Observations and different notes of curiosity from Saturday night time’s 129-100 loss to the Brooklyn Nets:
– For weeks, for the reason that All-Star break, the Heat have been skating by on their offense.
– But within the playoffs (or play-in) extra can be wanted on the opposite facet of the ball.
– Because in opposition to an opponent that strikes the ball, slow-footed shouldn’t be the perfect footing.
– So an expiration date on Kevin Love because the beginning energy ahead?
– Getting again to Caleb Martin?
– At occasions Saturday, the Heat protection was atrocious.
– With all of the Nets needing to do was transfer that ball.
– Yes, dimension helps in opposition to offensive rebounding.
– And that was a wrestle Saturday, too.
– But a transfer needs to be made with the protection.
– Saturday’s third quarter mentioned all of it.
– There was no there there.
– Two phrases not typically heard in regards to the Heat: defensively inept.
– Lately, the phrases have been onerous to keep away from.
– Even when masked by successful.
– It once more was the Heat opening with Bam Adebayo, Love, Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent.
– With the beginning, Adebayo tied Brian Grant for eleventh on the Heat all-time record.
– The recreation was the 750th within the common season of Butler’s profession.
– Haywood Highsmith and Max Strus had been the primary two off the Heat bench.
– That meant Love shifting to heart and no want for Omer Yurtseven.
– At this level, one has to marvel what’s subsequent for Yurtseven.
– Because it’s not as if he can repair the protection.
– Martin and Kyle Lowry adopted for the Heat.
– To make it 9 deep.
– Without Victor Oladipo.
– Whose defensive peskiness may need to be reconsidered.
– Lowry moved previous Michael Jordan and Marvin Williams for 99th place on the NBA all-time video games record and tied Byron Scott and Charles Barkley for 97th.
– Butler’s sixth free-throw try moved him previous Julius Erving for 84th on the NBA all-time record.
– Love’s first defensive rebound moved him previous Marcus Camby for thirty second on the NBA all-time record.
– Vincent’s first 3-pointer tied Keith Askins for nineteenth on the Heat all-time record.
– Lowry’s fourth help tied Muggsy Bogues for twenty fourth on the NBA all-time record.
– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who has spent offseasons learning with the Nova Southeastern teaching workers, watched the Sharks win the NCAA Division II whereas he was figuring out forward of Saturday’s recreation.
– “That’s incredible, really, to go undefeated and then winning the championship,” Spoelstra mentioned. “They were a lot of fun to watch. It’s hard not to like that style of play, how much they press and run and score a ton of points. But congratulations to all of them at Nova. That’s a year for the ages and something that they’ll take for the rest of their lives.”
– Spoelstra added, “It was really fun to even see those practices at the beginning before they even started training camp.”
– Even with having been to the play-in match final season with the Nets, Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn downplayed Saturday’s stakes.
– “Well, you see how this March Madness is and you’re one and you’re done,” Vaughn mentioned pregame. “And that’s part of it. I have not discussed any of the standings with this group. Really we have gone day to day and try to get a win.”
– Vaughn added. “I haven’t tried to complicate it more than that. Talked about the standings not at all.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com