One down, one to go.
The Miami Heat became the third-ever No. 10 seed to win their opening play-in game, as they routed the Chicago Bulls Wednesday evening behind Tyler Herro’s remarkable 38-point performance inside United Center in front of 21,380 fans.
Miami, who was swept in the season series against Chicago, came out guns ablazin. It drained nine of their first 14 3-pointers and lived in the paint throughout the first half, building a 24-point lead that they were able to hold onto despite having a serious problem holding onto large leads this season.
Chicago was able to cut it to 13 in the fourth quarter, but Davion Mitchell’s block on Coby White followed by a pair of floaters from him and Herro gave Miami a 17-point lead with 7:37 remaining. While they did hit a wall offensively in the third quarter, Miami’s stifling point-of-attack defense for the full 48 cratered the Bulls’ chances to mount any sort of heroic comeback.
The Heat’s first-time All-Star was the man of the hour. I’ve said plenty about his growth–and ongoing warts–since he’s entered the NBA, but Herro was their hero Wednesday in every conceivable way. He finished with a game-high 38 points on 13-of-19 shooting, canning his first eight, with three triples, five rebounds, four assists and one steal. From start-to-finish, he was the best player on the floor–and Miami needed him to be in order for them to live to see another day.
Bam Adebayo tallied 15 points with 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. And while their star big man wasn’t incredibly efficient, he was so dominant in impacting the game in myriad ways. Andrew Wiggins posted 20 points and nine rebounds on 4-of-9 shooting from deep while Davion Mitchell had 15 points and nine assists on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting off the bench.
Miami shot 49.4 percent and 37.1 percent from 3-point range–though it was far more frenetic, yet comfortable in their own skin relative to their three regular season meetings against their East foe. Chicago was limited to just 39.8 percent shooting–including 27.0 percent from deep (10-37)–turning the rock over 17 times while finishing a minus-seven on the glass and a minus-16 in the paint. Winning those areas was crucial. Miami also outpaced the Bulls in transition for the first time this season, tallying 14 fastbreak points to the Bulls’ 13.
Wednesday’s win marks the third-straight year that the Heat has ended Chicago’s season in the play-in. Now, they will continue their annual tradition (I really don’t want to say that anymore) of playing the Atlanta Hawks with a chance to clinch the No. 8 seed Friday. Will history repeat itself again and, more importantly, can the Heat make history by being the first No. 10 seed to win two play-in games on the road?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
***
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!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel here!
Lottery or not the Lottery, that is the question.
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
At the points of the Atlantis swords.
To sleep, perchance to dream – ay, there’s the rub.
To rise up, as the phoenix reborn
And slay all who may obstruct our path
To glory!
(with deepest apologies to Mr W Shakespeare)
That was deep man, very deep.
😂😂
That 90 points was the Bulls lowest of the season?! Daang!
I know it’s a little premature to talk about trades, but what the hell, here goes. Just saw this trade scenario on Yardbarker.
ClutchPoints predicts the Heat to swap former No. 1 picks with the Pelicans by sending Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, two first-round picks, and a second-round pick to New Orleans for Williamson and potentially Herb Jones.
Although it’s a big gamble, it makes sense on so many levels. If Heat Culture can keep Zion healthy (on a diet) and focused, Miami could be a monster in the regular season and playoffs. Ware, Bam, Zion, Herro, Mitchell works for me. Zion turns 25 in July (the same age as Herro).
Btw, Herb Jones’s defensive ratings are very impressive. He is known for his high steal and block rates, ranking 17th in the NBA for total steals and blocks. In defensive isolation, he ranked 11th in the NBA in points allowed per possession. He was also in the 96th percentile for steal rate and the top 25 non-bigs for block rate. Jones’s ability to guard multiple positions, including all five, further solidifies his defensive value. He would be a perfect replacement for Highsmith.
That discussion is for another day. We can keep it on the back burner and double back to discuss it later. Meanwhile, let’s enjoy the game tomorrow and the playoff series with Cleveland (if it is in the cards). If the Heat and Magic are playing like they did this week, Cleveland and Boston just may be in for “knock down drag out” battles. But first, we need to get by Atlanta.
GO HEAT!!!
Zion terrifies me. His body can’t support his basketball habit and that Cuban food is not going to help. Keep him away from Calle Ocho and more on South Beach smoothies and salads scene. 😉
Hell no don’t want Zion
Me either, not only the weight problems I just don’t think his heart is in playing bball
I understand. Just threw it out there.
I’m kinda iffy on zion, but I admit his talent is tantalizing. Food here is awesome, but I feel miami is the only team that could get his weight down and maintain him to a strict diet. Riley will call him out and spo will hold him accountable to a specific weight program. I think zion might thrive here cuz heat culture will all hold him accountable, pelicans didn’t care what he ate, and didn’t hold him accountable. Spo helped dexter Pittman lose a tremendous amounts of weight, also all players here are in the peak shape of there lives. Also can’t sleep on herb, who would improve our D to top 5, he could start when zion is hurt, and could be 6th man when zion plays. Herb is a top tier all nba defender. Spo would get the most out of them out of any coach in the league.
That’s what I thought. I realize there is a big risk because of his weight problem injuries and especially if his heart isn’t in it. It was just a thought, nothing more.
Nope. Right now I’d rather have Wiggins than Zion. Maybe if you get rid of the picks because it gets us off of the Rozier contract, but we’ve taken punts on players with higher up-sides and lower risk before, and honestly I think sometimes people forget that Victor Oladipo was ever even in a Heat jersey in the first place.
That was fun. Herro was a beast. I want two picks, so I’m torn. I do not want to lose to Atlanta and Trae and I don’t want to lose out on the two picks. I guess what will be, will be.
Hero really play a very efficient and confident game. Let’s go Heat.
Great night from the Heat last night. Herro was excellent. Mitchell continues to impress. I would like to see Bam go back to the high-post and abandon that 3-point shot, but I realize this is the modern NBA and there is no going back.
Feels like the Heat are in a win/win situation here. If they beat ATL, they get a play off birth and we get a couple weeks of (hopefully) fun basketball. If they lose, they get the 10th pick in the draft, along with the Warriors pick (17 or 18?).
11th and 18th pick. I’d rather just get in the playoffs and get out of our obligation to OKC. It’s not a given that we’ll be a playoff team over the next few years. Seems we’ll be in that play-in range and not giving OKC the pick this year means the picks to OKC and CHA become unprotected. Unlikely that we’ll miss the playoffs AND move up in one of those draft lotteries just to lose the pick, but it wouldn’t feel good if that happened just to hold on to the 11th pick this year.
Now if we lost to Atlanta AND move up to a top-4 pick then I’d say it definitely would have been worth it! But that’s unlikely.
I strongly disagree. With the team that is in place now, plus the Warriors pick, plus a trade or 2, they should be better than this year and a 4-6 seed at worst. With all the problems and injuries, they are 1 win away from being in the playoffs. In a full season, that would likely give us (or OKC if we miss this year’s playoffs) a pick around #20 in the 2026 draft. Therefore, the 2026 pick being unprotected wouldn’t matter at all. Admittedly, the 2028 situation is harder to predict, but the reality is that the Heat don’t often miss the playoffs. Getting the #11 pick this year would be the highest pick we’ve had in 10 years, and one of the highest Heat picks ever. There are some very good players in that range this year.
Anyway, having said that, it’s great to see how well the team is playing now after such a tumultuous season. If they continue to win, I’ll be happy for them. But like 30man and others, I don’t believe they will win a championship this season or even get to the ecf.
The team has struggled all season to find their mojo. Now, after everything, it looks like they have gelled. Kind of like a Rubik’s Cube that Spo has obsessively been trying to figure out which has finally lined up perfectly and locked in (click!).
If you had told me a month ago that this team would be able to turn their season around in time for the playoffs, I would not have believed you. Now, it’s kind of hard not to be excited to see just what they are capable of doing.
As much as I would like to see Miami get that 2025 lottery pick (along with the GSW pick, I would like it even better if I know they have figured out how to play as a unit. If they are going to lose, I would prefer to see them go out on their shields while playing their best basketball and let the chips fall where they may.
GO HEAT!!!
Things, and our feelings, would have been so much different if we had this exact team on day 1 of the season. I would have ‘gotten my joy back’ a lot sooner.
Not gonna lie, I’m going to find joy if the Rockets take out the Warriors in round 1. Now if that happened and the Heat took out #1 again, joy wouldn’t even come close to describing that euphoria lol
I’m just glad that we can have hope again. For a while there (especially during the 10 game losing streak), it was pretty hard to see how the team was going to dig itself out of the deep hole it was in. I give Spo and the players all the credit. Even though they kept getting knocked down by everyone, including many of us, they kept getting back up. Unlike Jimmy (Show me the money first or I ain’t doing jack shit) Butler, they never gave up on the team, the city, the fans or each other. They are true warriors. As long as they give everything they have, win or lose, I’m good with that. Starting tomorrow, we will find out exactly what it is they have to give.
GO HEAT!!!
when dunc got hurt the great eight made that 6 game run .we became a diff team no terry pelle jjj dunc was a season changer.shorten the bench had to be done.duncs injury saved the season.as long as we defend we can play with anybody/dawg bam wigg slo mo ware hh all plus defenders.tys a plus offender
Stop. What changed the season was the addition of those 3 players. If we didn’t have those 3 players and Duncan was out for the season, we’d probably be in 12th place.
HFL is so crazy. Go look up the Heat’s defensive stats. Duncan’s defensive rating is ahead of Pelle, Burks and Slo Mo. If you use win share he is #5 on the team lol. My guy over there somehow assigns all 100 points scored by the other team to Duncan.
Like many other people these days, don’t confuse him with the facts. His mind is made up.
Robinson is a hired gun to use in certain situations. If he’s shooting blanks you pull him out immediately before he can do too much damage. If he is hot, you turn him loose until his luck runs cold.
Dude, focus on the positive once in a while, not the negative. Life is so much more enjoyable that way.
I’m just grateful that this group of guys has figured things (and each other) out and is having fun playing together as a team. Sometimes black clouds have silver linings. Maybe it was fate that sent the quitter away so the team could evolve into a new, unselfish phase. In the end, I think we got more than we lost because what we lost was a player who gave up on his team in exchange for three unselfish team players who are giving everything they have. I’ll take that deal any day.
Oh, the Heat will undoubtedly be better next year, but so will other teams. I think the Heat will undoubtedly be a Top 8 team in the East over the next few years. BUT, I don’t think it’s a lock that they will avoid future play-ins. Orlando is going to be better, and the Pistons and Pacers are good and improving teams. Don’t see Boston, New York, or Cleveland falling off. Maaayyybe Milwaukee if Giannis demands out. There’s a chance that something goes wrong and we end up losing an unprotected 2026 lottery pick. Plus, like you said, who knows what will happen in 2028?
I agree with you on this year’s pick being valuable if we don’t beat Atlanta. The Heat has done well with their first round picks over the past 10 years, and had eyes on the likes of Devin Booker and Donovan Mitchell as well (Justise Winslow was the lone exception, but he absolutely fit what the Heat needed, stock was high coming off of a college championship, and fell into the Heat’s lap so can’t blame them there).
I’m leaning towards believing that missing the playoffs AND moving up in the lottery NOT happening next year, but it would really suck if that did happen.
I think it would definitely be a win/ win situation here. If we lose we get 2 draft picks, and who knows what Riley would do with extra ammunition. If we win, we get into the playoffs, give cavs all they can handle, younger players get more experience, always gives players confidence that they don’t need Jimmy to make the playoffs. Lastly I would make some money cuz I can work a few more games at Kaseya center lol.
Amen! Win/Win! If they make a good showing, even in defeat, I’m sure there are A players in the NBA who would love to play with an unselfish group like that. The future is bright again!
You already know bro!
I disagree respectfully, abandoning the 3s and going back to the post. I support mixing it alll and it has several advantages doing so .
1. He will continue to improve his efficiency.
2. Increases his arsenal on offense. 3. Creates more issues for who ever is guiding him .
For example, One of Rozier’s deficiencies as a point guide is that his offense is limited to either 3 points shooting or drives to the rim. That makes his offense predictable and defendable. He has improved as a facilitator since coming to the Heat which is good as this opens his field of vision on the court. But still lacks mid Js.
So back to Bam, limiting his offense to only post up will limit his capabilities and he has shown us what he can do. So let him rather diversify his offense than limit it to post ups.
Proud of the Heat. They are playing at a higher level than earlier in the year. A team needs contributions from many, for points and defense. We added Andrew and Davion (occasionally Anderson too) to the mix of players putting in their part to the collective whole and it has raised us to a better team. We are probably good enough to beat Atlanta even though they are home.
But, that is where it ends. Have no illusions, we are playing now at about a 45-37 type level and will get destroyed by Cleveland , even though they are actually a better matchup for us than Boston or NY, who would beat us worse. It’s not smart to get into the playoffs and find out at the expense of losing the pick, but having said that, that is just what I am hoping for.
The future be damned, let’s knock Atlanta on their ass. But, if we have an off night shooting, which is the only way I can envision the Hawks winning, then there is the consolation prize of getting another pick. We have something worth building on now, with a long window and a bright future. That will be true either way after our next game.
‘It’s not smart to get into the playoffs and find out (sic) at the expense of losing the pick, but having said that, that is just what I am hoping for.’
I agree with you……IMHO seems pride has over taken conventional reasoning. Best opportunity the Heat has had in decades to get 2 quality
picks in the first round, but they rather chose to go macho. I am beginning to think that it is the players that are pushing for it. Good for their confidence if it is so.
See, it’s all about perspective: to my mind, “conventional reasoning” is “I want to see my team win right now,” and what’s taken over is some kind of armchair GM mentality where everyone wants to be Pat Riley, and not just Emilio Estevez from The Mighty Ducks 2. Like, I get tanking when you’ve got a legitimately bad team or are in a bad spot. But the last time we did that, all we got out of it was Michael Beasley.
Frankly, I’d always rather see my team try their hardest and get swept out of the first round, rather than intentionally miss the playoffs so that a pick can be conferred this year instead of next. The marginal gain in the long term is so small, I think we gain more from giving our younger players some playoff experience, anyway.
That said, we’re actually going to make the finals this year, so this discussion is academic.
Since this discussion is academic, and this board is full of them, I would like to add this piece to said academic discussion. This was Spo’s worst record in 10 years. The team lost like 20 games it had double-digit leads in, combined with this is a strong draft. I expect this team to be much better next year, hence a lower pick in a weaker draft. Therefore, I declare this year to be the one time I would make any sort of argument for a light tanking, like a super-duper light and fluffy tank.
Off to The Finals we go.
It makes sense and I get it. But I can’t imagine a Miami Heat team losing intentionally in the post season. Not happening.
But at the same time let’s not forget there’s Atlanta Hawks between us and the playoffs, and although I believe we are a better team, it’s not going to be an easy game.
Yeah, this team and organization will not tank. Now losing a single game where Trae gets hot because he’s open all the time is out of their control. 😉
Let’s look at it this way.. The pick would be a good consolation prize if we lose. But I believe these players have already got too much of the Heat Culture in themselves to even think about it. And I can’t imagine Spo or Riley or Arison wanting to miss the playoffs. But we can still lose. It’s an NBA team against us with some really good players.
We can definitely lose. I think it would take a bad shooting night, but it could happen. We are going for the win, all out, that we can be assured of. And we have a good chance of doing thusly.
Correct
If it happens, it happens. If they lose it won’t be because of their defense.
If the Heat plays defense as well as they did vs Chicago, the Hawks don’t stand a chance. Mitchell is going to eat Trae’s lunch. They don’t call him “Off Night” for nothing. Remember, even after all the turmoil, chaos and negativity, Miami still had the #9 defense in the NBA. I believe it is now in the top 5..
Agree. But as stated above, playing hard and losing is not tanking.
Sure, but what is the marginal value of a slightly higher draft pick in a better year? Miami’s highest draft pick in franchise history became Michael Beasley but we got more use out of Mario Chalmers, who dropped to the second round of that same draft. In a world where Giannis was picked #15, in a world where Jimmy Butler went 30th, in a world where Nikola Jokic fell to the second round, in a world where the single most important player on our team, Duncan Robinson, wasn’t even drafted… it feels like high picks might be a little over-valued compared to their actual return on investment.
I mean, I get it. It’s one of the few things that feel controllable from the outside, so it gets more attention. And certainly there are a lot of top-5 draft picks in the Hall of Fame. But picks are interesting because they are high-risk and high-reward, and I think people forget to account for their risk when assessing their value.
There is risk but the Heat have been on a heater with their draft picks. Right now they are in the zone. 🙂
Anywho, I hope you are able to catch The Finals. We’ll be ready.
Yes, great examples of great players who were initially overlooked. But look at the rosters of some of the highest seeds. Cleveland, Boston, OKC, Houston all got to where they are, at least in large part, via high draft picks.
Cleveland and Boston did it via draft picks and blockbuster trades.
Correct. But when you accumulate picks, it gives you the ability to make those trades.
Other than Boston, most of those teams (and their fans) went through several seasons of pure hell to accumulate those picks. Is that something you think Miami should do? Trade away all it’s assets, accumulate draft picks, bring in young players and trade for A-A+ players?
Sure, but in the last five years we’ve made it to the Finals as many times as all four of those teams, combined. So maybe that’s not *necessarily* the best recipe for success?
You have a point there. This season would have been an opportunity for Miami to go through a mini-tank if the team had continued playing as bad as they were. They snapped out of it and are back on track. No need to tear it all down and rebuild now, just re-tool/tweak it a bit.
Yes, but in many cases, you have to draft or trade for your star, and you need the assets (players plus picks) to do that, especially with the current cba. The winners in the last 10 years had Tatum/Brown, Jokic, splash brothers, Giannis, LeBron, Kawhi (we were close with Butler at his spectacular best). The Nuggets and Bucks hit the jackpot getting 2 great players at 15 and 41. So, yes, there is not necessarily just one way to succeed, but utilizing and getting lucky with draft picks is one way. As I’ve mentioned, I think we are one solid draft pick and/or a trade away from being contenders for years to come. The Ware pick was great, and I think the Warriors trade was excellent.
Nobody is suggesting the team intentionally lose. Playing hard and losing is not tanking. Pointing out the Beasley situation is fully valid. You can add to that list Winslow, Reeves, Burton and others. On the reverse side, there was Seikely, Caron, Rice, Wade, Smith and others. Does picking 11 guarantee you will get a B+ to A player? No. Does it give you a better chance of getting such a player than picking further down? Absolutely.
If they win or lose, let it be their destiny, not their choice. Is it really tanking when you put a team on the floor that sucks? A month ago that is where it looked like we were headed. Now, not so much.
For all the examples we have of stars being found in the mid-first, having two shots at it seems pretty advantageous.
No doubt about it. But even if we only get that 18-20 pick, there’s still some good players there, including your guy Clayton amongst others.
Bridge to nowhere ever heard of it?
EIGHTH SEED TO FINALS BABY. ITS A LOCK.
Lol another twist is it’s Heat vs Mavs in finals
10 seed vs 10 seed. Will be history making for the ages!
If the Mavs got their best player back, they could do it.
My nephew is a Magic fan. He wants to see a Miami Orlando ecf.
In addition to Miami getting by Atlanta, they would each need to go through two of the top 6 teams to get there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMRrNY0pxfM
Hey now, I didn’t say that was realistic.
More like two of the top 6 teams have to get through Miami.
After Atlanta, let’s start with the #1 team and go from there.
The defense was stellar all night, credit to spo, who always manages to have a top 10 D, no matter what players he has. Herro came out looking like batman and continues getting better and better. Wiggins played some great defense and played very well tonight. Mitchell played great as well and like his nickname gave coby white an “off night “. There was one play that encapsulates that, hounding white, for a whole possession, and ending it with a block shot on him.
I told my gal that if someone is new to watching NBA basketball and wants to understand what great defense is, just have them watch that Mitchell sequence. It was as good as it gets.
Definitely gotta watch that elite Defense. I think his scoring will be even better next season, with another year in the system, and more touches.
Mitchell was the best player in the Butler trade
It was a beauty to see.
Yes sir, I was pumped up after seeing that.
tradition stops this season. Heat will be top 4-6 by next year
Miami pretty much beat the Bulls across the board. double the assists, more steals and blocks, fewer fouls and turnovers, higher FG% & 3PT%.
Davion had 15 points on 5-5 FGs, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block. Wiggins had 20 points and 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Nice return for the low down dirty, sleazebag, back stabbing, sandbagging quitter. Not to mention we also received Slo-Mo and a 2025 first round pick.
Life is good!
yeah good thing this is a blowout and not a close one. Heat sucked at fts
Herro and quitter were both called out by Riley at the end of last season. Quitter was insulted, pouted, and made less effort. Herro got stronger, played better, became an All Star, won the 3 point contest, kept a positive attitude even though he’s in trade rumors every year, and played 77 games. What a difference! And he also scored an efficient 38 tonight.
Absolutely right. Butler expected Riley to kiss his ass and give him whatever he wanted, even if he wasn’t available 100% of the time (or 90%, or 80%) or giving 100% effort most of the time. That’s not the way it works. Golden State was willing to do it because they were desperate and wanted to keep Steph happy. If Butler had given the same effort as Herro, he would be looking at a 2 year contract extension from Miami right now.
I’ve come to the conclusion the romance with Miami was over for Butler a year ago and he felt the only way to get out of his contractual obligation was to become a cancer to the team and force Riley to trade him. It has become quite clear he could gaf what effect his behavior had on the team/his former teammates. He’s a very selfish person. What goes around comes around Jimmy. Karma is sharpening her nails and finishing her drink. She says she’ll be with you shortly.
I have to wonder if Chicago felt they were on a great run towards the end of the season, they recently beat us, and they were playing on their home court, and that they could just mail this win in. Didn’t work for the third straight year.
Teams take the Heat for granted at their own peril. There are no expectations for this year’s team. Therefore, they have nothing to lose. If they go up against Cleveland in the first round, the matchups will be interesting.
Ware – Allen
Bam – Mobley
Wiggins – Hunter
Herro – Mitchell
Mitchell – Garland
Bench: Robinson, Anderson, Highsmith, Burks, Jaquez
Bench: Jerome, Strus, Merrill, Okoro, Wade
I am all the way here for that Robinson/Strus match-up. How long were they competing for the same slot in the Heat rotation? Forget the rest of the series, I want to see Duncan and Max going at each other.
That would be one of several interesting matchups.
One more game before that. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
I bet they did. Must be pretty tough being eliminated three times by the same team.
I know. Those Chicago fans must hate us. However, they can feel better that they finally are putting together a fun team to watch.