Life in the NBA requires very short memories and last night’s victory over the New York Knicks must be quickly forgotten if the Miami Heat have any hope of knocking off the Washington Wizards on Monday.
The Heat (9-7) looked rusty for most of the Knicks game, shooting just 41 percent for the night and missing a number of open shots, including several at the rim. The good news is that New York was even worse (just 35 percent) and, despite Miami’s miscues, couldn’t sustain a comeback attempt. The highlight was the return of Dwyane Wade, perhaps symbolic of the Heat’s on-again/off-again performance.
Wade finished with seven turnovers and mistimed a number of passes to teammates but, down the stretch, bore the load himself and scored 27 points to lead the team. It was a sign of what Miami had been missing over the last seven games that Wade sat out; one hopes that his passing issues will work themselves out once a connection is reestablished.
But the Heat face a very difficult challenge in Washington (10-5) and it’s a team that has vastly improved since they last met, an opening night win for Miami. The Wizards were depleted, losing players to both injury and suspension and were far from full strength. The team that takes the floor tonight at the Verizon Center is intact and atop the Southeast Division.
The Wiz are led by John Wall, the speedy point guard that averages 18.1 points, 9.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game. He’s not a long-range threat but he can explode off screens and is a nightmare in the open floor. The Heat will have to protect the ball (namely Wade, Norris Cole and Miami’s reserve guards) or will be on the receiving end of fast-break dunks ignited by Wall’s opportunistic defense. Bradley Beal is back in the lineup after missing the start of the season due to a wrist injury. He provides the 3-point shooting for Washington and must be limited out on the perimeter.
The problem for Miami is that the Wizards also have a solid interior presence in Marcin Gortat and Nene Hilario. These two big men can hit mid-range shots, rebound in bunches and attack the low-post. They’ll have an advantage in size/strength over Chris Bosh and Shawne Williams and they could force Miami to rotate players defensively, thereby leaving Beal – as well as longtime nemesis Paul Pierce – wide-open. Pierce is not as productive as he one was but he’s adapted well in Washington, and is averaging 13.1 PPG in just over 27 minutes a game.
The Wizards’ bench is also deep and dangerous. Otto Porter, Kris Humphries, Andre Miller and Garrett Temple (who started in Beal’s place) are all solid contributors. And Drew Gooden, who has been out of the lineup in recent weeks, led Washington with 18 points against Miami when they met on October 29.
The Heat have been inconsistent this season, playing exceptionally well in some games and then dreadful in others; injuries and an ever-changing player rotation certainly hasn’t helped. But Miami must show that they can regularly play at a high level and the Wizards represent an ultimate challenge in that regard. The point guard rotation of Cole/Shabazz Napier must deal with the vastly different styles of Wall and Miller. Luol Deng must hound Pierce defensively (as he did Carmelo Anthony on Sunday) while still providing some needed scoring. And Josh McRoberts and James Ennis (who was spectacular in just 10 minutes of play, a surprising limit by coach Erik Spoelstra) must be productive off the bench.
The game starts at 7 p.m. Check back with All U Can Heat for a recap, post-game grades and analysis.