Heat handles Wizards as NBA in-season tournament kicks off
The Heat’s court was bathed in ketchup red with a gray streak the width of the key running down the center from baseline to baseline. A gold trophy was painted at midcourt, representing what the league is calling the NBA Cup (at least until the naming rights are sold). Miami’s black jerseys had red piping and the words “Heat Culture” emblazoned on the front.
The building seemed to be dripping in red before it emptied in the fourth quarter of a 121-114 Wizards loss that wasn’t as close as the final margin indicated.
Kyle Kuzma (22 points) and Jordan Poole (19 points) carried the offensive load for the Wizards, but they didn’t get much help elsewhere. Deni Avdija finished with 14 points. The Wizards (1-4) were without Corey Kispert, who suffered a left ankle sprain Wednesday against the Hawks.
“We’ve got to change something, man,” Avdija said. “I don’t know what it is. But we’re definitely not going to keep playing like that because we’re playing good. Playing together, we’re playing good, and then something happens, and I don’t know what it is. But we’re going to figure it out.”
The Wizards welcomed back Daniel Gafford, who missed the past two games with a left ankle sprain. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said he showed enough in the past couple of practices that there was no need for any restrictions. Unseld put him right back in the starting lineup, and he played 20 minutes while dealing with foul trouble.
Gafford’s I’m-back moment came in the first quarter when he was defending Jimmy Butler one-on-one at the arc. Butler faked left and drove hard down the lane on the right with Gafford sliding on his left hip. As the six-time all-star went up for the dunk, Gafford met him at the rim, blocked the shot and left Butler splayed out on the floor.
Gafford finished with four points, five rebounds and two blocks.
“My ankle was good. I didn’t have any problems out of it,” Gafford said. “I felt normal out there. It felt natural. I work a lot behind the scenes when it comes to all of my injuries. So return to play is a little bit more easier for me at the end of the day.”
His block was the highlight of another lackluster defensive performance from the Wizards, who own the league’s worst scoring defense and continue to give up points in bunches after coming into the game allowing 126.3 per contest.
The teams were tied at 34 after a first quarter in which both were hot, with Miami shooting 66.7 percent and the Wizards at 76.5 percent, including 7 for 9 from three-point range. The difference was Miami (2-4) kept up the offensive onslaught while Washington made just one of its next 10 three-point attempts. The Wizards were down 60-54 at halftime and would find themselves in a 22-point hole in the third quarter, finishing the third down 101-81.
Unseld said the Heat changed things up at halftime and his team did not adjust. “They did mix some things up,” he said. “Showed us some zone, switches. I felt they got some decent looks when we turned it over. That kind of catapults them and gets them going. We just have to kind of find a way to weather the storm.”
The points came from everywhere for a Heat team that had just one win and ranked 26th in scoring before Friday’s game. Tyler Herro just missed a triple-double, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Butler added 20 points and seven rebounds, Bam Adebayo scored 18, and Duncan Robinson had 18 points off the bench.
The in-season tournament takes its cue from overseas soccer leagues. Each conference is broken into three groups of five teams. Every team plays one game against the others in its group, and the highest-finishing teams advance to the quarterfinals. The Wizards’ group includes the Heat, Hornets, Knicks and Bucks. Quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas before a championship game Dec. 9.
All games count toward the regular season schedule except the final. Players on the winning team receive $500,000 apiece, while those on the runner-up take home $200,000. Players who lose in the semifinals earn $100,000, and those who were eliminated in the quarterfinals receive $50,000.
If the Wizards have any hope of being around for the later stages, they are acutely aware that change is necessary.
“A lot of people forget we’re a new group, we’re a new team, we’ve got new management,” Avdija said. “Everybody needs to be on the same page for us to play better. But still there’s a lot of things that it’s not about the group. It’s about how can we play better? I think we’re all talented. We just need to bring it more.”
