November is flying by, bringing us to another round of The Stretch 4, a column that covers the best and worst the Miami Heat had to offer this past week.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving Heat Nation!
My favorite holiday is just around the corner, and as fortune would have it, things are finally looking up for the Miami Heat as well.
Now 4-8, the Heat are trying to move past their rough start and creep their way back into top of the Eastern Conference. After a six-game losing streak, Miami finally took a 96-73 win against the Milwaukee Bucks, alongside an 114-111 defeat versus the Washington Wizards.
The even better news? The Heat have an easier stretch of opponents coming up, including facing off against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. After all, we’re here to examine what worked (and didn’t) for the organization this past week.
First, there was the team’s first win in six games.
Like I already mentioned, Miami finally snapped their losing streak by beating Milwaukee. And the best part is the way in which it happened.
First, Goran Dragic returned after tweaking his ankle and being forced out for three games. The Dragon came right back into the starting lineup and finished the evening with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, putting in 35 minutes of play. To say he didn’t need time to regain his footing, would be an understatement.
Hassan Whiteside also continued to beast, recording yet another double-double with 12 points and 17 rebounds. Giannis Antetokounmpo may have gotten the best of Whiteside at first, but by the second half, the big man shook him off and went right back to work.
Then there was Josh Richardson who found himself in the starting lineup, just a few games after being sidelined by a MCL injury. And 32 minutes later, Soph2 had 18 points .
But perhaps the greatest statline of the night belonged to virtually everyone’s least favorite player, the one and only Dion Waiters. Yes, Mario Chalmers 2.0 made quite a name for himself on Thursday night when he totaled 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Boo-ya. In yo face.
Speaking of team effort, the Heat are proving themselves better than their record in many ways.
Just as Bucks head coach Jason Kidd said “ record doesn’t really show who they are,” the players themselves are echoing the same sentiments. Except they’re using their skill-sets, not their words.
While a 4-8 start to the season doesn’t necessarily scream top-level team, the Heat are much better than that. Especially when it comes to defense.
Currently, James Johnson is holding who he’s guarding to 27.7 percent shooting (the best among all NBA forwards), Waiters to 36.4 percent (second best among shooting guards) and Whiteside to 37.5 percent (second best among starting centers).
Go ahead, color yourself impressed.
Obviously, the team still needs time to better figure out it’s offensive strategy but trust me when I say no one is worried:
"“We still have a long ways to go. But guys are getting more comfortable, one, in their roles, two, where our strengths are. So that’s a start, knowing what our identity is…”"
The freaking Miami Heat, that’s what.
And now it’s time for a little self-promotion.
Last week, I had the honor of guest staring on the tenth episode of the Miami Heat Mind Podcast. And while I bring this up partially to toot my own horn, I also think the discussion we had further proved a point I have been making since the start of 2016-17: Heat Nation is incredibly divided this season.
Except, for the first time, I thoroughly enjoyed the difference in opinion among fans.
If you are a part of #HeatTwitter, you know how hard it is to bring up a topic everyone can agree on. We all have our own opinions. And aren’t the least bit shy about voicing them either.
But instead of starting Twitter beef or hitting the block button, on this Podcast we all heard each other out, sometimes merely agreeing to disagree.
Should Richardson have been thrown into the starting lineup right off of the bat? How does Luke Babbitt compare to Derrick Williams? Did team president Pat Riley do the right thing when it came to Dwyane Wade?
Yup, we touched upon all of that and more.
One thing we all did agree on though? The abundance of bad calls.
Which, naturally, include ghost calls as well.
While most fan bases tend to whine about bad or non-calls when their team isn’t doing so hot, there’s a clear problem happening when it comes to Miami. To the point that the organization finally spoke up about it themselves.
As of Thursday, despite the team leading the league in drives (38.7 per game), they were only getting fouls called a NBA low 8.5 percent.
Headshake.
Why this is happening is anyone’s guess, but here’s hoping something is actually done about it.
Must Read: Report: Chris Bosh still at odds with Miami Heat, eying NBA return
Until next Sunday, world.
"“We still have a long ways to go. But guys are getting more comfortable, one, in their roles, two, where our strengths are. So that’s a start, knowing what our identity is…”"
The freaking Miami Heat, that’s what.
"“We still have a long ways to go. But guys are getting more comfortable, one, in their roles, two, where our strengths are. So that’s a start, knowing what our identity is…”"
The freaking Miami Heat, that’s what.