After the Miami Heat dropped two games in a row, following a three-game win streak, they finally get back into the win column again.
Miami secured the huge bounce back victory and another statement win over the LA Clippers during a late night West Coast matchup on Monday. It was the second leg of a back-to-back against both Los Angeles teams, as the Heat improve to 4-3 on the season. Norman Powell returned from a three-game absence following a groin injury and helped lead the way to the win with 21 points on 60% shooting versus his former Clippers team.
Miami is now 3-1 in games that Powell has been in the lineup. His impact was missed in the Heat’s previous losses, and the veteran scorer picked up right where he left off prior to dealing with the minor groin strain. He provided some much needed offensive support to Bam Adebayo, who put in another elite outing of his own.
The Heat captain submitted a versatile two-way performance with a team-high 25 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals on 10 of 18 shooting (55%). Adebayo also knocked down 2 of his 4 attempts from 3-point range and had a huge defensive stop on LA’s James Harden in the clutch. It was the big man’s fourth double-double of the year thus far.
”That’s just being versatile, thanking god he gave this ability to fit any offense or defense,” Adebayo said postgame. “At some point we’ll win Defensive Player of the Year or maybe even get All-NBA… speaking that into existence.”
Outside of Miami’s stars leading the way, they got plenty of help from the rest of the supporting cast.
Andrew Wiggins has continued to carve out a crucial role in the rotation this season. Wiggins, although capable of filling in to shoulder offensive responsibilities, is at his best when playing his natural game. Which includes showcasing a versatile impact on both ends of the floor. Whether that comes from scoring, rebounding, defending, being disruptive in the passing lanes… Wiggins showcased that all-around skill set in this win. And it came much more comfortably to him with Powell’s scoring back in the lineup.
Wiggins recorded 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 stocks on 7 of 12 from the field (58%). He did a bit of everything with an impact that went even deeper than just the box score.
Another rotation piece that had that same effect in this matchup was Pelle Larsson. The second-year wing remained in the first unit in favor of Kel’el Ware, which matched up better with the Clippers’ smaller lineup. Larsson didn’t have the eye popping stats, but his energy and hustle helped set the tone and bring an impact.
Ware, who came off the bench for the first time since opening night, had a solid bounce back outing from his struggles Sunday night against the LA Lakers. He added 16 points and 5 boards on 6 of 8 shooting in just 18 minutes.
As a team, the Heat shot more efficient than the Clippers in both field goal and 3-point percentage, at 54% and 48% respectively. They also won the turnover battle and had 33 team assists compared to the Clippers’ 25. In a much more wild stat, it was the first Heat win against Kawhi Leonard dating all the way back to the 2013 NBA Finals. Leonard finished the night with 27 points against Miami.
Next up, the Heat will look to split this difficult road trip 2-2 against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
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Wiggy heard everyone talking crap about him. lol 😛
He is still a maddening player when you get these performances from him. The same thing from Ware. I hope we see more of these types of performances from the both of them.
So far it’s been a very fun season and I think they are going to be a problem once Herro is back. We just need to get some health luck.
Not able to watch but looking at the score, i wished it was a come from behind win with Powell making the winning shot at the buzzer. Happy with this W on to the mountains vs Nuggs.
That win should show everyone how good the Heat can be. They beat an excellent team, one with a full line-up, that played very well.
The problem is that our depth, which everyone touts, is actually too thin. With any injury to any of the top players, we go from an above .500 team to a below one. That may be true of many teams, but the difference between us without Norm, and us last night was huge. The same would be true if we lost Bam, Ware, Wiggins, or Mitchell. And probably Jaime too.
Maybe Ty’s return can help strengthen us from being so affected by injury. But, it would be so much easier if we added another quality player to the top nine.
Nico is really our weak link now, the one player who makes more mistakes than good plays, not by much, but enough that he hurts more than helps. And, for a weak link, he’s not bad.
But, who knew that we would get so many contributions from Simone, Dru and Pelle? It’s been heartening to watch. Hopefully talks about compensation will allow us to make another move. This team is close, close enough to make going for it worth it.
Again, great win last night. Proud of our team!
“With any injury to any of the top players…”
Dude. Two of our four highest-paid players are currently not playing. It took the loss of *three* of our top players to turn us into what honestly looks more like a .500 team than a sub-.500 team. Like, we definitely lost to the Spurs and Lakers, but neither game was a bloodbath. Hell, compensate for the blown calls at the beginning of the Spurs game, and we might have even won that one. And we absolutely slaughtered the Hornets even without Powell. I’m not sure how you look at those three games and see below .500.
And I know, I know, Terry doesn’t really count. But he’s still a hit to the roster that we have to figure out how to work with, and we’re generally succeeding in spite of that. Compare this to any other competitive team. Hell, give Lebron back to the Lakers, but take away Reaves, Hachimura, and Ayton. How competitive do you think that team is?
Genuinely, I don’t understand this reluctance to just enjoy the team that we have. They’re not perfect, but they’re fun and they’re developing and we still haven’t even seen Jakucionis in an actual NBA game yet.
And I know I mentioned this in the last post, but it bears repeating: Jovic, for the season, is a +47 on the floor, while Ware is a -28. Ware is the weak link, not Jovic. But like you say, for a weak link, Ware isn’t bad.
Inject this post in to my veins, please.
Thank you
Yes, they are not perfect, but they are the funniest Heat team to watch in years.
In any game, or in clusters of games, there are team members, which overperformed, playing according the expectations, or underperformed.
In cluster of games, we clearly have 8 players, which overperformed or playing according the expectations, and 2, which apparently underperformed.
Those two are 8 and 9 best paid players in the team, they played exactly as they should money wise, but the reason why they underperform is that the expectations for those two players are much higher.
the difference between Ware and Nico is, that Nico has 4 year contract, Ware not.
As Nico played lately, he doesn’t deserve that money. Ware is deserving what he get. But Nico has this season to prove, he is worth it, and Ware two. Lets wait and see.
If Nico will play the whole season as is playing today, I ll be the first to say trade him. But I m confident, he will be better. As for Ware.
Here’s what I think is going on: Ware is doing the wrong things well, and Niko is doing the right things poorly. Both are correctable, but they require different approaches, and should be acknowledged.
Like, there was a play right in the last minute of the first quarter: Ware blocks a shot at the rim, and launches it into the Clippers bench. It gave me flashbacks to Hassan, who used to do that kind of thing all the time. Blocking a shot is obviously always good, but Jaime and Dru were in great position to grab a ball that was deflected towards them, and Ware almost flung it right into Kawhi’s hands, if Kawhi hadn’t let it go out of bounds.
And, like, obviously I don’t know personally what it’s like to block a shot at that level, but as a point of comparison, after the game I found a video on YouTube of every single block that Bam made last season, and each one of them is controlled. Almost all of them ended in Heat possession, and none of them went into the stands. This is clearly a skill that NBA-level players should have.
The Clippers ended up with an inbounds with 6 seconds left on the shot clock after Ware’s block. Not only was that plenty of time for a second chance (they didn’t score, but they could have), it also slowed down a game where one of our big advantages is our ability to motor.
And I spent a lot of words on that explanation not because I think Ware is a bad player, or because I think he should be singularly criticized for a play that did prevent the Clippers from getting 2 points in the end, but because it’s complicated to tease out his flaws. It’s a subtler thing to distinguish. He’s doing things well, he’s just not doing things that mesh with Spo’s plan. It’s easy to look at Niko and say “well, he bungled that play,” and that’s legit. But the plays that Niko screws up are mostly within the framework of how the team wants to play. If Ware can get on the same mental page as Niko, he’ll be a monster. And if Niko can get to physically executing on the same level as Ware, then we might even be title contenders.
Both are absolutely possible. And I’m rooting for the both of them.
A lot of layers there. Wares bench block is highlight material, something for fans. Younger players, or less mature players as HW tends to do things like that ,established veterans not. So its more of a moment and maturity thing.
You might be right, Ware does thing well, but those things doesn’t fit to Spoes game plan. He is also a center. Run and gun basketball is not really his thing.
Jovic has a problem, that there are other players, which does his things better then him at the moment. JJJ penetrate the rim better then him right now, and Simone is shooting better then him. Its naturally, that ball is heading in their direction, not his. Thats the reason for dip in production.
Ware has the same problem with starting unit. He just doesnt get enough touches.
I hear you. I tried to protect myself from this comment as I knew you were going to say that. But, I do see your point. And asking for an upgrade is easier said than done. I know I can be the type who’s never satisfied. We are an enjoyable team, one that is far more fun to watch than I expected. A bunch of players have really surprised me with how good they are doing. But, still, I do want to win, that’s just how I am. It doesn’t happen often. Being a sports fan means you’re rooting for losers most of the time. But, I do get you, and I appreciate your comments, and the stats. It bears mentioning, plus minus can be a distorted stat with a small sample size.