The Miami Heat bounced back last night with a win, edging out the Washington Wizards 113-112.
The Miami Heat’s 2018-19 season opener didn’t exactly go as planned.
Between a still depleted roster, early foul trouble, and an out-of-bounds mishap, the team took an 104-101 loss to the Orlando Magic.
They didn’t have much time to reflect on it either, heading straight out of Florida to Washington D.C.
And perhaps it was for the best. Because instead of focusing in on what went wrong against the Magic, they just had to put what happened behind them, and concentrate on the task at hand: bounce back against the Washington Wizards.
Well guess what?
They did just that.
After what felt like the longest battle in history (complete with hands to the face and elbows to the neck), the Heat came out on top, 113-112.
It was tit-for-tat the entire way through, even bringing out the aggressor in John Wall, who got after Derrick Jones Jr. But in the end, after a missed fadeaway by Dwyane Wade, Kelly Olynyk put a nail in the Wizards’ coffin, earning Miami their first win of the year.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1053134290538651648
I’m that guy
It’s no secret that Josh Richardson wants to become that guy; in other words, the team’s go-to option.
It makes sense too. With this being Wade’s last year, Dragic hitting 32 and Dion Waiters continuing to be sidelined from injury, the Heat certainly need a guy like the fourth-year to step up.
Last night, the swingman finished with 28 points in 38 minutes, shooting 8-for-21 from the field and 5-of-11 from downtown. He also had four rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal to his name, showcasing hustle on both ends of the floor.
Do these numbers look familiar?
They should.
Because in Miami’s loss in Orlando, he totaled 21 points in 38 minutes (on 8-for-21 shooting), alongside five rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
Ah, consistency.
While it’s obviously early, and Richardson has plenty more to work on, fans should absolutely get used to him growing into one of the team’s most reliable players.
Next man up
Goran Dragic had a bad night.
But that’s okay.
Because the beauty of this roster is its next man up mentality.
While the veteran scored 26 points on Wednesday, he was only able to record eight on 3-for-18 shooting from the field, yesterday evening. Between bad looks and questionable calls, nothing was working for Dragic, who became visibly more and more frustrated, as the game developed.
He found a way to contribute nevertheless though, aiding with six rebounds and eight assists.
The rest was taken care of guys like Richardson and Rodney McGruder, who finished with 20 points in 34 minutes on 7-of-12 shooting, including going 3-for-7 from 3-point land and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished six assists.
Jones Jr. had himself a nice showing as well, with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting and five rebounds, in 23 minutes of play.
The Miami Heat will finally be making their home debut on Saturday, October 20, as they host the Charlotte Hornets at 8 PM ET.