one (2qbn) would beg to differ.his shot was little off but his run out to rubbish on last play showed his quickness and defensive instincts
Like I said last night. I would take HH over Jrich in that closing lineup. But our issue has been scoring and that is not his game. Sure, he might score or hit some shots, but that’s not why you’re playing him. He was 1-5 from 3.
It was, by far, the best 3 quarters the Heat played so far. The 4th quarter collapses have to be fixed. One small step was taken tonight. Spo called a time out just a couple of minutes into the quarter when he saw the pattern repeating and brought back Bam. Shortly after, he brought Butler back in, also earlier than usual. That was good. Now, Spo needs to reassess his closing unit. I just don’t think Richardson is the answer. It’s as if Spo is seeing him as he was when they drafted him. I don’t think he’s a bad player, but there’s better choices.
Yep. Good to see those early kinks so Spo and co can adjust while Pat looks for his PG and Caleb and Cain are on the mend. Jimmy it seems trying and making his 3s this early definitely a good sign.
It’s usually Caleb but he’s hurt. But Spo should still go with someone else over JRich.
I would prefer to see even Highsmith play over Rich in 4th quarters.
Exactly on both counts
Spo has been in love with JRICH since he was drafted.
yeah agreed. I missed the Pistons game, but they dominated the Lakers and Nets and barely got out of there 1-1.
I also can’t understand, for the life of me, why Spo is closing with the three guard lineup. I’m trying to appreciate J-Rich as a potiential bench guy that can give the Heat two good 6-minute spurts per half. But running a closing lineup with J-Rich, Herro, and Lowry while Highsmith and Hi-May are on the bench makes no sense. At one point J-Rich was guarding LeBron! This 3-guard lineup needs to die
Jrich
I get the potential if he can man second units with Herro, but his offensive game just doesn’t really fit anywhere yet.
Herro is for offense, JRich brings defense, Lowry brings a calming presence and runs the offense brilliantly. That is why. Who else will replace JRichs defense? None, Until Martin comes back, Rich it will be.
Highsmith can replace jrich defense. He also is shooting the ball better. So brings a little more offense, with a bigger body for more rebounds.
Highsmith can not guard against small guards.
Highsmith and Hi-May both played better defense than J-Rich last game. I also think Dru is a better defender than J-Rich, although he is a rookie so he’s more likely to make mistakes late game. Bottom line, I can’t think of a worse player on this roster to share the floor with Herro and Lowry.
My only thought is that Martin is injured and perhaps in practice sessions no player in the 2nd unit has impressed Spo as JRich has. Finally, JRich knows the inns and outs of Spo schemes better than the available alternatives, having been in the system previously plays to Rich advantage,
Heat win! Scaring the heck out of us again. Those leads are shock absorbers. Dejavu 😀😉
What I like about win:
None of the starters played for 30 minutes.
Herro’s defense is here to stay.
What I don’t like about the game:
Silly turnovers.
Mental breakdown on defense in the 4th quarter (especially the 2nd unit).