After being part of the longest losing streak in 17 seasons, this Miami Heat team ends the skid at 7 games and finally pickup their long overdue bounce back win.
Miami defeated Western Conference contenders Sacramento Kings 115-106 inside the Kaseya Center.
Butler: 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Richardson: 24 points, 5 rebounds, 6/10 3PT
Bam: 16 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists
Herro: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists
Rozier: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assistsBack on the winning track. pic.twitter.com/xz4g4lCNnX
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) February 1, 2024
Before even getting into any statistics, it was noted in previous articles just how bad the body language has looked over the last two weeks. That was not the case tonight, as Miami was smiling and had their good vibes contagious throughout the arena.
Keep the vibes high 😁 pic.twitter.com/jlXuTmwgrw
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 1, 2024
It did not look like energy from a team riding a historical franchise losing streak, and that is exactly what Jimmy Butler has been wanting out of his group.
It was great to see as a Heat fan and see the guys get back to having fun on that court again.
Butler was the catalyst to getting this dub against this young and talented Kings contending team.
He finished with a team high 31 points and 7 rebounds on 71% (!) shooting and 2/3 from three point range.
It is about that time of year where Butler ups his three point attempts, and has looked super efficient in that department in the last few games. No matter how important it is to see the Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro progressions, this team is simply at it’s best when Butler is their leading man, and their playoff success has shown that.
After a rough start shooting tonight, Bam Adebayo had a solid bounce back performance himself with a 16 point, 11 rebound double double. He finished going 8/14 from the field.
Bam reached for the summit on this one🐰💥 pic.twitter.com/7FddpJRxTQ
— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) February 1, 2024
Herro also showcased an all around versatility to his game with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He was 4/9 from the field and 2/4 from deep.
The real spark of this game that ignited everything for the Heat was Josh Richardson off the bench. Richardson came out flame throwing, immediately going 4/4 from three as soon as he checked into the game early on.
He finished with his best shooting performance of the season; 24 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 9/15 shooting and 60% from long range.
The rest of the four-man bench unit after Richardson in Caleb Martin, Kevin Love and Jaime Jaquez Jr. combined for 23 points. Jaquez Jr. led the team in +\- with a +15 when on the floor.
Terry Rozier did not shoot the ball well again tonight finishing with only a pedestrian 3 points on 1/8 shooting. However, he still made plenty of winning plays and impacted the game with a team high 10 assists and 5 rebounds as Miami’s starting PG and offensive orchestrater.
Terry Rozier with 10 assists tonight. The last time Kyle Lowry had 10 or more assists in a game was November 18, 2022.
— Dru (@dru_star) February 1, 2024
As a team, Miami shot 50% from the field and 46% from three. They shot 5 more free throws than the Kings and at a higher efficiency going for 78%.
Butler led the team in free throw attempts going 9/12 alone; this team always benefits from him being aggressive getting to the rim and drawing those fouls.
Miami displayed elite team basketball, winning in the assists category 38-26. Even with Domantas Sabonis elite rebounding ability the Heat even managed to win in that department too, 49-44.
As for the Kings, their leading man offensively was Keegan Murray who shot the lights out with 33 points on 12/18 shooting.
Sabonis was able to put together a super impressive triple double on the night, finishing with 19/17/13. Their biggest problem was the struggles of De’Aaron Fox who only finished with 13 points on 4/16 shooting, 1/8 from three.
Overall the Heat did so many good things tonight to be able to get this victory.
They were creating offense and getting good looks, getting stops, being aggressive on the boards and just play so effective and efficiently on both sides of the ball at a consistent pace all night.
This is very much a night that this Heat team can build on and put that miserable losing streak behind them.
As noted before, the Miami Heat have shown time and time again that just one win can change everything and bring on all sorts of momentum.
They improved to 25-23 on the season and sit at the 7th seed in the East, two games back of the 6th seed Indiana Pacers with plenty of basketball left in this regular season.
Miami gets the next game to cary over winning ways from tonight on Friday in Washington against the 9-38, 14th seed Wizards.
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same old celtics one on one hero ball with jt and jb.milw is old and slow.phily has injury problems.hard to believe this but i think the knicks could win the east
the Heat are going to win the East, like they do every year
#ItWasWritten
In stone
…or should it be carved? 🤔
Win it all!
I got to admit, I like the way you guys think. And If Embiid’s knee is a serious problem, and it could be, Philly’s situation changes dramatically. I still think we’re a player away from Boston, NewYork and Milwaukee. Yes, I know that we beat them all in the playoffs last year. But, we want it all, and need one more move. I loved that Kuzma talk yesterday as the more I thought about, the better it sounded. Then I would share your optimism. And, don’t feel too bad about Precious, he is doing well for the Knicks presently, but he has limitations too on the offensive end.
Was just reading an SI report that Claxton is available and the Heat could offer a package around Martin and Orlando. Had me salivating. To get a 6’11” center that could back up or play with Bam, who is a solid shot blocker annd rebounder, and not quite 25 yet? yes yes yes.
orlando robinson is better than claxton.spo has something against the guy.not a spo fav just like cain
I do not agree. Cain has had some good and not so good moments. Orlando has not shown much on the rare occasions he’s played. Claxton is a proven commodity.
rare being the key word.7 ft young athletic seen some glimpses of a good player which ive hardly seen from bryant.should play along with bam but spo likes small lineups.ask ad and joker
I was one of the first people to say we should sign him (and Cain) to a regular contract. I like the guy and he did very well in g league
Trade Jaquez, Jovic, and anyone not named Bam or Jimmy for Lillard.
Jaquez may be the best player on the team now. Spobot, get that fn Jaquez off the court!
Precious is a bust. I wish we had Precious.
HH should get more minutes. Spobot, get fn HH out of there!
Bam is one of the best centers in the league. Bam is a bum.
…..anyone see a pattern here? Lol! 😆
I like Claxton, but spo would waste his talent on the bench. Claxton would mess up spo’s small ball. Claxton can’t space the floor, and bam can’t shoot 3’s, so Claxton would play only 13 – 20 minutes a night as backup. He is better than a backup ,and I want him to start next to bam for 30 mins a night, but spo won’t do that, that’s why we gotta trade for a pf/c that can actually space the floor at least at a decent clip.
When Clevelad is at full strength (with Evan Mobley ad Jarret Allen) they are going to be holy hell. They are 1 game out of second place at 9-1 although both Mobley ad Allen have been injured for weeks. Just wait until they return…very soon. Forgetaboutit!!!
think there like 12 1 w/o mobley hello miami heat evan mobley?
steven adams to the rockets hes hurt now but the heat need a banger like that ,pat do something need size.achiuwa 8 offensive rebounds last night.
Adams out at least the rest of the season. You called Precious a bust and didn’t want him here,
hes somewhat of a bust but for this team hed be perfect. defense rebounding and size occasionally scoring.id trade him for duncan and caleb in a heartbeat but knicks are happy with him with randle down hes getting lots of minutos and producing
If he’d be perfect for us, how can he be a bust? Lol. For a #20 pick, he’s fine, and a person who can get 16 rebounds is not a bust. Can’t hit 3s, but rebounds and plays good d.
thought hed be better offensively
he’s also a big man that can switch on the perimeter defensively, which is what Spo is always looking for
terrible trade what was rileys backup plan at pf pajamas?crowder?
The biggest problem with that trade was giving Lowry a 3 year $87 million contract. It wasn’t about the player, it was about the money.
They should have taken Maxey instead, who Philly took at #21.
Of course that’s true, but we also wish they would’ve taken Westbrook or Love or Booker in those drafts.
bowie over jordan is their a bigger miss than thaT
The biggest
20 other teams could say that,phily took the kid whos on orlando now over tatum .embids stayed fairly healthy for a while until lately,guys that big that play like him with a bad injury past guess what always get hurt the process ends now.
I wanted Maxey too because Kentucky been producing a lot of good talent, but that’s just hindsight.
I never thought he was bust, the predator was a good pick for spo system, wish we could of cultivated that talent. Instead we wasted all that money on a past his prime Lowry.
I agree, and I want to be clear. I wasn’t against getting Lowry, I was against the contract for a player past his prime. If we had paid him the $8-10 million he was worth, we could’ve picked up another player in the $15-17 million range. Looking up salaries, we’re talking about players like DLo, Markkanen, Isaac, Sexton, Hachimura, Huerta, and Washington.
If we had markkanen that would instantly make us a top 5 team in the NBA….sigh. probably would be too much to get him now.
I think this is a very objective answer by Ira regarding Rozier:
”Q: Isn’t it starting to look like the Heat got the bad end of the Terry Rozier-Kyle Lowry trade? I don’t see that Terry is any better at point guard than Kyle was. The Heat gave up an expiring contract and a first-round pick for this? – Jeff, Miami.
A: First, I was never in favor of giving up the future first-rounder in the Kyle Lowry trade. But let’s also not judge the trade one week into the deal. Terry Rozier had 10 assists Wednesday night against the Kings. Kyle Lowry did not reach double figures in assists for the Heat this season before he was dealt and had 10 total assists in the three games before he was traded. Terry has injected life into a team that needed a jolt. And if it doesn’t work out, there will instead be his tradeable contract available.”
so far terry hasnt been as good as advertised.its been only 5 games id give him a c.but kyle was a d.its hard to be a pg and have zero quickness.terry has good quickness but looks like an avg shooter.never shot over 46% and one time 40% on threes.if terry was a real good player he would not be wearing a heat uni.hes an upgrade over turtle for sure but how much we will find out.i think terry is a 2 with a pg body thats why id like to see ty converted into a pg
Knee jerk reaction. Fans wants immediate results and a lot doesn’t like waiting when a big move happened. Just a few games into the Terry era lots of games to be played still and for Rozier to get more acclimated
You are Heat number 1! I’ll pull for him all the way, but watch people jump on the bandwagon if/when things go well.
Heat ‘fan’ #1, that is.
Haha thanks but far from it…maybe here in my house lol
must be hard to join a new established team and fit in immediately so hopefully rozier will get better and better especially with his shot
He had an efficient 21 points in 27 minutes the previous game. Last night 10 assists (first Heat player to do that since November 2022). Both ends of his game should come around as he acclimates further.
team better with ty distributing and penetrating.he gets anywhere he wants to
D Fox averages over 27 ppg. Last night, he had 13. 13!! While he missed some shots he normally makes (and you can say that about any player really), you have to credit the defense at least for part of that. And one of the primary defenders on him was Rozier. I watched Rozier harass him full court on several occasions. While that’s not his strong point, he did pretty well last night. And while his shooting was off, his 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block were instrumental contributions to getting the victory. Oh, and only 1 turnover. One of the best team efforts in a while for sure. And J Rich. Holy cow!
It’s still early in his tenure, but he adds a dimension of speed, athleticism, and aggression at the pg position. I believe his scoring will become more consistent as he continues to acclimate. He is not the savior, but he was a solid pickup. Now, if one of our bigs – Bryant, Orlando, or Jovic – can provide quality to the backup center and power forward position, great! Or, if not, perhaps another acquisition.
Yes, I like what I saw from Rosier. He couldn’t penetrate and his shooting was off, so he start to distribute and playing defence.
Same with Herro. He makes a better point guard than a shooting guard…if he would only imbrace it!!! Heat need another big defensive player in the paint. 3 & D even better. What/Who can we get for Duncan, Caleb and ?
kuzma hes not perfect but hes prob avail got size little soft though.how bout big robin lopez just to push jokic and embid around a little bit .bams just so small for those guys
I think Kuzma could work out pretty good.
Yup. Like Rozier, he is hungry to play for a winning team with a winning culture. Miami might bring the absolute best out of him.
And he can go off for thirty, if you will, anytime. We will have so much offense teams would not know who to defend. And the defense would be an upgrade over Love definitely, and maybe even as good as HH as Kuzma is four inches taller. HH would still get minutes on the second team. And the reason I even talk about it is it is a realistic possibility, at least in that the Wizards might trade him. It would be a trade with maybe only a second so we may have to give up more than we want.
Robin Lopez has sucked since Phoenix drafted him in 2008. Kuzma was a good defensive player when he played with a good defensive team (2020 Lakers). At 6’9″ he can help in the paint. His FG% and 3PT% are ok. He can run and rebound.
His numbers are comparable to Herro’s. If Heat can get him for Duncan, Martin and Jovic or a pick, it could be worthwhile. https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3134907/kyle-kuzma
Rozier, Herro, Butler, Kuzma, Bam
Richardson, Jaquez, Highsmith, Love, ORobinson
I think that dog can hunt.
GO HEAT!!!
We would need no more.
Getting kuzma would definitely make us legit deadly.
Maybe we can get a Collins, beef stew,Kelly o, pj Washington ,or Naz Reid. I hope herro continues team first ball because he could be a good pg like you said ,he just gotta really committed to it, and take lesser shots to benefit the team…unless he’s on fire.
he was missing by alot.no in and outters.barnes was a big time clanker
I never mentioned Barnes.
Barnes looks like a shell of himself and doesn’t rebound well like he used to, thats what some kings fan’s think of him….but maybe.
JRich’s first few games back I was like meh.
Since then I have been nothing but impressed with his contributions to the team. Good defender and can score if not guarded tightly.
JRih is Gabe Vincent? I’ll take JRich Good size for switches on D at 6’6″ .
Great win to break the losing streak! Jrich and Jimmy was balling, and the passing was amazing, even if the nba wanna take away a couple of our assists. The defense was stout too. Lets start a winning streak now and another film session !
knicks are 31 17 thats hard to believe.one ss and bunch good players.we use to have that with jim
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
— Lao Tzu
“Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and overindulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self-indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth, remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success.”
— Rick Patino
“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.”
Nadia Comaneci
The Heat players and team have a long way to go on their journey. Whatever success they are hoping for, they will need to work together unselfishly to achieve. This is where we all find out just how committed they are to giving their best in order to reach their goals.
GO HEAT!!!
The top-3 teams in the East right now are the Celtics, Bucks, and Knicks.
Do you know what else those teams have in common?
I’ll give you a hint: last season, during the playoffs, they all…
Yesterday is a memory. Tomorrow is a dream. Today is all that matters.
Last year is ancient history. That chapter is closed. Time to make new memories…now!
Well they have the best defense since acquiring og.
“Offense sells tickets. Defefense wins championships.”
— Legendary Football Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant
“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”
— Babe Ruth
“To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. You become selfless.”
— Mike Krzyzewski (“Coack K”)
“All successful teams I’ve ever seen have 3 characteristics. They play unselfish. They play together. They play hard.”
— Larry Brown
“There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you.”
Derek Jeter, American Baseball Player
Last night, I saw an unselfish Heat team playing together and playing hard. They were also having fun, for the first time in weeks.
GO HEAT!!!
Sorry for typos. Hadn’t had my cofeve yet. Waiting for Pineapple Express.
JRich was a key in this game. In past 8 games, I haven’t seen such hot run from any Heat player.
Without those minutes of JRich in first half Heat would lose this one.
Besides JRich, Butler seems to be a bit of good old Jimmy again. Bam is not confident, but he forced himselves into the game. Herro is still not right, but he was better.
Spo didnt need a supper. He ate all his fingernails last night.
If you had to pick, I think JRich won us that game more than anyone else. Sometimes baskets early give you a lead you never fully relinquish. JRich went off. I love it when a player does that. They are all capable of it but it still only happens once in a while.
Some positives but we need some consistency.
Game 3 after the trade was against the knicks. Though the Heat lost that game and were 0-3 after the trade, I said it was the best game after the trade. I was happy inspite of the loss because I saw some positives and hoped that the trend would continue.
Come game 4 (the Suns game), I was 😞 because what I saw in that game was a reversal of game 3 . After Game 4, I suggested that Pat was scammed to the chagrin of a few fans.
Yesterday against the Kings a game I call game 5, I saw again the positives I saw in game 3 which they lost. I am happy not because of the win but because of the positives. What are these positives. Here they are below.
1. Transition defense:
I saw a Heat quick to get back to transition defense in games 3 and 5.
2. I saw guys eager to bring the ball upfront and initiate the offense without deferring to the pg to bring the ball up. It made for better flow of the offense amongst guys who have played together.
3. I saw guys moving the ball, cutting and slicing as in former days leading to fruitful assists.
4. I saw beautiful Ty and Bam combinations as it was in the former days. Notably the average points per game for both players had dropped since the trade with Bam being less involved in the offense . Ty inspite of the push by some to send him out on a trade has been bringing out the best of Bam on offense, which rather should come from a pg.
5. I saw good perimeter defense, running guys of the arc for the most part but in a few instances.
These are the positives I saw in Games 3 and 5.
It is not a win or loss sentiment for me but understanding that if you address certain flaws in a game but loose as they did in Game 3, you still feel encouraged, understanding that the right practices/motions call it what you may, will eventually yield fruitful results as we have seen in Game 5.
Maybe they followed the path of the NBA greats. Perhaps they watched more films and practiced more . Whatever they did after Game 4, we need some consistency moving forward to avoid the debacle that Game 4 (Heat vs Suns) was. The missing piece is also finding a solution for mismatch against bigs, bet you, that Medusa head of a problem will rear itself up again someday.
Go Heat, Go!
agree with the comments about the defense. Last night was one of the first times this season that I saw them playing anything close to “Miami Heat Defense”
even w/o dunc
.
PASSING PASSING PASSING!!!
I said in December that this was the best passing Heat team I’d ever seen. I said during the losing streak that they had lost their identity.
Tonight, they set a new Heat record with 40 assists in a game. That’s 10 assists every 12 minute quarter, nearly one assisted basket per minute. Eric Reid also mentioned that the Heat are 9-1 when they get 30+ assists. Without looking it up, I’m going to guess they never had a 30 assist game during the losing streak. I know they had a bunch below 25. When this team is passing the ball, the shots go down. When the shots go down, the defense gets set. When the defense gets set, they get more stops and turnovers, which lead to transition opportunities, which open up space for more passing.
The Heat have 4 more tune-up games before the 3-game gauntlet of Bos-Mil-Phi, then the all-star break. I don’t care how many they win or lose, as long as they keep playing like that.
One last thing. Not only did they set a record for most Heat assists in a game tonight, but they did it with Duncan out, Bam and Terry shooting poorly, and a bunch of plays where guys were crowding each other’s space on offense. So here’s my hot take: If this team continues to gel and get healthy, they will break the record they set tonight before the end of the season.
Agreed.
Hope that soon and very soon, I shall again say, the Heat are fine.
They’re definitely still rounding into shape. That said, we’re barely halfway through the season, and still two months away from the playoffs
Great win! Big pressure released here in HHH haha. Lets get that 6th seed back. 38 assists? I thought it was 40 as per Ty interview anyways good feeling getting a convincing W vs a good team. More pls
On the Heat broadcast Eric Reid said it was 40
The league took 2 assists away from Bam
shenanigans
Bummer. Thanks sir!