Despite playing on two days’ rest, the Miami Heat were gashed against Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers inside Crypto.com Arena on Monday, losing 138-117.
The loss snaps the Heat’s brief two-game win streak, dropping them to 2-5 on the season. Who were a few winners and losers? Let’s examine!
Winner: Klay Thompson
Skinny: If there was any positive from Monday’s 21-point loss, it’s that Thompson looked palpable. Coming off a season-high 25 points against the Indiana Pacers, Thompson scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. There were a few times that he was caught in some unfavorable switches, but he at least made up for it with his offense, briefly keeping the Heat in the game.
Loser: Bam Adebayo
Skinny: Save for a few dominant defensive possessions in space against Luka Doncic, Adebayo’s impact was fairly minimal. He scored 16 points with nine rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals, shooting just 5-of-10 from the floor. He didn’t assert his will on offense like he did in the Heat’s two wins, although he was active on the offensive glass, bringing down a team-high four rebounds.
Loser: Andrew Wiggins
Skinny: Doncic saw Wiggins as lunch meat. Wiggins’ defense to begin the season has been quite disappointing. He was a catastrophe against the Lakers’ superstar, and he scored just seven points on 2-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. Single game plus-minus is oftentimes fluky, but for Wiggins, it wasn’t, as he sported a team-worst minus-26 line.
Winner: Ryan Conwell
Skinny: Conwell saw the floor for just eight minutes (including two in garbage time), but I liked what I saw. Conwell buried a corner 3-pointer and was at least trying to make life difficult at the point-of-attack. I wouldn’t be surprised if his role continued to expand throughout this road trip.
Loser: Tim Hardaway Jr.
Skinny: Hardaway hit a pair of threes to keep the score respectable in the fourth quarter, but he was a mess, especially on defense, where his effort and awareness on- and off-ball were quite poor. This play summed up his night quite well.
Losers: The Miami Heat defense
Skinny: If you couldn’t tell already, the Heat defense was — and has been — quite bad. The Lakers shot 57.3 percent from the floor with 19 made threes — good enough for a 135.3 offensive rating. As a result, Miami is now 27th in defense, better only the Sacramento Kings, Chicago Bulls and Phoenix Suns. Not great company to be in!
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Miami should be in NBA’s top 5 in defense…not 27th. That one is on Spo .
Good defense leads to turnovers and easy baskets. No defense = no offensive impact.
Start Larsson and bring Thompson in off the bench with Portis and Smith until better options are identified. Pelle is.a better point of attack defender and playmaker than Thompson.
Adding Larsson to a line-up with Giannis, Bam, Wiggins and Mitchell will set the tone defensively from the outset…replacing the current lack of intensity and poor shot selections. Heat gave up 79 points in the first half? Give me a break.