With the Miami Heat’s near 20-point comeback attempt against the Milwaukee Bucks falling short in the previous game, they found themselves on the other side of containing a large lead the next night. In a back-to-back set that saw the Heat travel to face the Charlotte Hornets, they got the job done. But it wasn’t easy.
Miami wound up securing the clutch win with a final score of 98-94, although they allowed a Hornets comeback effort of their own after winning by a 20+ point margin. Led by Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson offensively, the Heat faced a 17-point edge entering the final quarter. A few LaMelo Ball plays sparked a run for Charlotte, until Herro stepped up with answers on both ends.
He knocked down a huge go ahead 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game, and responded by earning a crucial steal on the other end in the following Hornets possession. It was an impressive bounce back performance following a few poor shooting nights for Herro, finishing with a team-high 27 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists on 11/22 shooting (50%). Miami outscored Charlotte by 9 points in his minutes.
Coach Erik Spoelstra utilized the majority of his depth tonight by going with a four-man bench rotation of Terry Rozier, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Pelle Larsson and Kel’el Ware. Alec Burks also saw some slight run, but only played a total of six minutes. After experiencing back spasms during the Heat’s last game, Kevin Love sat this one out, which opened up some Ware minutes in relief of Bam Adebayo as the backup big man.
However, Love is not the only one now dealing with a back issue, as Jimmy Butler was shut down prior to the start of the fourth quarter with back tightness of his own. He finished with a pedestrian 6 points in 25 minutes, and looked stiff throughout his playing time.
Butler’s status heading into Friday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors is very much in the air.
It was next man up for Miami tonight and Herro was there to save the day. Adebayo was quiet offensively with 8 points, but proved just how impactful he still is by totaling a 10 rebounds and 10 assists double-double. It was a relatively quiet offensive night from the rest of the rotation as well, outside of Duncan Robinson’s 22 points on 7/12 shooting and 6/9 from 3-point range.
The Heat shot more efficiently than the Hornets overall, going 45% from the field compared to their 38%. They also shot 38% on 14/31 attempts from 3-point range as a team to the Hornets 33%. Most of that comes from LaMelo Ball struggles, who led all scorers with 32 points but attempted 35 shots to do so. With the rebounding battle even across both teams, Miami separated themselves in the foul shooting department. They went 18/22 (82%) with the Hornets only going 3/8 (38%) at the charity stripe.
They will now travel back to South Florida to open a two-game stretch against the Toronto Raptors, with hopes of getting over the .500 mark for the first time since starting with a 3-2 record this season.
***
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
I take a look of this year results. Its actually not that bad. The team was embarrassed in Orlando game, and helpless against Denver. NY game was also bad.
Other 5 losses comes in close games.
So, the only concern is actually, that wins comes from games with bad or depleted teams.
But there is a Boston game soon enough. Winning that one would be a great sign that Miami Heat is a good team.
Boston in Boston? Hmm? I wonder what the odds are on that game? Btw, Porzingis is back after being out this season. They are scoring 120.2 points per game without him.
But admit it, a Heat solid win in Boston would be change a bit the whole picture.
A solid win in Boston would only mean Miami had a good night while Boston had a bad night. The only way it would change the whole picture is if Ware starts and scores 15-20 points and pulls down 10-15 rebounds and Bam and Butler dominate Tatum and Brown.
Jimmy seems to be available.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my HHH buddies stateside!
Thanks! I’m thankful for you! 😀😀
The sad truth. The sooner Riley and Spo accept it and move on, the better the team’s future will be for it. (See Miami heat).
https://sircharlesincharge.com/5-depressing-nba-teams-virtually-climbing-out-early-season-hole/5?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email&sc=e0273490fd355e2c28bdb25751d41af65a4dd80936ff00a80be9866c97887955
Yes, we are mediocre, but I don’t think it is much of a surprise for anybody. What I don’t understand is how could they not include the sixers on that list. They should be the first team there. I mean, the expectations after signing a max player, adding good role players, having one of the best coaches were sky high. And the result literally can’t be any worse.
I was thinking that betting on the Sixers right now may be a bargain because if they do get healthy, they could still be a championship contender. It’s a big if though.
Nice to know that sportswriters see what we see. Shaq was also very dismissive of the Heat on the TNT broadcast on Wednesday night. Thanks for posting that article. It was almost like we all read it before posting here.
Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.
They are only 4 games behind the last play in spot. They will get better evetually. But still, who would have thought they would be in this position.
Who cares about the sixers. They have their troubles we have ours.
I would rather watch a young mediocre team as it develops rather than aging mediocre team as it declines.
That is an excellent statement by SM, and is EXACTLY how I feel!
“I don’t mind you kicking my ass, just don’t be yelling at me while you’re doing it.”
— Richard Pryor
“I don’t mind going through a rebuild, just don’t try to gaslight me into believing this mediocre phase will lead to a championship.”
— Sunman
mr adebayo their 2 top centers were out u had friggin taj gibson on u for majority of night and u give us 8 friggin pts on 3 for 8 shooting that says alot about u.this happens way to much with u.whats the bs excuse now.your just laxadazical lazy dont care(cks still clearing btw).just unacceptable.and also your best player was out in the 2ndhalf..i rip dunc alot but that guy gives 100% every night and not a lazy ass bone in his body.
Our best player was out in the first half too. Two shots? WTF? Cruise control might work elsewhere Jimmy (maybe Brooklyn?) but it doesn’t work in Miami. Even Ben (f’ing) Simmons had a better stat line (14/9/8 in 27 minutes than Jimmy’s 6/4/3 in 25 minutes).
Speaking of Ben Simmons, if Brooklyn gives us Simmons and two of their four 2025 first round draft picks plus returns our 2025 second round pick (which they also own) and we give them Jimmy, we can call it even. We’ll even throw in Thomas Bryant as a sign of good faith.
CAN I GET AN AMEN?
Jimmys gonna go to a contender brooklyn suks.Okc would be perfect fit.They have excess of young two wayers
OKC doesn’t need Butler. Have you seen their line-up? They have a small forward by the name of Jalen Williams who is averaging 21.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.3 apg and shooting 39.8% from 3 point range. This compares to Butler’s 18.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 4.8 apg and 29.4% from 3 point range. OKC might consider trading for Butler or just waiting until the end of the season and signing him directly or fleecing the Heat in a sign & trade. So there’s that.
I don’t know if you have checked the standings lately, but Brooklyn is 9-10 and tied for 7th place (1/2 game behind Miami). They just beat Phoenix by 10 in Phoenix and have won 3 straight. When they get all their players back/healthy and by adding Butler, they could be a definite playoff team. They are $5.2 million under the first apron and $20 million under the second apron, so they have room to bring in an additional player or two this year.
The Nets could be reinforced by 2 remaining first round picks in 2025 if they give up 2 of their four to acquire Jimmy. Furthermore, Brooklyn is only on the hook for $75.5 million in salaries next year, of which $15.4 million is a player option for Dorian Finney-Smith and $8.9 million is team options for three other players, Clowney, Whitehead and Wilson. The Nets could conceivably bring in several free agents next year to go along with a core of Butler, Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson, Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas and Shake Milton.
I think the Nets are in a better position to rebuild quickly than Miami at the moment.
Ben Simmons’ expiring contract would help us if we decided to rebuild around younger core. I would even agree to give him a veteran minimum contract for another season (I doubt any team would offer him more). But Jimmy is definitely worth more than 2 picks.
What kind of trade do you suggest, within reason.
First of all I don’t imply it would be a good or bad trade. Simmons at this stage of his career would be a pure gamble obviously. Simmons doesn’t have any value anymore other than his expiring contract, but Jimmy’s contract is also expiring, so basically we would be getting only 2 picks. And in my opinion we should be able to get more for Jimmy. But I see the logic in this trade.
To be honest I don’t like to get too philosophical about trades. I prefer to leave it to the front office, let them earn their paychecks:-)
I make suggestions to fix problems first. I then criticize them later when they make the wrong decisions.
Yep, that’s our job as fans.
Congrats to the Heat on a win. Herro is often our best player these days. And Duncan got the team rolling with a great first quarter. Still, we had trouble with a weak team that also had a very depleted line up. And now Jimmy appears to be unavailable for a stretch.
It’s like we are drifting, aimless, directionless. Results keep coming in that are telling us where we stand and what we should do but we don’t listen.
ty loves shooting 30.hitting or missing those shots are going up.love tys effort like dunc 100% every night.good to see cats get good win they needed been in a dory funk lately
Yes, Dunc gives all out effort every game.
On my comment, I should have said, sometimes it takes a little time and patience to make adjustments. Perhaps it won’t be too long till we something happen.
That was a beautiful comment above by Reality via SM. Exactly!
Its a win, but that was ugly.
I don’t like the rotation and combination of players playing together. All makes sense on paper, but just dont like it.
The players, which can offer more, like Butler, Bam and JJJ, are somehow lost in the system, and they are unable to consistently play well. This must change very soon.
think jjj being dissed by spo.dudes a baller jjj.should be 35 mins per night.love pelle to but jjjs the better of the 2
Jaquez is going through a sophomore jinx. NBA teams are on to his spin moves etc. Like most of the other Heat rotation players, his scoring and free throw percentage are down from last year. His 3 point shooting has leveled off to last year’s level. His defense also seems to be suffering. He will need to evolve his offensive and defensive games and improve his 3 point and free throw shooting. Otherwise, I can see him being included in any trade package involving Butler, Rozier, Robinson, etc. Nothing personal…strictly business. As a matter of fact, I think most players on the roster not named Herro or Ware could be on the trading block for the right price.
It’s a very volatile time right now for the Heat. It is fast becoming time for Riley to make a move to become a contending team or breaking up the team to build for the future. What he can’t afford to do is nothing and hope for things to get better on their own.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
I’m a big Jaquez fan and think he’ll be fine. His 8/6/2 is ok considering he’s playing about 20% fewer minutes so far. However, I believe Pelle is at least as good if not better. There’s no doubt that Pelle is the better defender and imo better pure shooter. Jaquez is the better rebounder.
in other games…wolves were losing, then winning, then eventually lost vs kings. not getting pretty in Minni 4 game losing streak…can we get Ant? asking for a friend
kats having awesome season that was a bad trade.who the hell wants to be in frigid minn bam and jjj for ant?
Ant ain’t gonna happen. Maybe Rozier and Robinson for Randle and DiVincenzo (after December 15th)? Money works. T’Wolves could start Rozier over aging Conley and promote Naz Reid to PF to replace Randall. Robinson could come off the bench for scoring punch.
DiVencenzo ($11.4 Million this season / 3 year contract)
Last year with NY: 15.5 ppg / 44.3 fg% / 40.1 3 pt%
This year with MN: 8.9 ppg / 34.6 fg% / 31.5 3 pt%
Randle ($33.1 million this year – 2 year contract player option 2025-2026)
Last year with NY: 24.0 ppg / 9.2 rpg / 5.0 apg
This year with MN: 21.7 ppg / 6.7 rpg / 4.1 apg
Important win, after almost letting the hornets. This team has issues, but I’ll take the W all day. The boy wonder is the real deal and his shotmaking was marvelous. Also had a clutch steal. Duncan had really good game too. Lastly congrats to ware winning the game with his first pair of free-throw of the season. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!
This game got really ugly, but it’s always nice to come away with a w. All games are important, as we found out last season. However, it doesn’t change the status of the team.
Exactly.
True that. We beat something like a top college team last night.
play ware 30 mins and jjj little more.no more love duncan team will be better GUARANTEED
Several role players on the Heat can either be very good or very bad from night to night. Spo’s job is to find out quickly what kind of night each player is having and make adjustments accordingly. Unfortunately, he often leaves players in too long that are having bad nights and doesn’t use players having a good night enough or other players wasting away on the bench. How many times have we seen players that are having rough nights offensively let their frustrations spill over into their defensive games? Spo’s gotta pull those players immediately!