The Miami Heat were assured an easy game without Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook going for Washington, right?
The Miami Heat had a game on Saturday night to complete this week’s trio of contest. Facing off against a Wizards team that would be down Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, the Miami Heat would surely be able to get an easy win, right?
Well, while they were able to secure the victory over the Wizards, it wasn’t that easy. With that being said, let’s get into our grades for the contest.
Miami Heat Offense – A+
The Miami Heat offense was firing on all cylinders Saturday. Now, some of that is a function of the poor Washington defense but still, the shots had to be made.
Miami made them. They made so many of them in the first quarter, to a tune of 47 points, that they set a franchise record for points scored in a first quarter.
The offense was clicking for the Miami Heat.
The Miami Heat got a really good offensive showing on Saturday night, but what about the other side of the ball?
Miami Heat Defense – D+
That’s just it though, the offense was clicking for both sides on Saturday. Without Beal or Westbrook in the lineup, the Wizards shouldn’t have been as close as they were all game, which in my opinion, allowed them to pull back close in the end.
Though the Wizards were making tough shots and making shots in general, they were also seeing much less resistance than they could have been. That’s all on the Miami Heat and they have to be better there moving forward.
The Heat let them play with them in the first half, before turning it on defensively for most of the second half. They let their guard slip with around four minutes in the fourth and a pretty big lead, which allowed Washington to get close in a last ditch effort.
The Miami Heat were able to win the game, but efforts like this will get you beat by good teams every night. They have a good team on the docket for tomorrow night.
Yes, they play a back to back and against the same Celtics team that beat them earlier in the week. We will keep an eye on who will be playing for the Celtics but it doesn’t matter, the Miami Heat will have to be better defensively to beat whoever it is that they put on the floor.