The Miami Heat put their B squad out on the floor against Indy on Friday and it showed. There was really nothing ‘new’ to see.
The Miami Heat did have a game on Friday, but the real Heat didn’t show up. This isn’t a knock on them though, as they were sat by Coach Spo, a noble and proper plan to be in the best shape moving forward.
We’ll have more why that’s important later, but let’s continue.
The Miami Heat were never in this one on Friday, as the Pacers came out and jumped right on them. The Miami Heat, at times, looked like they wanted to make a few key stops and get a run going but it never quite materialized.
While we understand that they did not have their normal starting lineup and best players out there today, you would have liked to see a little bit more effort in the other areas besides offense from the guys that were out there. Even offensively though, no one was stellar.
Although Kendrick Nunn led them in scoring with 23 points, he was extremely inefficient, going 8-27 from the floor. Solomon Hill was their best player on Friday, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists on 5-13 shooting from the floor.
The Miami Heat started second-string guys on Friday. The results were indicative.
Tyler Herro also put in 16 points, three assists, and a rebound. No one else scored more than nine points.
While we didn’t learn anything “new” in this game, it did reinforce a few things we already knew. Tyler Herro plays three times better when playing with the first unit guys and Kendrick Nunn is still in a slump.
Today should have been the day where they both really feasted. They had the opportunity to take all of the shots that they could handle, but it really just didn’t happen.
There are two more things of note from this game. Udonis Haslem hit a three-point shot. Yes, the OG did.
Secondly and back to the part where we mentioned how important it was for Coach Spo to give guys a seat on Friday in a meaningless contest, Derrick Jones Jr. had to be taken off on a stretcher in the game.
After taking on a hard screen that appeared to leave him with something going on in his neck, Jones fell to the floor and remained there until being taken off. You hope everything is going to be fine with him, first off for him, his general health, and quality of life, and always secondary, how he can help this Heat team moving forward.
Again though, it was nothing new to see here about the Miami Heat. This was them just getting through the last game on their regular-season schedule, that’s all.