First Half:
The Heat had some returning bodies in this one, and it was Niko Jovic who made his presence known immediately for the Heat by sinking a three. The Heat also had its resident superstar Jimmy Butler back who sank one of his own.
Unfortunately its All-Star, Bam Adebayo unfortunately missed this one along with sharpshooter, Duncan Robinson. Injuries have always been an issue for the Heat over the years, and this season has been no different.
Jimmy went to work early in this one with some signature buckets, and passes to get his teammates involved. Thomas Bryant was electric to start this one, protecting the rim to the best of his ability and crashing the boards with energy.
On the other end it was Isaac Okoro who filled the role of “Heat Killer” sinking some big looks. Still Miami stayed in control for the majority of the quarter with Butler playing conductor. With the reserves in, the Heat stalled briefly with Okoro, and Garland helping the Cavs get within four. Orlando Robinson helped swing momentum with a quick six points of his own built off pure hustle. Still, Cleveland would not quit staying within striking distance off hot shooting from Sam Merrill.
Jimmy looked spry tonight after missing some time with injury, getting to the rim via his traditional methods as well as dunking in transition.
Miami’s defense looked great anchored by Delon Wright. With Niko, Jimmy and Haywood all scoring well the Heat were able to go up nine points halfway through the second quarter. While Cleveland did its best to fight back Jimmy continued his offensive assault to get to twenty points in the half. Mills, Jaquez Jr., and Rozier closed the half well for Miami offensively, but a late push by Cleveland on a 7-0 run stole momentum headed into the second half with Miami only up four.
Second Half:
The Cavs continued their strong play into the second half, stealing the lead from Miami. Jovic continued his strong shooting, hitting his third three pointer and also delivering on defense. Bryant also continued his strong play, as did Rozier to help Miami get back in control.
Jovic was fearless as he scored in multiple ways allowing the Heat to once again get to a comfortable winning margin. Miami was selfless on offense, sharing the ball exceptionally well for some really great looks. Still as was the story in this one, Cleveland would claw back within striking distance.
Jimmy, and Orlando Robinson would score some blue-collar buckets to keep the Heat ahead, slowing down the pace significantly to get back in the driver’s seat. Jimmy opened the fourth quarter scoring well, but Garland and Merrill and the Cavs answered back with some big buckets. With the Heat lead cut to one it was Rozier who’d calm things down with a much needed bucket, but things were far from over with these teams absolutely battling.
The Cavs took the lead with 4:19 to go off a Niang and-one. Miami made things difficult for itself as the offense stalled at the worst possible time. Once again in a clutch situation the Heat continued to struggle on offense and for some reason electing not to go to Jimmy right away. Caleb would get Miami within two, with 1:34 left but a pair of Niang free throws made things that much more difficult.
Suddenly, like a gift from the basketball gods, Terry was fouled on a three point look to tie things up. Blessed with new life, Miami locked down on defense to force a shot clock violation and steal back the ball.
Jimmy followed that up with an enormous bucket, but Allen would tie things up once again. Terry once again sunk a huge three pointer to put the Heat up three with 14.9 seconds remaining.
With 3.7 seconds left, Niang scored a layup, but Miami was still up one point. Rozier would get fouled, sink both free throws and put the Heat up three once more. Garland got a look, but missed allowing Miami to hold on for a well-earned win.
ingram out again hes there ty.b2b for pels. gotta stop fatso tonight should be a w
Very interesting article on 6 teams that may make changes this summer if they flop in playoffs. Miami is one of them. Here’s a taste:
“If the Heat does end up back to the drawing board this offseason, they have to take a long look at completely retooling the roster around Bam Adebayo. Basically, hitting the eject button on the Jimmy build.”
https://sircharlesincharge.com/posts/nba-rumors-6-teams-rethink-futures-flop-nba-playoffs/4?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
Maybe. It depends against who and how they flop. A shot away from advancing against Boston would mean a missing piece, a 4:0 exit against anybody would mean sellout.
Yup. A missing piece or a new chapter.
on a champ team bam cant be your best player.if u could get donovan mitchell with bam then u have a chance to compete
That’s the point. Maybe a good two-way PF/C for Herro. There will be free agents who want to sign with Miami this summer and current players who may not be back next year. Things can change quickly.
https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/ufa/?ref=trending-pages
An important win.
Rosier and Butler push this one over the line, provided just enough scoring.
A lineup with Jovic at center is really mobile and athletic enough to play good defence.
Heat may need to sacrifice a game or two in order for Jovic to get his sea legs and perform acceptably on a consistent basis. They have 13 games to find out what he may be able to do as a starter in the playoffs. Otherwise, back to Caleb,
Caleb is bad right now.
Some recap tidbits…
“Rozier…scored nine points in the final 1:24, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds on the clock…”
“…converted a 4-point play before sinking a 26 footer that gave Miami a 105-102 lead.”
Also I was right bout Bam…
“Coach told me it was time to take a game off,” Adebayo said. “It was more maintenance than anything else.”
Heat looking to preserve legs for the playoffs maybe Spo feels they have enough. And it’s gonna give us fits for this last stretch 😳😳
Smart move on Bam by Spo. Bam has logged in more minutes so far this season more than any Heat player. He is a pivotal key in Heat’s defense and offense.
agreed. Bam has been healthy all season and carrying this team on his back. He earned a rest. Nice to see the team get a win for him
Electrifying 4th quarter by Rozier. Super game by Butler. Nice contributions from Jovic, Bryant, Robinson.
Gritty win. Mash unit victory. The Heat had bench players in the starting lineup and the g-league players coming off the bench. Not exactly the playoff tune-up I was hoping to see, but a win is a win.
Heat need to get healthy. They have so many players out I can’t even keep track anymore. I miss seeing the Love/Jaquez passing chemistry. I miss watching Herro glide around the court. Duncan is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. Bam and Love are the only playoff-caliber big men on this team and they’re both out.
Nice win. I don’t want to piss in anyone’s cheerios. The Heat are only a half game away from getting to the 6-seed and getting out of the play-in. But that did not look like a playoff team out there tonight.
You are absolutely correct on your observation, However, I doubt that this will be the team Spo will present come play off or in a play in tournament. I wonder if the result of tonight’s game would have been different if Donovan Mitchell had played. This is the 2nd regular season game against the Cavs that he did not suit up. Is this just coincidence or the Cavs strategizing in case they play the Heat during the play off?
Shoutouts to Rozier, Bryant and Orlando for coming through with Herro, Duncan and Bam out. Good game from Niko too. Nice to see Butler in uniform and playing up to his ability. One game at a time from here on in. No expectations and no regrets. Next 3 at home against New Orleans, Cleveland and Golden State. Will be wild.
For those of you criticizing Rozier, ask yourself one question: “Were you not entertained?”
GO HEAT!!!
Rozier got crap from Heat fans coz some shots did not fall and a turnover in final minutes of that loss vs sixers. Now those difficult contested shots went in and won us this game so he’s getting his flowers. Lots of fans are just black and white no in-between. And yes we’re all entertained. Got nervous but entertained…a lot lol.
I feel like the conversation about Rozier is getting a little binary. I guess that’s the world we live in. But it’s not that simple. He’s obviously a good player and the Heat gave up very little to get him. But I stand by my opinion that if everyone on this team is healthy, he’s the 4th best guard on the team behind Herro, J-Rich, and Duncan. Alas, all those guys were injured tonight, so he was the best guard on the team, and he played great. I’m rooting for him. But he’s no Mario Chalmers
Well, we certainly agree that he’s no Mario Chalmers, but for exactly opposite reasons. I mean you are talking about THIS Mario Chalmers??:
Career
G646
PTS8.9
TRB2.5
AST3.7
FG%41.7
FG3%35.1
FT%79.3
eFG%49.8
no, I’m talking about THIS Mario Chalmers
And, if we’re being honest, also this Mario Chalmers
Funny. I liked him.
Right, and Trent Dilfer was a better quarterback than Marino because he got a ring? And Kevin Looney and Matt Bonner were better than Karl Malone and Charles Barkley because they won championships? C’mon man.
Rozier has had a few good offensive games and one excellent defensive game. I am still not keen so far with the overall result. I have nothing personal against Rozier for the record. I want him to succeed in Heat’s uniform and fulfill his dream to be in Heat’s uniform. But sentiments sometimes has to be pushed aside.
The addition of Rozier on paper makes the Heat look better but on the court result the story is worse than that. So it is not surprising that the current 8th seed standing is not better than where the Heat were last season. One would have thought that if his addition made the Heat better, we should not be battling to stay out of the play in tournament. To prove that Rozier is better than Lowry, the argument is that Rozier is averaging 17 points a game while Lowry averaged 9 points a game. The other side of the story is not being told, i.e Bam and Herro’s averages have both dropped by about 4 points each. In order words, Rozier pulled points from Bam and Herro and added those to Lowry’s 9 points to get his 17 pts. That is the real statistics. I pointed this before the trade, that one should expect the average of one of Heat’s 3 leading scorers (Butler,Bam and Herro) to drop which often happens when a soccer is added to.a team, only very few players in the league make other players better. I did not expect that his addition was going to cause a drop in the average of two players instead of one player.
The addition of Rozier has made no difference IMHO at least as per the standings. Heat’s man issues remain, mismatches, guys not making open shots and the additional problem of lack bench depth since the loss JRich , Love and moving JJJ from the 2nd unit to a starter in some games. The real effect of adding a pg to the Heat should be measured by the averages of Heat’s leading scorers before and after the trade and also by the current standing in the ECF. That is a broader way to view the effect of his addition. Pointing to Rozier’s average points per game is a tunnel vision approach, IMHO.
Rozier has ‘pulled points’ from Bam and Herro? IMHO, I don’t buy that at all. There are many reasons why a player’s average may go down. Slumps, nagging injuries, fatigue, stress of an 82 game season. Rozier and Herro have not played many games together, so not much sample size there. If Bam doesn’t get up a shot because teams are doubling him, especially when Butler is out, that has nothing to do with Rozier. In his last 10 games, Bam is averaging 17.7 ppg, hardly a reason for concern. Part or all of the drop off is that he has struggled lately at the ft line, shooting 14% below his season average.
Whether you or anyone wants to accept it, the Heat have had more days missed by players by all but 2 (I believe) teams in the league. It’s hard to be competitive when you’re missing key players. The Memphis Grizzlies went from 51-31 to 23-47 currently. Because a new addition hasn’t meshed well with his teammates? Obviously not. There’s no way for them to equal last season’s accomplishments under the circumstances. I give the Heat a lot of credit for hanging in there.
When the season started, many here felt the team was deficient in 2 areas: 1) at pf/c where they could use a 6’10” or so pf/c that can shoot from distance at a decent clip, and 2) at pg. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the big we needed, like Markkanen, Kuzma, Gordon. We were also unable to bring in a Mitchell, J Murray, Holiday at pg. So we brought in Rozier and Delon for Lowry and a pick. A good (some say great or a steal) trade any day of the week.
IMHO, those who would accuse others of tunnel vision (rather than just accepting that someone may have a different opinion), may themselves be affected by that affliction.
i want tys shots reduced but that will never happen.hes a volume shooter.terrys awareness at the end of the pistons game to bring the ball up try to make a play nothing there pass to bam and partially screen a defender showed me alot.lots of players including commercial man would have tried a miracle shot and then last nights gameplease oregoner hes settling in now .i cant think of one decent game lowry had this year.or maybe last year he totally sucked
What are you smoking and do you have any more?
No, but Mario does
I wonder if the same people who are quick to criticize him and the team and the trade when something doesn’t go well, will give some props as well when they’re earned? But since it’s relatively quiet here now, maybe not.
I see what he has already contributed. He has given us a chance, if everyone gets healthy, and we use all our assets optimally. Without him, before acquiring him, we had no chance.
8th seed in ECF. What is to be happy about it? His addition was supposed to improve the Heat’s standing better than least season. The needle has not moved. The best thing is that Heat got Rozier for pennies.
Nobody is happy at being the 8th, but it’s shortsighted to think that rozier hasn’t improve the team. First of all look at all the injuries we’re dealing with. Secondly this heat team broke the franchise record for most starting Lineup changes….last time I checked that isn’t a good thing.
Nobody thought Rozier would come in and single-handedly push the team up the standings while multiple key players were unavailable. He is not and never has been a superstar. He was brought in to upgrade the pg position, and that’s exactly what he’s done.
he was a superstar last night and the game before,he can flash like d wade just not as consistent as his idol
Rozier is a 100% improvement over Lowry. He was not brought in to be the #1 scorer or #1 player on this team. More like #4 behind Butler, Herro and Bam. He was brought in to breath life and energy into a slow, plodding offense and to create his own shots. He’s done that. It’s not his fault the other three top players haven’t played together since he arrived. It’s not his fault Butler is in and out and Bam is burned out carrying the whole load on his back. As for Herro, it is yet to be determined how they will play together. If they don’t mesh, I can see Herro being the odd man out this summer in a trade for a PF/C…not Rozier. It is what it is. If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
As for happiness, if you are a fan of the Miami Heat or if you’ve come to this website to find happiness in your life, you’ve come to the wrong team and the wrong place. Sports are only a diversion/pasttime/hobby…happiness in life is found elsewhere. Happiness is an inside job. Choose to be happy…regardless whether your team(s) win or lose.
GO HEAT!!!
Good points. You may remember in a recent post he wrote “we have no other recourse but to sit down and watch the horror unfold during each game henceforth.” I have never met someone who loves this team more than I have since their inception. Maybe as much as me, but not more. I watched in the beginning losing seasons. I watched when they went 15-67 in 07-08. But I’ve never felt a sense of horror watching a game except if a player suffered a serious injury.
This season is just one big roller coaster ride. It’s been like a roulette wheel. Nobody knows where it will land. We could wind up getting bounced out in the play-in round or find lightning in a bottle… again… and make it to the Eastern Conference Finals or the NBA Finals. I, for one, would just like to see this team at full strength by the end of the season heading into the playoffs to find out just how good they can be.
With 13 games to go (9 at home and 4 on the road against 7 winning teams and 6 losing ones) the Heat may, with a little luck, end up in 5th or 6th place and avoid the play-in round entirely. If that happens, they would likely play Cleveland, New York or Orlando in the first round and Milwaukee or Boston in the second. Time will tell.
GO HEAT!!!
happy bday godfather thanks for all the greatness you have orchestrated over your reign as the heat pres/gm/coach w/o u none of this would have happened
double rec for the Godfather
Good comment. The Godfather has had an incredible career, as a player, coach, and GM.
props to mickey also for getting pat out of ny.
Nice gritty win.
Scary Terry getting better and scarier.
Good to see Spo played 10 players tonight.
Maybe all the injuries we’ve endured this season and the past few seasons had something to do with him only playing 9 or 8 guys a night,
We’re a deep team that goes pedal to the metal every game so we should be playing at least 10 to 11 dudes a night.
Maybe playing more dudes might have saved us from most of those injuries.
I know Spo feels like they have better continuity when he goes with only 8 or 9 guys but that type of continuity don’t mean sh!t if you’re continuously getting your back broken by injuries due to only playing 8-9 guys a night.
Time to go deep from here on out, 10-11 players every game.
Some school of thought also think playing 10-11 playing , means exposing more players to the risk of injuries.
From the South Florida Sun Sentinel:
”CLEVELAND — That trade for Terry Rozier in January, the one for a future first-round pick and Kyle Lowry? It seemingly was made for this moment.
With Rozier completing a late four-point play and then hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.5 seconds to play, the Miami Heat stole into the night Wednesday with a 107-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, despite being without Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Kevin Love.
“This,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, “is why we wanted him here. He’s a great clutch performer and he’s been that way his entire career.”
And was again, also closing out the scoring with a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds to play.”
Watched the last 2 minutes like 3 times already what an edge of ur seat experience brought to us by scary Terry! Hope we see more of that come playoffs
thats 6th seed still in play. pacers and sixers sched are tougher than us
W birthday gift for the godfather. Heat did not fold in the end thanks to Jimmy and Terry but almost gave it away. More of this pls for next games.