Despite the return of two of their best scorers, the Miami Heat still could not solve the Orlando Magic in front of their home crowd Saturday.
After a non-competitive first 42 or so minutes, the Heat’s late comeback attempt came up shy, losing 121-117 in front of a packed Kia Center crowd.
Miami fell into a 22-point hole after surrendering 41 points in the first quarter, looking completely out of sync on both ends of the floor. Though the Heat defense — after entering zone — began to force turnovers and tighten the deficit late. But it was too little, too late, even though there was a questionable five-second call baked in down the stretch.
Miami was led by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting off the bench. Despite a low-impact performance, Norman Powell scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting in his return, while Bam Adebayo had 20 points and seven rebounds.
The Heat shot just 46.6 percent from the floor and 12-of-36 from 3-point range. Orlando, led by Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane, didn’t shoot much better, while turning the rock over nearly twice as many times (19 to 10) as the Heat. Though the biggest difference came on the glass, where the Heat getting outrebounded 49-32.
As a result of Saturday’s loss, Miami’s seven-game win streak was snapped. It dropped back down to a No. 7 seed in the East, where it’s on the wrong-end of a two-team tiebreaker shared between the Toronto Raptors. Orlando now sweeps the season series — improving to a miraculous 5-0 against its intrastate rival — while moving two games up in the loss column (one game total).
***
This is a developing news story. Stay tuned for updates!
To check out our other content, click here.
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter/X here!
Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram here!
Check out Hot Hot Hoops on Facebook here!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
- These 3 Heat players should not be on the team next season
- Giannis Antetokounmpo once again flirts with idea of being in Miami ahead of Bucks uncertainty
- Did another mediocre Heat season hold Jaime Jaquez Jr. back from earning Sixth Man of the Year?
- Heat star reinforces belief that Kel’el Ware will be ‘great’
- Bam Adebayo reveals that LaMelo Ball didn’t apologize about tripping incident
- Bam Adebayo receives one vote for coveted award
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. named finalist for Sixth Man of the Year award
Atlanta won their 10th straight game tonight beating Orlando 124-112. The Hawks outrebounded the Magic 54-40.
Current Standings
5th Place: Orlando 38-29
5th Place: Toronto 38-29
7th Place: Miami 38-30 (0.5 GB)
8th Place: Atlanta 37-31 (1.5 GB)
8th Place: Philadelphia 37-31 (1.5 GB)
10th Place: Charlotte 34-34 (4.5 GB)
It’s going to be a “Dog Fight” from here on out. Schedule difficulty may make a difference. Here’s the difficulty of schedules for the six preceding teams as well as each team’s record the past 10 games:
#9: Atlanta (10-0)
#10: Miami (7-3)
#12: Charlotte (7-3)
#13: Orlando (7-3)
#18: Philadelphia (5-5)
#23: Toronto (4-6)
wow how are the hawks winning all these games their the new charlotte hornets.all we need now is the washnigton generals to run off 15 of their last 16 games.thank goodness that aint happening.next year the weakest division in bball for a while might not be that.pat better get his sht together we could be looking at 4th place next year.
Jalen Johnson: 24 points, 15 rebounds, 13 assists
Dyson Daniels: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists
Alexander-Walker: 41 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
Kuminga: 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist in 19 minutes off the bench
I got reminded (again) that this is the first full season minus quitter. Usually teams fall off the season where a star player leaves them. Or gets injured and labeled ofs. So my bad. Ok ima let them get a pass if they still fall in the play-in. The thing is, Heat gave us a good feel at the start of the season then wobbled in the middle then gets back on track this March. I know we are fed up being the kings of the play-in and really want an outright playoff entry. But again this is a new iteration of the Miami Heat and need to remind myself of that. For other teams, its like a tanking “opportunity” but we don’t do that but for the “experts” tanking seems better than Bam chasing Kobe’s record. Losing to the Magic 5 games just sucks. And my wish of a 50 game win is just 3 losses out. Still possible but a long shot. I just hope Miami gets into a deep playoff run to see more Heat merch here lol
“Ok ima let them get a pass if they still fall in the play-in.“
Ofc you will
hes our heat cheerleader hhh not a heat fan for life i sent him some silver pompoms all the way to manila.dam pompoms cost me over $100 with the shipping.
gotta get wiggins back asap he was playing his best bball before he gout hurt.hes the best of the 64 67 guys with jjj being 2nd best.tylers a one way player hard to win with him been saying this for a while never change my mind the resume long enough hes never there at the end for us.anyway,
Orlando was doing some things in the first half that just weren’t sustainable, Cain was riding a high playing against a former team, and Jalen Suggs while a lockdown defender was never going to shoot 75% from three for the game.
It surely was up in the air whether the unsustainable things were going to even out. Certainly you can never put your thumb on the scale of poor refereeing to balance it out.
But the proverbial bad matchup in Orlando for Miami. I don’t think proves to be true in this moment. Herro and Powell struggled to get in a rhythm in their first game back from their absences. Pelle had a downright bad game. Ware had a downright bad first half. We miss Wiggins.
And yet I think Miami wins this game if the ref doesn’t suck so hard on the out of bounds call.
Pelle was bad? 15/3/3 2 steals and 1 turnover. I think he also took another charge? Herro was bad. And it took Bam 3+ quarters to wake up. He needed to be more assertive throughout.
he was bad in first half he got on fire when they were down big time.bane ate him up .id say the points are misleading needed some offense and defense from pelle in first half got neither.
Same with Powell.
agree powell was same thing.herro the whole game.need wiggins back just for his great d and steady offense.between wiggy norm herro .wiggys gotta be retained.norm to tyler id let him walk him and norm are same player except norms better all round.
Herro can’t walk. Still one year left on contract. Would need to trade him I’ think there are teams who would take him.
with his d and injury history aint getting much for him.norm pelle both better options
wrong herro can walk he cant guard
And Bam!
i said the capt half assing during game thread rc and after game .effort level 3 out of 10 unacceptable vs orl in a big game for seedings capt fraud
Bam is the anchor of Miami’s defense posing as a #1 scorer. He is probably a good 3rd or 4th option offensively.
Miami needs a legit #1 offensive leader who can average 25ppg+ and be.a clutch player at crunch time.
ok and who may that be .struck out on kd greek is only guy out there prob be avail.off season.has donovan had enough of that dreary cleve city.
It may also be that he caught two quick fouls in the first quarter. That seem to have thrown him entirely off his rhythm.
He hit some shots on the 4th, to his credit. But I think he would have wanted to have his performance in the other 3 quarters back.
1 game or 2, maybe. 5 games, I don’t think so. Part of it was Orlando’s defense. Part of it was Miami started off by playing as though they were playing the Washington Generals. Too much hero ball, not enough passing, too many forced shots, no cohesiveness. Orlando’s motto is every single game matters/play one game at a time. Miami needs to get on that page.
If Miami does not play with a sense of urgency and have the pedal to the metal for 48 minutes a game, they will be a play-in team. If that happens, hopefully, they lose in the play-in round and get a lottery pick.
i mentioned the captains effort was not satisfactory.a captain needs to lead by example not these stupid meetings they have after afoul and bam speaks some bs.actions speaker louder than words.bams effort for a key game was unacceptable ,the great ones bring it all the time.bams a part timer except versus the generals that was 48 minute bam
Teams evolve throughout the season is my point.
Orlando has evolved just like Miami has.
And so I don’t think this game is a continuation of the season series. It is true that Orlando has been a bad matchup for Miami in the previous four games.
But when Miami got back to it’s more recent offensive evolutions, as we saw in the fourth quarter, it’s not matchups. As you point out performance.
Wait until they get Franz, Jonathon and Goga back and tell me its not a match-up problem. Miami does not have the front court depth to hold its own against Orlando. Now that they are coming together, very few NBA teams do.
anthony black was out to.if both squads are whole they would win 8 out of 10 games.theyre better they tanked sold off all their vets drafted high now their reaping the benefits.a successful rebuild still not champ contender.lack that real stud player
Interesting article in Yardbarker regarding Miami’s playoff chances. Here’s a few excerpts:
The Heat’s season Might Come Down To These Two Nights
“The Heat and the Raptors will face off in an extremely important back-to-back series starting on April 7th. They follow that up with a game on April 9th, and these two home games could ultimately decide who claims the sixth seed and who is forced into the unpredictable Play-In Tournament. The race for the sixth seed is very tight, and seeds five through nine are separated by only 2.5 games”…
For Miami, these games represent more than just another regular-season test. They are an opportunity to control their own destiny. Winning both contests would not only close the gap but could also swing momentum, confidence, and psychological leverage in Miami’s favor heading into the season’s final stretch…”
“Conversely, dropping those games would make the path to sixth significantly steeper. It could force the Heat into scoreboard-watching mode while relying on other teams to slip up, never an ideal position this late in the year.”
How Miami Can Bounce Back
…”Despite the loss to Orlando, Miami still has plenty working in its favor. The team has shown resilience all season, including multiple stretches where it has strung together key wins at critical moments.
To rebound effectively, the Heat will need to:
For the Heat, the message is clear: bounce back quickly, or risk letting the season’s ultimate goal slip out of reach.”
Yes, I pointed out that the Toronto games might decide if we’re in play-in or playoffs.
heat hierarchy for hfl bam ware wiggy jaime norm pelle dav herro
doris burke ruins broadcasts stfu
sga 3 for 17 and okc still up by 15 vs minn 6 mins left wow thats a well rounded team
Obviously…Magic are a horrible matchup for Heat…even with the other Wagner out. Tough schedule ahead for sure. Fingers crossed.
(Repost) Or is it possible that after 7 in a row, the odds catch up with you and you experience a letdown game? Or, after those 7 in a row, did they get cocky? Could be either or neither or both.
The 11 game period I am assessing concludes with the 2 Cleveland games. So far, Heat has done fine at 4-1. If they go 3-3 in the next 6, that would be pretty good and overall 7-4. Can they do better? Or worse? These games will tell a lot.
You cant win it all, and after 7 straight win there will be loses. I was hoping for another one, because it was important… Well, it happens.
Pelle might be the most important player of this team. I noticed if he is good, the team is good too.
13 points in the 4Q. He responded really well after Bane started the game with extremely physical play. 35 min and +6 in a 4 point loss. Jaquez’s play really stood out too, he was team high +11
Plus minus is a tricky stat. Sometimes it can be indicative of a player’s performance, and sometimes it’s deceptive. I’d say it’s pretty valid in this case, but if a player comes into a game, scores zero points, no assists or rebounds, and his team outscores the opponent by 15, that player would be a +15. It can work the opposite way too. A player who hustles all game, scores and defends, could be a -5 for the game.
Plus-minus is the basis for on/off, net rating and the advanced stats. Coaches and players quote plus-minus frequently postgame. Looking at this game Bam was -2 (an uncommon game where the Heat lost in the minutes he was on the court) and Ware was -17, which is a pattern that has been taking place all season.
This season the Heat are beating opponents by 3.7 points per 100 possessions, and until recently Ware was the only rotation player where the Heat were in the negative/losing when he was playing. He is now a slight positive (+0.2) after a lot of minutes with Bam.
One of the Heat’s problems is when Bam is not in the game the defense starts giving up points. That is reflected in Ware’s on/off numbers – when Ware is off the court the defense is elite (111, #3 in the league) but when he’s on it’s average (114.7, #15) – and in the -17 in the game last night. Not to single out Ware, his minutes was not the only issue vs ORL but definitely a significant issue. While the Heat won by 6 in Larsson’s minutes and 11 in Jaquez’ minutes and that was reflective of their impact on the game and on defense in the second half.
I know. I know coaches and players quote it. And I know it sometimes can be a deceptive stat.
It’s not deceptive though, it’s just an objective number that describes what took place on the court, whether in one game or over a season. Like any individual stat it has to be put in context since it’s a team game but it has a lot of use, even more than the counting stats P/R/A which often don’t drive winning.
The Heat lost the game -4 last night but on the season are +259 (#9 in the league).
Bam is +348 on the season, the highest plus minus on the team. Davion Mitchell is next, +269. Ware is -22 on the season, second worst followed by Dru Smith at -28.
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/traditional?PerMode=Totals&StarterBench=&TeamID=1610612748&dir=A&sort=PLUS_MINUS
The difference though between Ware and Dru Smith is that in Ware’s minutes as noted above the Heat’s defense falls to #15/league average (114.7) while in Dru Smith’s minutes it stays elite/actually improves slightly (111.6)
I will watch for a specific game where I can show you that a player who didn’t do sht ends up with a plus and a player that had a great stat line/production ends up with a minus.
on a quick google, I came up with:
Yes, NBA plus-minus can be highly deceptive, particularly in single-game samples, as it measures team success rather than individual performance
and:
There is so much context that goes into plus-minus that ends up being lost that I think it is one of the least useful stats that people pay attention to.
and:
Why Plus/Minus is the Worst Stat in Sports
So, once again, there are opinions that differ from yours. You like the stat? Good for you. Many see it differently.
In recent postgame interviews I’ve heard Spo and Bam talk about plus-minus, and winning minutes while on the court which is the same concept. In a sense it’s the only stat that matters.
Plus minus is literally just point differential. If you look at teams by point differential it is a list of the best teams in the league at the top https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/average-scoring-margin
Of course when looking at individual plus minus it is context dependent – who are the other 9 players on the court – and it can vary widely game by game. But that doesn’t mean it’s deceptive. It’s very useful to tell the story of what happened whether in one game or an entire season
i think plus minus at the end of the year is a pretty good indicator.for one game no
dude whats the issue with ware.he has to kind of play off bam on offense.u give ware the heat w.o bam youll see a diff player offensively i believe.pretty much a 3 pt shooter cause bams down low alot.when bam ware on ct together that is best for us.unfort with no backup pf or c kind of gotta stagger their minutes
The issue right now/for this season is he is the Heat’s only backup big and he is not good on defense – when he plays the team’s defense falls off a cliff. The Heat can win games with a top 5 defense but they can’t win with an average defense, which is what they are in Ware’s minutes (#15).
Defense shows up in on off numbers and in individual game plus minus. Note that that’s not to blame him but that is why Spo was not playing him consistent minutes on his own, and many of his recent minutes are occuring in the double big lineup with Bam.
can u give me your impression of mr jovic.can gobert guard guys on the perimeter.very tall guys tend to not be overly quick.he does give up to many baskets but he also does lots good things shoot 3s block shots.7 ft tall with long arms.grabs lots boards. cant teach height .w/o him the heat are to small at every position spos small ball he loves it little eric .spobot played the worse player ive seen play for the heat tons of minutes.and games finally realized way to late this jovic guy cant play.spos use of personnel is not a strength of his id rather have wiggy at the 3 and bam at the 4 and ware as the center.wiggy vs legit pfs gets overpowered.wiggys body is for sf.bams body is a 4.wares height is a 5.
Yes Gobert can guard on the perimeter. Gobert and Ware’s games are really nothing alike. Gobert has a dramatic effect on the opponent’s offense that started right away when he was a rookie. Utah’s defense allowed 12 fewer points per 100 with Gobert on the court his rookie year and 7 fewer in his 2nd year. He showed his defensive ability immediately, even when he was still really lacking in physical strength as a young player.
The same pattern happened with Bam, in his first two years the Heat defense was -2 points better with him on the court.
With Ware the Heat defense was +0.1 worse with him on the court his rookie year and +3.7 points worse right now in his 2nd year
Ware has the same problem as other centers, which is a limited mobility. When the opposing team bring him to perimeter, its a 3p, or a guard pass him. And there is no rim protection and rebounding from him. Combination with Bam fix this issue, and even combination with Jovic could help.
Having Ware as a lone big playing is not a good thing. But playing with another mobile big could be a great thing.
Until and unless Jovic demonstrates he is reliable and effective, he shouldn’t be part of the discussion. This final stretch is no time to put him in to see if he can get his s**t together. His self-confidence is in the toilet. That needs to be fixed this summer, before his $62.4M extension kicks in.
he does things in serbia he cant do here.pat didnt figure that out.im not 100% giving up 99%
no rebounding or rim pro from ware what games are u watching .his onball d aint to good.but u come at ware hes gonna make it difficult to score at rim.hes a good rebounder gets moved some times needs to grow a pair way to soft
With Ware on the court – Miami’s
–BLK% is +2.3
–DREB% is -4.9
–opponent ORtg (or Miami DRtg) is +3.7, where + is bad
https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIA/2026/on-off/
If Ware is a good rebounder why are the Heat – a top ten DREB% team – almost 5% worse in DREB% with him on the court (72.2% on vs 77.1% off). The drop to 72.2% with him on is the equivalent of the #25 DREB% team in the league.
And if he is a good rim protector why do opponents score 3.7 points more every 100 possessions when he is playing, which turns the Heat’s #4 defense into the #15 defense in his minutes?
Here’s yet another opinion from a neutral source:
Yes, Ware is an elite rebounder, particularly in his second season, showing elite per-minute rebounding, averaging 10.6 rebounds in only 37 games, with standout performances exceeding 15+ boards. He is known for high-volume offensive rebounding and significant total rebound numbers (top 10 in 2025/2026), often leading games with efficient, high-motor rebounding
And, from our very own hhh December 21, there is this with an honest comment about his need to improve as well:
Through two months, Ware is second among the 192 players who have logged at least 500 minutes in total rebound percentage (22.0 percent). He trails only Andre Drummond, who’s grabbing 23.5 percent of available rebounds. Additionally, he’s T-3 in defensive rebound percentage (29.6), No. 6 in offensive rebound percentage and No. 2 in rebounds per 75 possessions (14.8).
At times over his first two seasons, Ware struggled with consistently boxing out opponents. He’s also struggled not only with reacting to the rock off the rim, but grabbing it with two hands.
Is Ware perfect? No. Is he a good rebounder? Yes. Is he a deterrent when guarding the rim? Sometimes yes and sometimes no.
The problem with citing those stats is they are all individual totals or percentages. To use one example Ware has the same individual BLK% as Rudy Gobert and a higher DREB% but that doesn’t mean Ware has a similar effect on defense or rebounding as Gobert.
Miami with Ware on
BLK% +2.3
DREB% -4.9
Opponent Ortg +3.7 (Miami is the #15 defense in Ware’s minutes)
Minnesota with Gobert on
BLK% +1.5
DREB% +2.8
Opponent Ortg -8.7 (MIN is the #3 defense in Gobert’s minutes)
I hope you are in sales and marketing, since you don’t take no for an answer and you have a retort for every counter thrown your way. This is a blog of opinions. We are not bound to agree with you. Some people see things differently than you do. Doesn’t make 1 side right and the other side wrong. I try to respect other’s opinions, but it’s a 2 way street. Maybe I’ve missed it, but I can’t recall any time that you said something like ‘I see things differently, but understand your point of view’.
This is just a conversation that started when you made the claim that plus-minus is a deceptive stat and I disagreed. I tried to explain why it’s useful and why NBA teams talk about it postgame. And it’s also a larger conversation about how individual counting stats are less important (esp. on defense) than plus-minus and on/off numbers.
And continuing to use Ware’s example, it’s about how Ware having a higher DREB% than Bam and Gobert does not mean he is an elite rebounder/the best rebounder of that group. Which is an opinion that has been talked about on here – the idea that Ware is Miami’s best rebounder and rim protector – that doesn’t at all match what’s happening on the court.
I never said it wasn’t useful. I actually think it is, just not always. There are times it is deceptive.
Setting aside rim protection, Bam averages 9.7 rpg. Ware averages 9.4 rpg. Bam averages 33% more minutes per game than Ware (23 mpg x 1.33 = 31 rounded up). Based on those numbers, Ware would certainly have more rpg if he played the same minutes as Bam. That’s not to say he is as effective as Bam, and Bam rotates out to the perimeter on a regular basis.
Ware has more rebounds (both OREB and DREB) per 36 min and per 100 than Bam, but team rebounding is the key
Some examples of this –
2016-17 Westbrook led OKC in rpg and individual DREB% at 28.8%, while Steven Adams was 8th on the team at 15.4%. But OKC had a higher DREB% overall with Adams playing (79.8%) than with Westbrook (79.5%)
2017-18 Whiteside led Miami in REB per 36 minutes at 16 while Bam had 10. But the Heat rebounded better in Bam’s minutes (81.7%) than in Whiteside’s minutes (79%)
This year the Heat rebound 78.1% of opponent’s missed shots with Bam vs 72.2% with Ware. (The Heat rebound better on defense even with Dru Smith on the court 73% than with Ware). That difference in DREB% translates to 15.7 opponent 2nd chance points per 100 with Ware vs 12.1 with Bam.
Ware is only in his 2nd year but Bam in his rookie year was impacting team rebounding more than Whiteside, who had just led the entire NBA in rebounding the year before. The DREB% falloff from Bam to Ware is one of the Heat’s bigger challenges this year, they really struggle to control the ball and end the opponent’s possessions when Bam is not on the court. On defense they rebound just 70.8% with Bam off the court which would be 29th, better than only Washington.
You can spout and quote a million different stats. None of them takes away from the simple fact that Ware is a solid rebounder who likely will only continue to improve. As far as I’m concerned, he is one of the cornerstones of the team. You can try and try and try to feed your well researched data to whoever you like, but some of us have been watching this game for a very very long time and are reasonably able to reach valid conclusions about players via experience and the expertise of people associated with the game. You supplied data. I responded with quotes from objective sources. You seem to only accept the opinion of one person – yourself. I will refrain from responding to your future comments and would appreciate you doing the same.
When he is under the rim, he is a good rebounder. When he is not, he isnt.
Al I m saying is, that when he plays with another big, he is more often at the right place at the right time, which benefits his game. When he is alone, there is a simple switch needed to pull him to perimeter. Watch games carefully, it is happening all the time.
dude we know u love bam and not so much ware…if bam is your best player thats a major problem.bam just doesnt have the mentality to be great.hes got all the physical tools but not the want to be great.all the great ones have that killer mentality bam doesnt have that.quitter had it big time.d wade loved to put the dagger thru your heart.bam aint built like that.
He tries to support every position he has with a myriad of stats. Stats are an important part of the game, no doubt. But they don’t tell you everything about a player or a team. The old sports saying is that the games aren’t played on paper.
Why the Heat lost
Miami has had difficulty matching up in the frontcourt with Orlando for years. This is reflected by Orlando’s superior rebounding, interior scoring and interior defense.
Nobody said earning a playoff spot would be easy. Next up:
rebounds a little deceiving at times when the ball in the first half is going in at about a 65% rate not many rebounds for heaters..thought the defense was dog sht especially in first half.when herro is off with his shooting u have about as bad nba playeru can have on that particular evening why the f on ct in the 4th spo scratcher.powell was very good closing time with jjj pelle and always twin towers gotta close with that group..spo with an off night with his use of personnel
Even a very good player like Powell takes a little time to get back into the flow.
Orlando’s size and defense took Miami out of its running game, as it has done all season long. The Heat is not the best half-court team in the NBA and does not match up well against the Magic. That is the main reason it went 0-5 vs Orlando this season. If Miami had won just a single one of those games, it would be sitting in 5th place today, not Orlando.
Miami was settling for too many 3’s and forcing up too many shots. When the offense is not clicking it impacts the defense. You can’t give up 71 points in first half and expect to win. Miami was outscored by 16 (71-55) in first half and outscored the Magic by 12 (62-50) in second half.
Herro continues to have a habit of choking in big games. He did it again yesterday. He shot 28.6% FG and 26.0% from 3.
Bam now feels he has to put the team on his back and force up shots when he is not open/the best option. He now thinks he must win games with his 3 point shooting, although he is only a 32.3% 3 point shooter. Yesterday he shot 40% FG and 28.6% 3 point. It’s one thing to shoot 3’s when you are wide open. Its an entirely different thing when you are camped out on the perimeter looking for the ball to shoot 3’s and leaving the paint wide open for your opponents to control defensively and rebounding. It makes no sense, especially when he is the only big on the court for Miami.
Ware, on the other hand, is shooting 3’s at a 38.6 clip and may be passing up too many open 3’s. He is still a work in progress on the defensive end. He’s hot and cold. He gives up too many points in the paint. Yesterday was a good example of Miami’s weakness in the front court. A good defensive big could have made a difference in the paint.
Overall, I give Miami credit for its persistence and never giving up. It made the game close at the end and was a late 5 second call away from having a shot at winning.
I would start Powell and sub Herro the next game and let them compete for the starting SG position, game by game, the rest of the way. It will either:
a) bring out the best in both of them
b) bring out the worst in both of them or
c) clarify which of the two should be given an extension.
I don’t think Miami can afford to keep them both next season, while still upgrading the team overall.
Miami is now tied with Toronto for 6th place and only a game and a half up on Charlotte and the surging Hawks. It will be a dog fight for the two playoff spots the rest of the way. It won’t be easy, especially since the Heat’s remaining schedule is the 11th most difficult in the NBA. Of the six competing teams, only Atlanta’s schedule is more difficult.
It is what it is. The last few weeks should still be competitive and exciting. The test will be if the Heat can pull it all together (and keep it all together). I haven’t given up on the team finishing in the 5th or 6th spot, although I know it won’t be easy. For that to happen, adjustments will need to be made. What all of them are is yet to be determined. Hopefully, Wiggins will return soon. There is a glaring weakness both offensively and defensively with him out.
GO HEAT!!!
no franz bitaze isaac they were not bigger than us.bam kinda half assed in last night at times
I beg to differ with you. Orlando’s lineup featured three players at 6’8″ or taller in the starting five allowing them to play a big, physical game. Orlando’s size was cited as a major factor in their win.
Make that Wendell Carter, 6’10” 270lbs starting and 6’11” 245 lb Mo Wagner off the bench. They had 3 rotation players, 6’10” Franz Wagner, 6’10” Jonathon Isaac and 6’11” Goga Bitadze out.
i mean vlad dwarfs them all but dumbot doesnt like large men.vlad was awesome in college sort of like edey was to lesser extent but very good.give the giant some pt against bigger teams what else can i say its so obvious when orl is whole they just over power us
I don’t disagree with you about Goldin. Spo obviously feels he isn’t ready.
With as cold as the team was in the first half, why didn’t Spo give Fontecchio a few minutes to see if he could get hot from 3?
did u see goldin at all in college at fau or michigan .he was a heckuva player.meanwhile jovic where the f did he come from no track record.because your good in serbia dont mean sht here.heat fo fkd that up .
Jovic looked good playing next to Jokic last summer. Who wouldn’t? That is probably reason Riley jumped on the opportunity to sign him up for 4 years before someone “ripped him off.”
your playing european ball city slicker ball totally diff game some can thrive some cant jovics doesnt mesh pelles does.in europe id say jovic could be better than pelle just not here
not true.
vald 7 ware 7 bam 6 9 jovic 610 lol
The question lingers, were the Heat really playing much better or were the wins mostly against tankers and a couple teams that have match-up problems with us?
I think it’s a little of both- some of those same tankers gave other supposedly good teams a much tougher time. But, assuming we can play with the league’s elite is still a stretch. I do think that Pelle and Kaspar blossoming a little has raised our bar some. Don’t forget we were missing Wiggins and he is our third best player.
But, we will be challenged by these next nine games and will learn a lot about where we stand. Last night was a reminder that we still have some more improving to do, but how much? We will just have to stay tuned and find out.
“The question lingers, were the Heat really playing much better or were the wins mostly against tankers and a couple teams that have match-up problems with us?“
I tend to go with this line of thinking more than most. The team is a average team punching above its weight nothing more nothing less and once the team is in the playoffs that’s where it shows which is why the last two seasons Mia is getting blown out and done in 4/5 games…..this year will be no different. All the above teams have something Mia doesn’t a ss all nba perennial all star det Cade Bos brown and by time the playoffs roll around a healthier Tatum cle Mitchell harden Mobley ny Brunson kat. I laughed at comments on here talking about nobody wanna see Mia come playoff time. Thinking to myself not this nonsense again
Where have you been? I didn’t see you commenting at all while they were on a winning streak. First time they lose, voila! Is that how its going to be the rest of the way? Keep mum if they win and bitch if they lose?
If Miami has everyone healthy and is functioning on all cylinders, I think they can compete in the playoffs with Cleveland and has a fair chance against Detroit, I do see them having a problem with New York and an even bigger one with Boston. Can’t figure out Boston’s success, especially with all the “non-athletic” players (wink wink) they have.
There are people which shows up when things are going well… well known phenomena…. but those who shows up when something goes wrong are a new kind of animal.. not rare at all lately, unfortunately.
Again I don’t have to explain myself I literally commented when they beat mil how yall acting like pelle was a ss after the game.
Commented that the only people mad after bams 83 pt game were
Mj fans
Kobe fans
Get off my lawn old school players
Casuals
Etc etc
Lmao yall want people to celebrate and be delusional like yall every time the win its not gonna happen my stance is and has always been this team is an avg team and whether they make the playoffs as a 5 6 7 or 8 seed will be out in 4/5 games because they aren’t talented enough/don’t have ss all nba perennial allstar players to get it done in the playoffs.
And like 30 stated easy schedule intentionally tanking teams/stealth tanking teams (mil) missing players and teams forgetting how to play basketball when they play Mia (det,hou)
all the other teams play tanking teams not just the heat.dude your a hater not a heater.theres lots of good players on our team with better use of the players and an addition or two could be champ contender.
Balance in life is the key, as Aristotle taught us. Nobody likes a naive Pollyanna, but neither do we like to be around people who are constantly complaining and finding fault.
~ Mark Skousen ~
I agree. There are times when Miami looks like it can compete with the NBA’s second tier / playoff teams. There are times when the Heat looks like nothing more than a play-in team. It is not close to being able to compete with legitimate top tier teams. I don’t think it has a chance to elevate beyond thei current level until this summer, when several player decisions need to be made.
The only players I think Miami needs to keep are Bam, Ware, Larsson, Jaquez, Jakucionis and Smith (all but Bam are on either on affordable rookie or veteran’s minimum contracts). The rest of the players are all expendable if better options are available. Powell and Wiggins may be good options if they perform well to close out the season and play-ins/ playoffs and are willing to accept team friendly extensions.
If the SG issue is resolved, at minimum, I would try to upgrade 3 other positions this summer… PG, SF and back-up PF/C. Hopefully, the PG or SF would be an elite player.
bam ware jaime wiggy need 35 mins in playoff time.4 best players.make sure that happens spobot
I am glad these nine games are coming. I want to see how we hold up. If we do well, then some of us will realize they under-judged us. But, if we struggle, the opposite will be true and we never had quite enough. At least we will know the truth from this stretch. I think that is really an important part of the future, gaining a clearer picture of where we currently stand. But, there will be little room for excuses after these nine games either way. And I’m going to admit I’m not sure how it’s going to go down.
I agree 100%. Time for Miami to s**t or get off the pot.
Refs was ass and herro had no business closing, he was bad Tonight. Magic got our number, the past 2 or 3 seasons. Lastly herro and powell shouldn’t be starting together.
Disappointing result.,We came back on them finally but the hole we fell into was deep.,