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Miami Heat: 3 losing takeaways against the Atlanta Hawks

By Trey Flynn

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 30: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat talks with head coach Erik Spoelstra against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at American Airlines Arena on December 30, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 30: Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat talks with head coach Erik Spoelstra against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at American Airlines Arena on December 30, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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The Miami Heat are now 19-19 after losing 3 straight games to the Atlanta Hawks this season. And in this one, we saw Miami lose 106-82, in a very unsettling performance by most of this Heat squad.

Going into this Miami Heat vs. Atlanta Hawks game, the Heat had the 7th best defense in the league to Atlanta’s league-worst defense. Therefore, the outcome of this horrible game surprised all of South Florida.

I will try and keep this takeaway segment short and sweet, but essentially these were the 3 losing takeaways from this terrible performance against the Hawks 106-82.

And if you’re struggling with the math, that’s a 24 point loss, ouch.

1. Trae Young and Kevin Huerter were who we thought they were

If you read our preview of this Heat vs. Hawks game, you definitely saw our guess of who would stand out in this game, and it was the rookie backcourt of Atlanta, and we were unfortunately right.

Young and Huerter totaled for 29 points on 5-10 from downtown. And while Huerter was unquestionably more inconsistent than Young, his resiliency down-the-stretch was a defining factor for all Hawks’ players who all looked unstoppable, almost “Rocky” like.

As for Trae Young, he stays having his best performances against Miami, he’s got head coach Eric Spoelstra’s playbook in his locker somehow.

2. Dewayne Dedmon is better than Hassan Whiteside

Much like our previous point, we were unfortunately right again, and Dewayne Dedmon played a much better game than Hassan Whiteside.

In this performance, Dedmon put up 9 points and 11 rebounds, which doesn’t seem like much, but he held Whiteside to literally 2 points and 3 rebounds, one of the worst performances of his career.

And while Whiteside only played 21 minutes, he makes an insane amount of dough, so he needs to step up.

Is this Bam Adebayo’s chance to start? Unfortunately, probably not.

3. Even in a loss, Derrick Jones Jr. is obviously here to stay

The Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. is obviously legit and here to stay. DJJ went off in this game for 14 points and 3 steals, proving he’s a capable player in this league and also that he deserves minutes.

Plus, there’s this:

DJJ consistently changes the outcome of Heat games, and now it’s not just in transition, but he’s doing it all over the court in several facets.

Next Game:

The 19-19 Miami Heat are still looking to keep their 6th seed in the Eastern Conference, so their next game may be extremely important to pull out a win. The Heat are going home to South Florida to play one of the best teams in the league, the Denver Nuggets.

Tune in Tuesday at 7:30 PM Eastern for this primetime showdown.

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