The Miami Heat welcomed three new players onto the team after the trade deadline had passed. How did they do in their first game for this Heat team?
The Miami Heat took the court on Sunday night with what should have been a new attitude. A new attitude indeed did they have, however, they fell back into some of the old habits that tend to get them beat.
While the zone defense itself wasn’t a huge issue on Sunday night, the Portland Trail Blazers continued a hot opponents shooting streak against the Heat as if they did just fall back into the zone every time. The Miami Heat dropped another one because they couldn’t defend the three-point line as well as they needed to.
While they won’t have to deal with the Splash Brothers on Monday night, they still don’t want to let their antennae down. The Golden State Warriors may not be as lethal as they can and/or will be once fully healthy, but they can still shoot it enough to beat you if you don’t take them seriously.
Defending the three shouldn’t be as big a problem as we continue to progress throughout the season though and especially because of some of the new acquisitions. Speaking of those guys though, how did they do in their first Miami Heat game? Here are the grades for the three players acquired at the deadline.