Did victory over Kings exemplify no-excuses Miami Heat?
Q: That may have been the best win of the year. Incredible. Amazing. They did it with smoke and mirrors and with seven players. (Not counting Cole Swider or Alondes Williams.) – Rick.
A: First, incredible and amazing are apt descriptions when it comes to the performance, considering the injuries and absences. But definitely not smoke and mirrors. That sells the players short. In fact, one of the things I thought was most impressive was when a tied up ball forced the Heat to burn a fourth-quarter timeout, it therefore forced the players to find a way, on their own, to stem the Kings’ comeback, without coaching intervention. And they did. What Bam Adebayo did with his effort was not smoke and mirrors. What Kevin Love did in his brief minutes was not smoke and mirrors. What Jaime Jaquez Jr. did with the game in the balance was not smoke and mirrors. What Duncan Robinson did with his passing on a night his shot was off was not smoke and mirrors. What Delon Wright did in his first game with the Heat by getting the team settled when it had to be settled was not smoke and mirrors. And what Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith did with relentless hustle assuredly was not smoke and mirrors. No, not smoke and mirrors. Just straight fire.
Q: Ira, when are we going to accept that Tyler Herro is brittle? – Kevin.
A: Still not ready to go there, considering the randomness of the injuries, including last season’s dive for a loose ball in the playoff opener and the resulting broken hand. But in their totality, particularly in the playoffs, it also is a trend that is difficult to ignore. We’ll have to wait and see whether this is just a fleeting absence with the hyperextended knee. But what this team needs, as much as anything, is continuity, to see how to best mesh the skills of Tyler, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. It seems just when we’re ready to get an extended look, one of the three is lost. To what degree do the Heat have a big three (note the lower case)? We’re still waiting to find out. Thursday’s NBA Finals rematch against the Nuggets in Denver might be a good place to start, particularly in light of Herro missing that series, even when activated for the series finale.
Q: Get some rest guys (that are banged up) and let’s be ready to dominate the remainder of the season and kill the postseason – Price.
A: Which basically is the Heat’s approach during the regular season. While I thought the Heat would try to get either Tyler Herro or Terry Rozier on the court Monday against the Kings, the prudent approach is to get players fully healthy, thereby reducing the risk of further injury. Or . . . and this is what I am curious about, it could be a case of making sure more are available for the winnable game against the Trail Blazers in Portland on Tuesday night, with the Blazers even more injury depleted than the Heat. We shall see.
