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Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 140-117 victory over the Washington Wizards:
– A case could be made that nights such as these only add to the delusion.
– The delusion that the Heat can be capable of dominance.
– The delusion that a team in 10th place can be sharpening its game ahead of the postseason.
– The delusion that this in any way was some form of slump-buster.
– Such is a league where 20 of 30 teams make the postseason, where the opponent this night met its season-long mandate of assuring itself the league’s worst record.
– In the standings, a W for the Heat.
– And therefore Erik Spoelstra’s team assured of a winning record.
– But it didn’t matter.
– With the 4-0 series sweep only inflating the Heat record.
– Just as the 3-0 against the Nets did.
– Now if only the Heat could face the Wizards or the Nets in the play-in.
– Instead those two will be laughing all the way to the lottery.
– As the Heat instead face long odds after Sunday night’s regular-season finale against the seedings-hungry Hawks..
– To his credit, Spoelstra said there is no need to shy from the disappointment of how the regular season is ending.
– “This is the league,” he said. “You’re gonna deal with a lot of different emotions, and if you go through a stretch where you lose 10 of 13, I don’t want guys feeling excited and doing jumping jacks about where we are.”
– He added, “But you do wanna have intention, and after the frustration, anger, all of that, as competitors, then the next day we just focus on solutions.”
– For now, Spoelstra said the play-in can wait, as the regular season first concludes.
– “We’re not there yet,” he said. “We’re still trying to get our house in order and take advantage of every single opportunity we have. And we’re at the 11th hour right now of the regular season.”
– Spoelstra stressed that the goal remains a defensive revival, the type of stock that simply can’t be taken against the Wizards.
– “Our focus, for sure, will be our defense and doing the things necessary on that end of the floor that produce results,” he said.
– To that end, Sunday will be a closer test of such resolve.
– With Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell and others out, the Heat opened with Kel’el Ware, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Kasparas Jakucionis and Simone Fontecchio.
– It was the Heat’s 26th lineup in their 81st game.
– It was the ninth start for Fontecchio, the 12th start for Jakucionis.
– The alignment moved Pelle Larsson to a reserve role for the first time in seven games.
– This time Adebayo was only double-teamed on his first touch.
– While also booed during his first Washington appearance since torching the Wizards for 83 points on March 10 at Kaseya Center.
– Unlike the previous meeting, when defenders came from all angles, Adebayo this time was able to quickly get beyond the six shots he was limited to in the teams’ previous meeting, with twice that total through three periods.
– The Wizards opened with the eclectic quintet of Anthony Gill, Bilal Coulibaly, Leaky Black, Bub Carrington and Julian Reese.
– With Washington up to 50 lineups this season.
– Jakucionis picked up his second foul less than three minutes in, with Jaime Jaquez Jr, replacing him.
– Larsson then followed.
– If Jaquez also plays in the final regular-season game, he will tie his single-season high of 75 appearances.
– When Wiggins scored his seventh point with 4:53 left in the opening period, it exceeded his season-low total of a night earlier in Toronto.
– Keshad Johnson followed as the Heat’s third reserve.
– From there, even Myron Gardner got minutes.
– That had every available player on a standard contract in action by the early stages of the second period.
– The only available players yet to see action at that stage were two-way players Vlad Goldin, Jahmir Young and Trevor Keels.
– The Heat have not lost a season series to the Wizards since 2014-15.
– The Wizards entered already assured of becoming the fifth team in league history to record at least three straight seasons with fewer than 20 wins, with all three of the previous four including a shortened season (due to lockout, pandemic).
– Jaquez’s fourth basket was the 1,000th of his career.
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– A case could be made that nights such as these only add to the delusion.
– The delusion that the Heat can be capable of dominance.
– The delusion that a team in 10th place can be sharpening its game ahead of the postseason.
– The delusion that this in any way was some form of slump-buster.
– Such is a league where 20 of 30 teams make the postseason, where the opponent this night met its season-long mandate of assuring itself the league’s worst record.
– In the standings, a W for the Heat.
– And therefore Erik Spoelstra’s team assured of a winning record.
– But it didn’t matter.
– With the 4-0 series sweep only inflating the Heat record.
– Just as the 3-0 against the Nets did.
– Now if only the Heat could face the Wizards or the Nets in the play-in.
– Instead those two will be laughing all the way to the lottery.
– As the Heat instead face long odds after Sunday night’s regular-season finale against the seedings-hungry Hawks..
– To his credit, Spoelstra said there is no need to shy from the disappointment of how the regular season is ending.
– “This is the league,” he said. “You’re gonna deal with a lot of different emotions, and if you go through a stretch where you lose 10 of 13, I don’t want guys feeling excited and doing jumping jacks about where we are.”
– He added, “But you do wanna have intention, and after the frustration, anger, all of that, as competitors, then the next day we just focus on solutions.”
– For now, Spoelstra said the play-in can wait, as the regular season first concludes.
– “We’re not there yet,” he said. “We’re still trying to get our house in order and take advantage of every single opportunity we have. And we’re at the 11th hour right now of the regular season.”
– Spoelstra stressed that the goal remains a defensive revival, the type of stock that simply can’t be taken against the Wizards.
– “Our focus, for sure, will be our defense and doing the things necessary on that end of the floor that produce results,” he said.
– To that end, Sunday will be a closer test of such resolve.
– With Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell and others out, the Heat opened with Kel’el Ware, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Kasparas Jakucionis and Simone Fontecchio.
– It was the Heat’s 26th lineup in their 81st game.
– It was the ninth start for Fontecchio, the 12th start for Jakucionis.
– The alignment moved Pelle Larsson to a reserve role for the first time in seven games.
– This time Adebayo was only double-teamed on his first touch.
– While also booed during his first Washington appearance since torching the Wizards for 83 points on March 10 at Kaseya Center.
– Unlike the previous meeting, when defenders came from all angles, Adebayo this time was able to quickly get beyond the six shots he was limited to in the teams’ previous meeting, with twice that total through three periods.
– The Wizards opened with the eclectic quintet of Anthony Gill, Bilal Coulibaly, Leaky Black, Bub Carrington and Julian Reese.
– With Washington up to 50 lineups this season.
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– Jakucionis picked up his second foul less than three minutes in, with Jaime Jaquez Jr, replacing him.
– Larsson then followed.
– If Jaquez also plays in the final regular-season game, he will tie his single-season high of 75 appearances.
– When Wiggins scored his seventh point with 4:53 left in the opening period, it exceeded his season-low total of a night earlier in Toronto.
– Keshad Johnson followed as the Heat’s third reserve.
– From there, even Myron Gardner got minutes.
– That had every available player on a standard contract in action by the early stages of the second period.
– The only available players yet to see action at that stage were two-way players Vlad Goldin, Jahmir Young and Trevor Keels.
– The Heat have not lost a season series to the Wizards since 2014-15.
– The Wizards entered already assured of becoming the fifth team in league history to record at least three straight seasons with fewer than 20 wins, with all three of the previous four including a shortened season (due to lockout, pandemic).
– Jaquez’s fourth basket was the 1,000th of his career.
Continue reading...
