First Half:
Things did not start off well for Miami, as Jarett Allen stole the ball and went coast to coast for a slam dunk. Cleveland came out in a full-court press early, applying a ton of pressure, and was able to capitalize with two straight steals. Donovan Mitchell was a problem early, sinking two straight threes.
With Cleveland continuing its historical shooting efficiency the Cavs went on a very easy 11-0 run. Miami looked lost, and its offense was nonexistent. Things did not improve as Cleveland continued its offensive assault, and locked down Miami’s core.
The Heat started to chip away at the lead slightly, with Wiggins finding Larsson for a layup with a great pass. But Miami struggled to convert on its very few opportunities. It didn’t help that the Heat were sloppy, continuing to turn the ball over and feed Cleveland. Miami’s playstyle closely resembled the team that fell in 10 straight regular season matchups, more so than the team that did great work to earn a playoff seed in the play-in.
The Heat had little to no answers in the first, scoring only seven baskets, and going two for twelve from three as Cleveland padded a 26-point lead. The Heat just looked defeated with Cleveland on pace for record first-half scoring numbers.
The second quarter didn’t offer many improvements early on as Mobley continued to wreak havoc inside and Miami was still at a loss on the offensive end. The Heat had no answers from its featured players, with Tyler, Bam, and Wiggins all combining for six points total. After some great regular season outings and the expectation that he’d been figuring out Miami’s system, Wiggins really struggled at a bad time for Miami. With Miami down 33, things looked very bleak with over half the quarter remaining.
Cleveland did not let up, stomping on the gas pedal to build a 39-point lead heading into halftime. I’d love to share some embedded highlight plays from Miami, but there really isn’t anything to show.
Second Half:
The Heat showed a little more resolve to start the second half, with Jovic converting on his third three and Wiggins finally getting on the board. But with such a big deficit it appeared as if the Heat were playing for pride more than anything.
Cleveland continued its hot shooting, with Miami showing no defensive resolve. The arena was ghostly quiet, with the only noise coming from the loudspeaker. Wiggins and Bam showed signs of life, but even with more buckets going down the Heat still faced a 45+ point deficit. Any shot at a comeback appeared impossible.
The Heat would try and stack some positives, with Wiggins delivering his best game of the series, and Jovic pushing the pace and showing interest in the game but it was too little too late.
The fourth quarter was more of the same, even with Cleveland sitting its stars. Spo would wave the white flag and put in the reserves with Duncan finally getting some minutes, and Jaquez also seeing some time. There were some moments, but this game was long over.
Overall this was truly an embarrassing and incredibly disappointing end to a tumultuous Heat season. The Heat have a lot of work to do this offseason, and I’d have to assume the next Heat team that takes the court in October will look very different.
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I ain’t even mad at this team. It’s been a looooooong season. Hope these guys get some rest this offseason. They need it.
Looking forward to Pat Riley’s offseason press conference…
Good comment. However, I do look forward to the offseason, but not the presser.
offseason is still two months away. one of the downsides of getting eliminated so early. the presser is just a few days away. and in my recent memory, that pat riley presser has never dissapointed. One of the few things worth watching the long version on youtube
I’m just going to be honest I hope 55 is not in a heat uniform next season
The Butler did it!
houston not there yet theyre history soon.id like to see antman versus okc i think they can win that series if they get by the king.antman and duncan my 2 fav players in nba
The Rockets screwed up when they didn’t trade for Butler. He wanted to go back home to Houston. They thought they had enough. Where have I heard that before? They have a ton of young players and draft picks. They could have made the trade without breaking up the band. Ironically, if they don’t make it out of the first round, as the #2 seed, Butler may have a hand in it. Oh well….you live and you learn.
id like to see jerry stackhouse or brendan malone as our nextcoach next year
Brendan Malone died on October 10, 2023, at the age of 88. Did you mean Mike Malone? There are others e.g., Taylor Jenkins, Mike Brown, James Borrego, Frank Vogel, Sam Cassell, Royal Ivie, Chris Quinn and Steve Nash.
this is the absolute dumbest comment I’ve ever heard. There are like 25 other teams that would jump at the chance to have Spo as their coach next season
I have made similar comments over the years. He would be able to choose whatever team and write his own ticket. I don’t really think he’s going anywhere for a while.
warriors just gonna outsmart rockets
do u guys want davion back as a starter or backup
Starter until/unless someone better is brought in. Of course, that’s if Riley doesn’t low ball him and drive him off, which he has a tendency to do.
I think you can do better as a starter but I feel like we have bigger issues that I would prefer are focused on than just trying to maximize PG. He’s a serviceable starter IMO and a dawg
when podgiewski and post are your 2 best players your in trouble .go rockets
mobley was dpoy thats surprising.
amen thopson jaylen green jabari smith what athletes
In hindsight the Wade statue was a great representation of this putrid season
And Pat getting honored during a season of regression.
Folks need to be fired
Sale!! 1$ free shipping all my Heat merch
worth est $80 😭😭😭
if its a duncan jersey i want it.i have a new lighter i need to test
I think the only thing I currently own is a Vice City hoodie. And I wouldn’t sell that thing for anything short of $100
Thank goodness this season has come to an end. Horrible way to do it, unfortunately. This allows them plenty of time to determine who stays, who goes, who gets released, what trades may be available, keep or trade the #20 pick, etc. I wanted the 2 picks but that’s irrelevant now. I wanted them to trade quitter 15 months ago when his value was substantially higher, but that’s irrelevant now. I prefer to be realistic and not in dreamland. But, at this point, every option, every player, has to be on the table.
I hate the ending. Its gonna leave a bad taste for the rest of the year.
Thank you everyone at HHH for bearing with our team through high and lows, which sadly mostly lows.
6 game winning streak got me stoked.fooled me like jimmys injuries
Don’t see how beat bad teams then gs w/o Steph and Boston w/o jrue and tingus pingus
still were blowing out teams not just winning they looked really good for 2 weeks then dunc was inserted back and spobot became spobot again
Sorry h, it wasn’t about Duncan, it was about the team. They were never good enough to be really competitive, even though they should have done better than this inexcusable performance. Nothing to do now except move forward.
i dont know when his sorry ass was injured we won 6 in a row.blowout style.we didnt beat anybody but why he was inserted back in when things were rolling was another spo scratcher.im done scratching gonna let the wounds heel.this mess is all on pat he gets all the blame.spobot has nothing to do with winning or losing except not playing certain guys and sticking with stiffs.keshad zero run.what if he plays next year and is really good .pelle over keshod is mystifying one last scratch rc i have 6 months to heel up for next year.
You too Manila, you contributed greatly to the discourse.
ive said this million times coaching doesnt matter gms do and ultimately players do.spos a fraud.hes no better or worse than bernie bickerstaff jr.hes just has had dwade lebron etc
In my mind I envisioned you literally shitting your pants while writing this
We need to make some changes. The time has come one. I am expecting a retirement announcement within days. There needs to be new energy, new ideas. We can’t keep living in the past.
jethro tull fan? i am
Me too.
That was an underrated song and album.
Yo tambien. Locomotive Breath, & Aqualung.
retirements spobot 2