After taking a Whiteside-less win over the Memphis Grizzlies, have the Miami Heat overcome their troubles beating sub-.500 teams?
The Miami Heat accomplished two things with Sunday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
First off, the Heat beat the Grizzlies at their own game, slowing the night’s pace to a crawl. Both teams played at the snail’s pace of 93 points per 100 possessions—a trademark of the Grizzlies’ who invoke hibernation on the court—but the Heat outwitted them.
Justise Winslow was a beast, notching 26 points while shooting 4-for-4 from deep. With six other players scoring in double digits, Miami owned the slower tempo, even if JaMychal Green’s 24-points wanted to write a different story.
But more importantly, Saturday night’s game achieved another Miami Heat victory over a sub .500 team.
Though Miami currently boasts a record of 14-10 against teams below .500, the team hasn’t always fared so well. The Heat have dropped three, count ‘em, three games to the lottery-bound Atlanta Hawks.
Adding insult to injury, the Heat have faltered against weaker teams in recent history. In 2017-18 Miami had the second most losses to sub .500 teams among squads in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, second only to the ever-puzzling Washington Wizards.
But in taking the win over the Grizzlies, Miami is finally exerting the full force of its depth against less fortunate teams. While some coaches would look for the magic lineup to defuse Memphis’ slow-paced game plan, head coach Erik Spoelstra leaned on the full weight on this Heat roster.
10 players earned minutes against Memphis. Discounting Whiteside, the injured Goran Dragic, and Udonis Haslem that left just one player, Wayne Ellington, without minutes.
The win was also potent in that it, at least temporarily, assuaged Spoelstra’s worries. Last Friday, the Miami Herald reported that Spoelstra and the Heat coaching staff were livid for an undisclosed reason. According to Tyler Johnson, those losses to teams beneath .500 were the problem.
"“The thing is, it’s not the top teams we worry about,” Johnson said. “It’s the below-.500 teams and nonplayoff teams we have an issue with. This team is really talented, and we get up for those games, for the Bostons, Milwaukees, Torontos, Denvers. It’s the below-.500 teams we struggle with. They’re still in the NBA, regardless of what their record is… You have to show them the same respect you show other people.”"
While Memphis isn’t the prototypical, lottery bound sub .500 team—after the Saturday loss Memphis was 19-23 and just three games out of the Western Conference’s eighth place—setting the precedent of playing well against the NBA’s lower rung of competition bodes well for the future.
With games against the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks to close out the month of January, Miami isn’t out of the fire yet. But continuing to take these teams for granted will be their undoing.