Thoughts & observations – a quick recap:
First Quarter:
- Andrew Wiggins is getting way more comfortable in the offense, he has become the clear #2 scorer.
- Miami plays a lot of catch up on defense, they seem to be a step slow.
- Bam has his touch back, why it took so long for it to come back is still a mystery.
- The three point shooting was much better than last game early on.
- Miami’s shot selection was much better (solid play from Mitchell and Ware)
- Heat kept Trae Young scoreless until the last two minutes of the first quarter.
- Highsmith returned to the rotation and brought a ton of energy.
- Heat took a one point lead into the second quarter.
Second quarter:
- Duncan found his way onto the board with a three to start the second.
- The lead alternated often, with over seven ties.
- Haywood was directly responsible for a 10-0 run finding Duncan and Jaime for some much needed buckets.
- Duncan was scoring on multiple levels, when he’s on, he’s a real weapon.
- Highsmith made the most of his return with three threes. Haywood is important to this team and should not have fallen out of the rotation
- Herro got extended rest, but was lights out from three point range. He also made good decisions going downhill on floaters.
- Hawks made a run towards the end of the half to tie things up going into the third.
Third Quarter:
- Ware has become a pillar of the offense and defense, it’s going to be great seeing him grow beyond the lobs.
- Bam was shooting well, but only really got involved in the offense in the third quarter.
- Atlanta fought well this quarter, making some tough looks to maintain their lead
- Mitchell plays with so much aggression, when his offense is going he’s a problem for opponents
- Highsmith set up so many second chance opportunities for the Heat – he’s a run generator.
- Because of Mitchell, Ware, Tyler and Duncan’s excellent shooting the Heat mounted a 14 point lead on a 20-6 run.
Fourth Quarter
- Davion Mitchell continued to increase his point total with great shooting
- It’s been clunky, but the Heat seems to have figured out the offense
- They can’t afford to ever sit Haywood again
- Everybody contributed tonight, even Bam was hitting threes.
- Atlanta fought back towards the end of the game, but with Herro and Bam hitting daggers Miami kept the game out of reach.
- Spo kept the starters in until the final whistle, a well deserved win.
***
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I just looked at the Heat’s alleged “weak schedule” the next four weeks (Feb 28 – March 27). In addition to Washington, Chicago and Charlotte, Miami plays:
Piece of cake (Washington, Chicago and Charlotte). The others, not so much. We’ll know exactly where this team stands a month from now. They need this test…the sooner the better.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche ~
Keshad tonight 16/14/4/1
Nassir 24/9/7/1/2. I expect Little to be poached by another team. He’s been playing well and was, I believe, always a good defender.
I hope they pull Keshad up to big team real soon! They can use a strong swing who can defend, rebound and score. I see him developing into Butler 2.0. He could become a good SF next to Bam and Ware or a PF in a small ball line-up with Bam. At minimum, I can see him as a solid rotation player.
hes too athletic and to muscular for heat culture hes more of an okc hous minn type dude
sporting news article says lemelo ball might be coming here thoughts?
If we can get him by sending Rozier back (expiring contract), Anderson (expiring contract if team opts out), plus 1-2 2025 first round picks, I would do it in a New York Minute. Ball’s defensive rating (115.3) is middle of the road (like Herro, Fox, Paul).
Starting Line-up:
Ball, Herro, Wiggins, Bam, Ware (That dog will hunt)
Bench:
Robinson (if team opts in, otherwise must pay guaranteed $9,888,000 and release), Jovic, Highsmith, Jaquez, Larsson, Johnson, Love, plus one or more current two-way players if offered regular contracts (Stevens, Christopher, Smith).
Note: Mitchell ($6,451,230) and Burks ($2,081,579) are currently on expiring contracts. It is unknown if either will be offered a new contract.
I would definitely do that trade for ball, but we might have to give a little more, I would be surprised if that’s all it takes.
Two expiring contracts and two first rounders plus anybody not named Ware, Herro, Bam or Wiggins.
like that 5 alot but balls gotta realize he needs to pass more and chuck less.hes very talented player love to see him down here next year
Ball will need to play within the Heat system. Just like the quiet quitter has to play within Golden State’s. Btw, he had 5 points tonight on 1-7 shooting in 32 minutes. Warriors won 121-115 vs Orlando because Curry had 56 points (12-19 3 pointers).
jimmy didnt get any younger going to curry world.those aching legs gonna interfere with his level of play eventually just a matter of time.jimmy and draymond are both douches but two of the smartest nba players going.believe gsw is like 7 1 with the quitter
Cool. That means we get their first round pick.
charlotte is such a bad org believe mj was in charge for a while.what a bust he was or still is
Was at the game last night, and that 2nd half was rocking, had so many double digit scorers, and was evenly balanced. Special shoutouts to the Davion”off night” mitchell, who was “on that night ” played his best game for the heat this season stroking it from 3. Also the duncyard dog coming out hot, love his work ethic ,always reminding us that he isn’t a 1 trick pony. Lastly locksmith showed spo that he needs more pt, very impactful, with relentless energy, and hustle all over the floor, he just needs to continue to shoot more.
how many goods games has dunc had this year?1 2 or 3
I think he’s running neck and neck with Rozier and Jaquez.
rozier 0 jjj 0 dunc 1 pelle(incomplete) davion 1(incomplete).tyler 50 bam 40 ware 3(incomplete spo 1(orlando ot game played shnoz bam ware alot in 4th and ot)
Yea like 3 or 4
how many times has dunc scored 20 pts this year thats a good game
duncs had 7 games 20pts or more
Good to see Duncyard Dog off the bench playing well.
HH was great, but he has been so erratic this season. I don’t think he miraculously turned the corner, but he definitely earned another minutes stint in the next game.
hh just doesnt look to score hes got the goods but his mindset is to forgo scoring not a good thing
Like Jovic, he will never reach his full potential until he finds a way to become an aggressive alpha male. Both of them need to go to a UFC training camp for a month over the summer. They would be forced to toughen up after constantly getting their asses kicked. After that, being more aggressive/assertive against NBA competition would be a piece of cake.
jovic is aggressive just usually never works out unless guarded by a small player,hh never shows aggressiveness when he takes it to the hoop its usually a positive result.spos just gotta tell hh hes got to be a threat on offense
Mate that’s not how UFC works
OK, how about a month at a Muay Thai gym in Bangkok or Phuket? Does that work better for you?
is insurance man australian he doesnt know your the lebron james of hhh i guess.
Maybe he’s a big Anderson fan who came over after the GSW trade?
dude better stick to ufc and insurance .nobody has more heat info than u.i have never questioned any of your comments always super informative and spot on.i get up and always look forward to your comments.great great work u do here im sure i speak for the others much appreciated.
Thanks Heat. I try.
Nice win last night. We have to use our best players in the optimal ways, and be on in our three shooting, and we can beat other middling teams.
I agree with the writer, HH has to be part of the rotation.
Be careful about getting too irrationally exuberant over last night. We are still what we are, a play-in team. But, we are also still just two players away from contention. We got two nice players for Jimmy, two players who can be part of the new era. And we have about five others who can also be part of what we do going forward.
Just need two more, maybe thru the draft, or trade. It’s not that hard to envision.
Exactly! You can see how players can fit and contribute, but more is necessary to get to the next level. We have a couple of B+ players, a couple of B players, and many B- and C players. We really need an A level player (A+ players are rare) to be whole. The offseason draft, trades, and free agent signings, along with the 2026 free agency market, will define what the team is for the next 5-7 years.
I wanted to be upbeat because it was a pleasing win last night. But, the two players we need won’t be easy to get. One has to be a starter, and the other at least a seventh man in the rotation. The seventh man we could get by drafting well. But, the starter will likely need to come in a trade.
how bout 30 a darian fox man wish his gf lived in miami he was the prefect guy.lemelo ball and ja could prob be had but there kinda ball hogs.need an isiah stevens pg mentality make other players better
A question for a pick expert.
There is a statement somewhere (EPSN, I believe), that Heat need to make to the play off to keep those picks. Thats wrong, right?
As I understand it, its the other way around.
Heat needs to miss the playoffs to keep their (lottery) pick. Golden State only needs to make the play-in round for Miami to get their (#11 or lower) pick.
Thank you. I thought it was a mistake.
Off the top of my head, here’s my ratings:
A-
Bam and Herro
B+
Wiggins
B
Robinson and Ware
B-
Jovic, Highsmith, Mitchell and Anderson
C+
Jaquez and Burke
C
Johnson and Larsson
C-
Love and Rozier
*Several players are works in progress who may be worthy of higher ratings by the end of the season. In addition, some players may be worthy of lower ratings.
mitchell not sure about him.id give him an incomplete if dunc your 5th best player your in trouble which we are.dunc needs to be 9th 10th guy
The way I look at it, A’s & B’s are regular rotation players. C’s are players on rookie contracts that the jury is still out on, fillers to round out the roster or dead weight that should be traded, if possible, or at minimum, not re-signed when their contracts expire.
a is a good player bs average players all the rest fs
A is a very good player. B is a good (rotation) player. C is non-rotation player such as a veteran’s minimum player, an untested rookie, etc. D players are G leaguers and washed up players in overseas leagues. Anyone below C does not belong in the NBA until/unless they can show they are capable of playing at a higher level.
do we have a top 20 player.i dont think we do .tys in the 20s bams in high 20s.wiggy in the 50s.need a top 20 player next year
I would take another one in the 20’s, especially if a PG.
Good ratings. I like that method of quantifying players. I think of it as their overall efficiency rating.
your the og of that 30
All stars Dunc and Mitchell brought us home.
But I don’t like what I saw. The defence was terrible most of the game.
And there is still no steady bench rotation after Jovic went down.
jovic our bench savior lol hes erratic as all of them all.they are bench players for a reason .erratic players not consistently herro good
Jovic at his best is extremely effective player and thus very important for team success.
When he is not, or he is not available, the teams chance for success is much worse.
I belleve he was most consistent than anybody not called Herro or Bam.
I think Johnson could more than adequately fill Jovic’s spot. He’s more physical, a better defender, a better rebounder and at least as good a scorer. Jovic is a better 3 point shooter.
sure like to find out sun so frustrating
has there been a softer team in the history of the heat,whos our rough rider.
I dont think so. Jovic played 25-30 minutes a game. No way Johnson can play those minutes consistently. 10-15 minutes maybe.
Johnson plays offense differently than Jovic does.
Jovic had experience, and by that I mean hundreds of game speed reps, as a primary or secondary ballhandler/playmaker.
Johnson did not play that role in college, and he’s not going to play that role with us–unless he significantly improved his handling and shooting, and more importantly his understanding of how to attack defenses.
These team is just teasing us of what they can really do. Also they just played toe to toe with those birdies then stepped on it ending the third towards all of the final qtr. Can they keep doing this? We’ll know next games
“There’s nothing wrong with getting knocked down, as long as you get right back up.”
~ Muhammad Ali ~
Davion Mitchell is helping create the flow, pace and calmness the team has been lacking since Dru Smith went down. A good point guard can bring the best out of everyone. For the first time in a long time, the team looked relaxed, under control and like they were really enjoying the game, rather than playing tentative and desperate basketball. They had a game plan and great passing/sharing of the basketball. They kept the pedal to the metal until the end. They closed the game out.
The Heat has 25 games left. 17 are at home, including 8 of their next 9 and 13 of their next 16. With a little luck, the team may gel and find their own pace, comfort zone and identity. If that happens and players start bringing out the best of each other, who knows what is possible. Hell, the Heat may even consistently play good basketball again. If that happens, it sure could get interesting by the time the play-in round arrives (and maybe in even when the playoffs roll around).
GO HEAT!!!
P.S. Heat had four players with 20 or more points, Herro 24, Robinson 24, Bam 20, Mitchell 20. In addition, Wiggins had 15, Highsmith 14 and Ware 12. Not bad.
25 games left…lets go 23-2 😁😜
If they go 20-5, they will finish one game higher than last year’s 46-36 injury filled season.
and the chances of that happening are what ind ny cleve minn 4 of next five games
It was a happy photo moment for me seeing Love along the lines cheering and rooting for these young players.
1 great game need more of these or something similar.thought mitchell hh and dunc off the bench were the difference.our bench this year and pg position has been terrible..if that changes in the final 25 games could see a 6th seed.
Funny enough, last night my thought was so much on Duncan’s game. How him and Herro played so well together early in the season. Why I have NOT seen so much of Duncan cutting and slashing or taking charges since the Kyrie trade. Hope he brings some of those back into his game. I saw a tiny bit of that slashing and cutting today from him this evening. Helped in moving the opponents defense, though Duncan’s shots did not come from those.
He shot very well today. Hope he keeps it going. I have not given up on him.
Mitchell has played so seamlessly with the rest of the team. You will think that he has been with the team for years. He has been a good addition. Don’t think that Tucker would have made as much difference as Mitchell has made. Good decision by who ever traded for Mitchell.
HH reminded everyone of what he is capable of doing, knocking down 3s.
Good game, especially the 4th quarter.
can we get kyrie back another bad pat trade lol
Humor me again 🤣 😆
hows uranus
Winners never quit and quitters never win. Quiet quitters who let their teammates down are the worst of all.