The Miami Heat take on the 8th seeded Nets at home Saturday night & just like the previous game against Dallas, the NBA 2K simulation did not disappoint.
It’s test time in Miami. The Miami Heat just played the Dallas Mavericks, earning an eight-point win, but now its time for them to turn it right back around and face off against the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets have struggled so far this season with Kyrie Irving in and out of the lineup. Brooklyn fans knew they weren’t going to be watching superstar Kevin Durant anytime this season, although some probably held their breath.
The Heat haven’t done particularly well on the second nights of back-to-backs, but if the same team that showed up against the Mavericks shows up on Saturday, they’ll be just fine. There haven’t been any injury updates to Tyler Herro or Meyers Leonard, nor do I expect there to be with such a quick turnaround at home.
Every matchup is recorded for authenticity and uploaded to YouTube, so if you want to see the simulation for yourself, the latest upload to my channel will have the footage uninterrupted. There you’ll be able to see the adjustments I made to the rotation of each team and the players overall.
Starting Lineup
Miami Heat
Point guard, Kendrick Nunn
Shooting guard, Duncan Robinson
Small forward, Jimmy Butler
Power forward, Derrick Jones Jr.
Center, Bam Adebayo
Brooklyn Nets
Point guard, Spencer Dinwiddie
Shooting guard, Caris LeVert
Small forward, Joe Harris
Power forward, Taurean Prince
Center, Jarrett Allen
Outcome
Miami Heat 135, Brooklyn Nets 106
Miami jumped all over Brooklyn to start the game, winning the first quarter by 13 and dropping 37 points along the way. The Heat went on to win the second quarter as well by three.
This Heat team would simply not be denied this win. I did reluctantly change the rotation to match what they did against the Mavericks and so far so good.
By halftime, Bam Adebayo already had 19 points and was perfect from the field and the free-throw line, including two 3-pointers. He was unstoppable. Butler was having one of his patented low-efficiency nights but somehow still managed to amass ten points without going to the charity stripe.
The rest of the team was putting on an efficiency clinic, going 50-percent from the floor and 53-percent from beyond the arc. They were hitting their shots and getting plenty of assists up until this point.
Although the half time score of 64-48 didn’t reflect it, Miami was actually losing the rebounding battle by eight. For now, we’ll act like that doesn’t matter.
Like every successful coach has told us in the past, you have to be prepared for the run. No NBA team is going to lie down and take a beating for four straight quarters.
The third quarter proved to be that moment for the Nets. They started the quarter with a 9-3 punch, but the Heat recovered. It was a back and forth affair, but the Nets came out on top third-period scoring.
Unfortunately for them, the Miami Heat lead was still 13 at 99-86. Brooklyn was getting clamped on the offensive end and running out of time.
After toying with their lead for most of the fourth quarter, the Heat finished off the Nets. It started with 4:19 remaining in the game, a period that saw the Miami Heat go on an 18-3 run.
Talk about a closeout! Adebayo was the leading scorer with a 33 point, 16 rebound double-double. Kendrick Nunn made more threes than Duncan Robinson.
I don’t get it. Maybe 2K has it out for the team’s best 3-point shooter. Either way though, a win is a win.
Player stats
Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo – 33 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks
Kendrick Nunn – 22 points (6-of-9 from deep), 2 assists, 1 steal
Jimmy Butler – 21 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals
Goran Dragić – 16 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists
Kelly Olynyk – 16 points, 5 rebounds
Brooklyn Nets
Spencer Dinwiddie – 24 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists
Caris LeVert – 17 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists
Joe Harris – 14 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists
Garrett Temple – 13 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 1 block
Taurean Prince – 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals
Honorable mention: DeAndre Jordan – 10 points (6-of-8 FT), 10 rebounds, 1 assist
The Heat manhandled the Nets on their way to some much-needed rest on the back end of a successful back-to-back. The sim Heat appear to be firing on all cylinders except for Robinson.
I’ve tried everything with him, but 2K denies him of his greatness. Miami Needs this win.
Heat nation needs this win. We’ll see soon enough if they come ready to play or if they’ll be “tired.”