The Miami Heat starters, sans Hassan Whiteside, struggled in a 101-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks Sunday.
A night after the Miami Heat had the whole starting lineup in place, the team was missing Hassan Whiteside in the second game of a back-to-back. Though the Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 101-92, the starters struggled.
Whiteside missed the game, with the team blaming a sore left ankle. Though Erik Spoelstra says the injury isn’t considered serious.
The Heat (3-3) trailed 51-43 at halftime, and both teams played their reserves for a majority of the second half (though the Hawks ‘ starting five started the third quarter), during which Miami outscored Atlanta (4-1) by 17 points to take the win.
James Ennis and Gerald Green each scored 19 points. For the Hawks, Mike Scott finished with 19 points.
Miami hosts the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Game Notes:
– Ennis’ 19 points comes at a key time for the second-year player. Ennis had struggled during summer league and most of the preseason, but Sunday night marked–by far–his best performance thus far. With the regular season just 10 days away, the Heat will have a tough decision to make for the 15th roster spot. It will likely come down to Ennis and stretch-4 Greg Whittington.
– Chris Andersen, who started in place of Whiteside, wasn’t nearly the defensive presence as Whiteside, or even what would be expected from Birdman. He was noticeably slow, which led to him being out of place against Atlanta’s fast-paced offensive attack. It’s being reported that Andersen is feeling under the weather, which could have been the reason for his struggles.
Suffice it to say "illness" doesn't begin to describe what Chris Andersen has dealt with the past few days.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) October 19, 2015
– Keith Benson had 12 points and seven rebounds. With Andersen and Amar’e Stoudemire being up there in age, he is a dark horse candidate for the 15th roster spot. However, his 3-f0r-10 from the field tonight isn’t a reassuring sign from a big man.
– Arguably Miami’s best three players–Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Goran Dragic–all had negative point differentials in the Heat’s win. That backcourt will have to get on the same page for the regular season.
– Green continues to impress. He quite clearly has the green light to shoot, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He figures to be a large contributor for Miami this season.