In this week’s Stretch 4, it’s time to look at the Miami Heat and their four-game home play stretch, during which they recorded two wins and two losses.
Christmas is one week away and if you’re wondering what to get me, hard cash is never a bad way to go. Or, you know, a trip to South Beach so I can actually watch the Miami Heat ball on their home court.
And speaking of AmericanAirlines arena, the Heat spent quite a bit of time there this past week. In fact, all four of their matchups took place at home, a nice change of pace from the last couple of weeks.
But, unfortunately, and for reasons truly beyond me, Miami continued to struggle at home.
They did win back-to-back contests, first going 112-101 against the Washington Wizards on Monday and then 95-89 versus the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
However, shortly after followed a tough-to-swallow 102-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and an ugly 105-95 defeat against the Boston Celtics just last night.
So what went right and what went wrong? Well, let’s check it out, as this week I break things down by game.
We should probably start with Goran Dragic’s 34 points against the Wizards.
You had to know this was coming.
As our very own Wes Goldberg pointed out, I am…
Allana Tachauer, Queen of Dragon 🐉 https://t.co/jCdqjbEROn
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) December 17, 2016
But seriously, what a night Dragic had. He finished with 34 points on 14-of-23 shooting, five rebounds, five assists and a steal in 30 minutes, to lead the team to victory.
Generally speaking, the entire team performed solidly last Monday.
The Heat’s other leading man, Hassan Whiteside, recorded 17 points, 16 rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 33 minutes. He was fully engaged on both ends of the court, out-working Washington’s Marcin Gortat.
And James Johnson had 14 points, while both Wayne Ellington and Tyler Johnson each totaled 11 points a pop.
Yes, Miami finally recorded their third home win of the 2016-17 season. While looking good doing it.
Then, there’s Whiteside’s 26 and 22 game versus the Pacers.
On Wednesday, it was Whiteside’s turn to show out.
Finishing the night with 26 points, 22 rebounds and 2 blocks in 33 minutes, the big man dominated the the floor.
Yes, even against Paul George.
So what made the difference? It sort of depends who you ask.
All the 27-year-old wants is touches.
"“Guys were finding me.”"
Seems simple enough.
But of course, nothing is ever as easy as it seems. Something that head coach Erik Spoelstra was able to provide a little more clarity on.
"“He was dialed in. When he’s playing at a high level, we’re a completely different basketball team.”"
What a difference from last week, when Spoelstra was benching Whiteside for not being tuned-in enough.
Whiteside may not be perfect, but it’s hard to argue against the fact that he’s surely earning his maximum contract right about now. He is certainly a bright side (pun-intended) of the Heat’s run so far this year.
Miami may have lost against the Clippers, but they still put up one heck of a fight.
Amidst having to endure a lot of bad calls.
To back up for a second though, this game came right on the tail of Whiteside’s supposedly misconstrued comments about DeAndre Jordan. To rehash, the Heat’s center wanted to make it clear he didn’t view his game to be anything like Jordan’s, because “he just catches lobs.”
Which without a doubt motivated Jordan to turn up the intensity, and Whiteside to match it.
While neither had out-of-this-world performances, Whiteside finished with 11 points, 17 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal in 30 minutes as compared to Jordan’s, 12, 19, 3 and 0 in 35.
The offensive spread was pretty good overall too.
Dragic held his own with 21 points, leaving Josh McRoberts, Justise Winslow, Ellington, and J. Johnson to combine for 51.
All of which almost led to Miami making a comeback from a 16-point deficit.
It should also be noted that Tyler Johnson, a guy who has been leading the league in fourth-quarter minutes, was out with an illness. Without a doubt leaving the Heat to re-think the strategies they had so far been relying on.
In other words, despite there being no real moral victories, this basically qualifies.
Which brings me to the mess that was Miami playing the Celtics.
I don’t know what happened to the Heat during the first half, but the hole they dug themselves into was ultimately impossible to crawl out of.
Between a plethora of turnovers, terrible shot selection, the inability to shoot free throws and more… this game is certainly one Heat Nation will want to forget. And fast.
Which probably mirrors the sentiment of the entire team, except for Dragic and Whiteside.
Miami’s guard finished with 31 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 36 minutes, Whiteside also putting up impressive numbers with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks in 37 minutes.
However, two players a team does not make.
(Or something like that.)
The gruesome twosome got little to no help on either end of the floor, allowing Boston to do things their way. All. Over. The. Place.
It’s true that the Heat did reel it in at the very end of the third quarter, finally making way for a battle in the fourth. But by then it was too late. Miami’s fate was essentially written in the stars as halftime rolled in.
Must Read: Is Miami Heat's James Johnson making a case for Sixth Man of the Year?
Happy Holidays to you all, and here’s to 2017 bringing Heat Nation more W’s.