The Miami Heat faced the Washington Wizards in what was to be Miami’s final game of 2019. They were a surefire pick against a ravaged Wizards team, right?
The Miami Heat had one heck of a weekend over the last few days. They were able to welcome in the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, which ultimately led to a tough in-conference home victory.
Immediately following that close game on Friday, the Miami Heat welcomed in the Philadelphia 76ers for what would be their third meeting of the season and surely another tough matchup. It turned out to be exactly that, but the Miami Heat were able to walk away with the victory.
To complete their three games in four nights collective, the Miami Heat would face the Washington Wizards on Monday night, which would also be the final Heat game of the 2019 calendar year. Considering the way that the Wizards have played this year, the amount of talent that they were without as a whole already, and to add in the fact that Bradley Beal wouldn’t be suiting up, this was a surefire win for the Miami Heat, right? Wrong, and the Wizards came out and played like they felt that way the entire time.
It started out all Miami Heat, with Miami getting out to an 8-0 run. The Wizards were able to withstand that though, and so much so, that they eventually took a 71-63 lead into the half. It also didn’t hurt that they had three guys unexpectedly explode in the first half.
They got 61 points in the first half from three guys, one averaging 7.5 points per game this season, one averaging 10.1, and a two-way guy from the G-League. Ian Mahinmi carried 18 points into the half, Garrison Mathews carried 22, and Jordan McRae had 21.
They rode that momentum all the way through the second half, going up by high double digits and eventually winning the game by 18 points. The Wizards played an outstanding game and well above their heads, but the Miami Heat were bad.
Poor rebounding and a lack of awareness on both ends reared their heads again tonight for this Miami team. Rebounding will be the death of this team, as well as making poor decisions on both ends, as with any team.
There is a silver lining though. With how well the Heat have been playing and especially off two wins against the Pacers and the Sixers, it was probably hard to say much of anything to them. This game gives Spo a great opportunity to chew people out, which is probably what they need at this exact moment.
I fully believe that we will see a better Miami Heat team from this point on, at least from an intensity, physicality, and awareness point of view, because you must beat the teams you are supposed to beat if you want to call yourself a good team. The Miami Heat will put this one behind them as we head into 2020, hopefully with much better performances and greater things ahead.