First Quarter:
Victor Webanyama went to work right away with help from Chris Paul, but the Heat weren’t far behind with Highsmith getting to the rack. The Heat came out with energy to start this one, even Jimmy Butler who got to the free-throw line within the first few minutes. Surprisingly, Jimmy controlled or at least initiated many of the offensive possessions scoring 6 points before the five-minute mark.
Still, it didn’t matter much as very few baskets were scored by the rest of the Heat. With Butler dominating the early touches, Herro seemed the odd one out. Despite contributing with peripheral stats (2 rebounds), Herro only shot twice in the first quarter and went scoreless (his first scoreless quarter of the season).
On the other end, Wemby was unguardable with 11 first-quarter points.
Spo would insert our version of Wemby (Ware) at the end of the first quarter and he’d continue to show progress, slamming down another alley-oop. The Heat closed the gap somewhat with good scoring from Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, and Duncan Robinson. But with Champagnie doing work on both ends for the Spurs Miami would go into the second down 10.
Second Quarter:
Ware and Terry Rozier helped trim the lead to start the second. Tyler would also get his first bucket off a goaltend. Miami had noticeably more energy compared to the first on the defensive end anchored by the presence of Kel’El Ware. With Tyler struggling, Terry Rozier stepped up making some hard buckets to spark a 6-0 run. Spo mixed things up with Bam and Ware in the same lineup, altering the offense significantly (in a good way).
With Duncan and Ware finally knocking down threes the Heat got within one. With three minutes remaining Terry hit a pull-up jumper to take back the lead. You could feel the momentum shift back to Miami’s favor as Duncan hit a big three to add an exclamation point to the 20-2 run. This was a fun quarter that featured a lot of creativity and some lockdown defense.
I’m hoping we see more of Ware and Bam together. The Heat would take a five-point lead into halftime.
Third Quarter:
Tyler finally found his range to start the third, while on the other side, the Spurs found its footing once again. Fortunately, it didn’t matter much with Duncan and Tyler shooting well to extend the lead. Ware continued to shine on both ends, showing no reason to be concerned about his motor. A question that skewed some teams away from him during the draft. Tyler and Duncan continued to score well, Duncan even jammed one as Miami maintained its double-digit lead.
With Ware slamming it down, Jimmy rejecting shots on the other end and even Bam hitting shots – the vibes were very much back. Jimmy even smiled once! Ware exited with just over five minutes left, but the Heat continued to surge with Niko getting in on the action and Duncan continuing his assault from three-point range. Miami was excellent on its 17-3 run, with everybody playing to their strengths.
The Spurs would claw back slightly, but the San Antonio Buckets came more from Heat errors than lack of energy. Ware returned to close out the quarter while Terry and Niko picked up from Duncan from long range. Miami looked very impressive taking a 22-point lead in the fourth and final quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
Jovic sunk another three to keep the Heat’s foot on the gas to start the fourth quarter, but on the other end, the Spurs were trying to make their move with buckets from Paul, Barnes, and Wemby. Just when it looked like San Antonio might be capable of a run, Ware, Jaquez, and Herro stepped up to keep Miami ahead.
Rozier showcased impressive shooting to keep Miami rolling and Ware followed that up with multiple slams to put a dagger in this one.
This was a much-needed bounce-back for a team that’s dealt with so much drama over the last month. And hopefully, it was also the turning point in the season. The vibes were very much contagious all around in what was clearly the best game of the season so far. Jimmy might still want out, but Heat fans have a new reason to buy in.
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With Bam and Ware starting together, they just need a third C/PF who can play together with either of them. I think someone like Bobby Portis, Nicola Vucevic, Jonas Valanciunas or John Collins could work. Throw in a Brandon Ingram (27), Kyle Kuzma (29) or Michael Porter, Jr (26)…then fogetaboutit…we would be killing teams!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Xu9UcOdj0
first time in a while looking forward to a heat game hopefully the quitter will be gone let the bam ware ty era begin without him.
Rozier III, Herro, Adebayo, Ware, Spoelstra | Postgame Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MCGXucZQTs
Interesting game stats:
Rebounds: M 49 SA 44
Assists: M 35 SA 28
Steals: M 8 SA 4
Blocks: M 6 SA 5
Turnovers: M 11 SA 14
FG% M 52.6 SA 45.1
FT% M 100 SA 62.5
3PT% M 54.5 SA 37.5
Bench Scoring 77 points
Ware: 25 points/8 rebounds/2 assists 2 blocks
Rozier: 20/4/5/1 steal
Jovic: 14/2/5/ 2 steals
Jaquez: 12/6/1 3 steals 1 block
Johnson, Larsson, Christopher 2 points each
Starters Scoring 55 points
Robinson: 21/5/2
Herro: 18/6/7/ 1 steal
Butler: 8/3/7 2 blocks
Bam: 6/11/5 1 block, 1 steal
Highsmith: 2/3/0
other teams second chance pts which we always lose that will change.lets following the rebounding advantages now.which we usually lose.blocked shots that will change,points in the paint ty coach spo for finally listening to yours truly and sunman .we will sleep better tonight.
In the 2nd quarter, the presence of Ware and Bam on the floor together made the game look easy for everyone else both defensively and offensively. True, Ware is a rookie but he needs more playing time to make mistakes, learn on the floor (not from the bench) and get better. If there is anytime for Spo to do so, it should be this season throwing aside all pretences of being a championship contender this season. Reality should please set in
Agree. In the second quarter at the rc house, we discussed how the 2 bigs made it easier for the smaller guys to operate. Spurs had to hesitate to send their bigs out to the perimeter to defend because we now had 2 guys that could flush alley oops at the rim.
I don’t think Spo will start Ware in the immediate future, but I think he will give Ware at least 25-30 minutes henceforth. When he does start, I see Ware, Bam, Jaquez, Duncan, and Herro as the starting 5, depending on what we get for Butler. Bench- Highsmith, Jovic, Rozier, Burks (?), and, again possibly someone we get for Butler. Then, continue to develop Keshad, Pelle, Stevens, Christopher.
Heat need a third big to rotate with Bam and Ware, a starting replacement for “Quiet Quitter” and a PG.
I said from beginning Ware at C and Bam at PF. h4l jumped on the bandwagon much later. Now just need to get rid of quiet quitter and get a good replacement and it will be an entertaining season. Butler is seeing the team’s future without him right before his very eyes.
Well, admittedly, preseason, he did say he wanted Ware to start on day 1, which I said wouldn’t happen. But the bottom line is we all have finally gotten what we hoped for.
All three of us said Ware should/would be paired with Bam from the beginning. I was just messing with h4l for making it sound like he was the first and only one to say it and that I came on later.
rc wasnt on board from day 1 me u and bam were
Absolutely false. I said it when we DRAFTED HIM! I just told you he wouldn’t be a starter when the season began and you said he would. I was right and you were wrong on that. You also said as recently as a few days ago that Spo would *never* play them together. I kept saying he just hasn’t *yet* but that would be the future. When they played for 31 seconds the other day, I wrote never say never. You shouldn’t try to rewrite history old buddy. I gave you credit above ⬆️ and you don’t return the same. Wow.
That’s right RC. We have all been pushing for Spo to play Bam at PF and Ware at C from day 1. We just didn’t know when it would happen. I felt that if they were playing together by the playoffs, Miami could be dangerous. I still feel that way. The only exception is I thought Butler would be part of the line-up. It’s clear now he won’t be. He doesn’t want to play in Miami. No jersey in the rafters for him.
If Riley can trade Butler and a couple of the other high priced players for youth and picks, it will be the fasted rebuild/re-tooling in history. No fruitless 10+ year process like Philly.
bam ware ty jaime/jovic need a pg unless boston charlotte terry can remerge. game 2 vs portland i guarantee a w.dunc had a great great game today not sure how many of those we get.always need to take a shot at the hardest worker on the heat.he actually looks quicker and more athletic than ever
do u think he should have been in there from day 1 i never heard u say that if u did i apologize .i just heard spo say something like make us want to play him .well howbout giving it a try spo from day 1 our record would be alot better
No, h, all I said was that it was doubtful that he would start on day one of the season. But I looked forward to what we are seeing now. I actually hoped it would happen by game 20.
…and UD.
Spo, Spo Spo. How many times did I call you?
When we say Bam needs a big to play alongside him, there is a reason we say so
Yes, I know it Is just one game. It does just justify the calls all along to have Ware play alongside Bam together. All of a sudden our Big Bam looked like a midget on the floor, alongside Ware. Boy did it make a difference in the 2nd quarter and the rest of the game. Once the Heat took to the lead, there was no going back. . Ware outplayed Wamba.
Didn’t know it was that early here. Game was done by 6am Manila time just woke up at 7 lol
Good thing Heat won….ok back to sleep 😴😴😴
I don’t know if we are all kumbaya now. I don’t think you can erase the past, but perhaps we have no other choice. Anyway, for one day, at least the kids are all right.
new team new height new defense.season started today for me
Since this season started, and particularly with the Butler issue, it’s all been about the future. And today, the future looks brighter.
future looks taller to,cant remember last time we were taller than team b