They may have started with a flesh slate Wednesday night, but the Miami Heat’s 116-97 loss to the Orlando Magic reflected many of the same issues we have seen over the last two seasons–both offensively and defensively.
It’s just one game over a long 82-game season, sure. It was an uninspiring effort from the Heat, especially from their two best players, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who scored a combined 12 points on 2-of-13 shooting in 26 minutes apiece.
Ironically enough, it came on the night when Heat president Pat Riley was commemorated with a court in his honor, as he enters his 30th year with the organization. He embedded a culture of grit and toughness that’s been the bedrock of this organization for three decades. That was nonexistent Wednesday.
After the game Wednesday, Miami’s team captain gave an honest assessment of the team’s performance, not mincing words.
“We played bad. It’s not really anything to that,” Adebayo said. “I mean, that’s, that’s as simple as I can make it. It’s embarrassing, especially on a night like this for the Godfather Riley. For us, it’s short term memory. I know it’s the beginning of the season, but we don’t want to create this as like a ‘getting used to’ thing. For us, it’s win or misery.”
https://t.co/XNt2x2XrOH pic.twitter.com/8VUeqlNJAN
— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) October 24, 2024
You can check out Dan’s full recap here, but the Heat shot 39.0 percent while being out-rebounded 16 throughout the duration of the game. Through the first three quarters, Miami was outscored by 12 (36-24) in the paint, 11 (20-9) in second-chance points and 18 (15-9) from beyond arc.
That’s not a winning formula for success in today’s NBA.
There were glimpses of good process for the team’s “new-look” offense with a modified shot diet. After all, they attempted all but five of their 82 of their shot attempts from the paint or 3-point range. Orlando, however, did an excellent job at shutting off the Heat’s water on dribble penetration and was incredibly disciplined with its rotations and screen navigation–making it very difficult for them to generate clean offense.
This was a good test for the Heat–and one they needed. Once early November arrives, the schedule gods aren’t doing them any favors, so perhaps this “embarrassing” performance is exactly what they need to begin the season.
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