The Miami Heat came into Thursday’s game against the LA Clippers down Jimmy Butler and on the second night of a back to back. To make matters worst, it came on heels of a tough defeat the previous night in a game against the Lakers that required overtime work.
The Miami Heat would actually start the game against the Clippers showing no ill-effects of the previous night. Getting out of the gate strong, they would jump out to a 40-25 lead to begin the game and close the first period.
It was all downhill from there though for the Heat. They would only score 18 in the second, a measly 20 points in the third, and their 31 point fourth period would still come up too short to get the job done on Thursday.
Though that was their overall scoring, how they went about it, individually, is really the story. The game opened with a Bam Adebayo Ensemble.
He posted up, he took his mid-ranged jumper, he played in the isolation, he got to the cup… the guy did it all.
Miami Heat: Shift-Work Doesn’t Get The Job Done In Clippers Loss
Well, as the Clippers adjusted to that, the Miami Heat then began to feed off of Tyler Herro in the middle portions of the game.
As that began to taper down, the Miami Heat got stagnant and stale, often scrambling to find shots with a bit of Tyler antics spritz around.
At one point and with Bam Adebayo not receiving a single touch on the possession, they found themselves going to a Caleb Martin isolation play.
That type of stagnation would put the Heat down nearly 10 towards the end of the game, before Kyle Lowry would go off to have one of his best stretches as a member of the Miami Heat thus far.
He had 22 in the fourth period, overall, but especially showed up with around two minutes left in the game. He would score two huge And-1 type plays to keep the Heat alive.
One was a layup and the other a three pointer, to give the Heat a chance to win the game in the end. He would then force a steal, giving the Heat the ball in the final moments with a chance to go up one.
Duncan Robinson could not sink the resulting three point shot, another issue all in itself, but you couldn’t blame Kyle Lowry for the decision or Duncan for the look, to be honest.
Miami Heat: Bam, Tyler, and Kyle All Had Shifts, But They Needed To Be In Unison
The Miami Heat couldn’t get it done on Thursday, again and though they did make a valiant comeback effort, they were up 17 at one point early in the game.
Two things stand out more than any other about this one. They can’t expect to get it done with shift work, Bam early on, Tyler in the middle, Kyle at the end, or any other combination when or when not at full health.
They must figure out a way to all be on at the same time. Secondly, you have to be more purposeful about imposing your will.
Yes, they began to help hard on Bam, almost trapping if not completely, but you have to keep pressing the issue after he was going like he was. Let that lead to other things, such as range attempts, but don’t force them.
This was another tough defeat, but they have to keep banging along. The Utah Jazz await on Saturday and especially after a tough defeat for them to the Pacers on Thursday, that won’t be an easy game either.