Erik Spoelstra mentioned the next about how his Miami Heat ought to react to their trying outmatched and overcome of their staggering playoff loss:
“Don’t listen to the noise,” he mentioned. “There’s no excuses, no blame, inside our room. This is what happens when you’re in great competition. They got the better of us. Now we look for answers.”
And so within the aftermath of Boston’s 25-point rout in Game 2 of …
Oh, wait. Spoelstra didn’t say that after Thursday’s loss to Boston. He mentioned it 9 years in the past after San Antonio beat the Heat by 36 factors in Game 3 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
You may keep in mind that 12 months when you’re a Heat fan. That group’s banner hangs from the sector’s rafters, homage to their NBA championship after beating San Antonio in an exciting seven-game collection.
What you don’t bear in mind is the gut-feel of gloom after that staggering loss to the Spurs nearly a decade in the past — simply as most lengthy playoff runs include a sort of miserable loss the Heat suffered Thursday night time at residence towards Boston.
This isn’t to say Spoelstra’s dilemma proper now could be demonstrably the identical as that championship 12 months. There’s no LeBron James or Dwyane Wade coming by way of the door, no Chris Bosh to make use of inside. This franchise has come again from losses like Thursday. This group hasn’t.
But if the folks and circumstances change however the storylines don’t within the playoffs: Blowout losses aren’t the top of nice groups. Are the Heat nice? That’s the bigger query, the one to be determined in Boston. Bad nights are a part of any lengthy journey, at the least if you understand how to deal with them.
Boston had a gut-check after being manhandled in Game 1. Now it’s the Heat’s flip. The Heat had three starters with six factors or much less in Game 2. That can’t occur once more. One of them was Bam Adebayo, whose regular-season averages of 19.1 factors and 10.1 rebounds have tumbled to 13.6 and seven.5 within the three collection of those playoffs. That’s acquired to vary.
Boston additionally made 9 of its first 11 pictures from three-point distance on Thursday night time and its first 20 free throws. That explains how Boston led by 25 factors at half, its greatest halftime lead in a street playoff sport in franchise historical past. That historical past entails 17 championship groups and begins with a shootaround at Plymouth Rock, too.
The query turns into if towards a troublesome and examined Boston group is the place the absence of level guard Kyle Lowry can’t be overcome. Gabe Vincent is taking part in nicely in his absence. That’s why many of the nationwide discuss targeted solely on Boston lacking Marcus Smart and Al Horford in Game 1.
But Lowry is a veteran and championship guard who can learn an evening or a matchup and know methods to transfer it in his favor. Vincent is in uncharted waters. There’s sometimes a value to pay for expertise.
Adebayo? That’s extra of a thriller, going this deep right into a playoffs with such a extreme drop-off in manufacturing. Yes, he’s a flexible defender, the uncommon form that may set a protection. His offense all the time has been a part of his sport, too.
“They hit us within the mouth,’ he mentioned of Game 2.
It was that sort of dangerous night time throughout South Florida. Bad? You know that scripted scene in 100 films the place nothing goes proper for the great guys, somebody says, “At least it can’t get any worse,” after which the automobile tire goes flat?
It was that sort of Thursday night time. The Florida Panthers made a Little League mistake that value them Game 2 towards Tampa Bay with 3.8 seconds left, 2-1.
The Heat had been blown out of their very own constructing in a way that made the fourth quarter appear like some summer time league sport. Oh, and P.J. Tucker left with a reported leg contusion. That’s one thing to observe.
“This solely counts as one sport,’ Spoelstra mentioned. “That’s what expertise gamers within the locker room, and employees, perceive. We don’t prefer it. They performed extraordinarily nicely.
“We’ve got two really good teams and we’ve just got to figure some things out.”
He’s been right here earlier than. That’s a part of the lore of nice groups. In the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, Heat president Pat Riley confirmed up at Spoelstra’s lodge suite in Indianapolis with a bottle of wine and requested how he might assist after a blowout loss put the Heat down 2-to-1. Riley started breaking down movie like the remainder of the employees.
“He went to work like all of us did,’ Spoelstra mentioned then.
Panic isn’t a plan. The Heat received’t panic. The query turns into how they reply.
“It can’t get much worse,’’ Jimmy Butler said. “They whipped us on our home court.”
We’ll see about that, simply as we are going to who the Heat are in Game 3 and what solutions they’ve.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com