Miami Heat Round Table: Digesting Heat vs Hornets

Welcome to the Miami Heat Round Table, where the All U Can Heat staff is getting together to recap, digest and comprehend a thrilling seven-game series between the Heat and Charlotte Hornets.

1. How have the Miami Heat grown after that seven-game series?

Cory Sanning (@sanningnba): It feels they really came together and figured out just who they are as a collective unit. This was the first time this group had ever faced this type of adversity while together, and amid all the chaos and talking heads, the Heat found a way, just like they always seem to do.

Allana Tachauer (@AllanaTachauer): I feel like they really got their confidence back. They started the first round off well, but then for whatever reason (bad plays, no-calls, etc.), totally fell apart. It took a minute for them to remember what got them to the playoffs in the first place, but they’re back baby! Game 7 was a prime example of what Miami Heat basketball is really about. Trust, high basketball IQ, determination and well…fun.

Kristopher Keaton (@kmkeaton2): I don’t know if it was them growing as a team, so much as I felt that Charlotte didn’t believe in themselves after losing Game 6. However, the Heat did what they were supposed to do, which was take advantage of having a Game 7 on their home court.

Malcolm Haynes (@realMGHaynes): First, untested players have grown individually. 1) Goran Dragic played like a deer in the headlights the first 5 games before a light went on in the 2nd half of game 6 and he became ‘the Dragon’; 2) Hassan Whiteside struggled at times before he also had a light turn on and he truly became ‘Agent Block’; 3) Rook 1 and 2 also struggled before seeming to find themselves as the series wore on. As a result, because players learned to trust themselves, the Heat collectively learned to trust each other and play to their identity. The final game 7 result speaks for itself.

Ehsan Kassim (@Ehsan_Kassim): Yes and no. The Miami Heat showed their weaknesses during the series, but also showed off their strengths. Game 7 was won during Game 6 in my opinion, but the Game 6 win on the road was a huge step for the Heat. They will need to win a game in Toronto in order to win this series, so that could pay dividends down the road.

Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg): This series could be this era’s 2012 playoff series between the Pacers and Heat, when Miami learned it could go small and evolved into the modern basketball machine it eventually became. Okay okay, the Heat won’t grow into an historic team from this first round series against the Hornets, but I think they all grew. Hassan Whiteside, in particular, had a tough assignment having to guard both Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker’s drives at virtually the same time. Erik Spoelstra also had to rely on Dwyane Wade and Joe Johnson creating offense from the post, something vaguely reminiscent of what LeBron James used to bring to the table. It may not be that Miami changed, but they grew in the way that they figured out what works.

Next: Best coaching move of the series