The Miami Heat were down a bunch of guys heading into their New Year’s Eve contest. Facing off against a very young and searching Houston team, they would need to make sure that the guys that they were able to get on the court wouldn’t have a letdown.
The game was very much back and forth, though the Miami Heat displayed their superiority throughout. When it all came down to it though, you could see the explicit difference in the two squads.
The Miami Heat are a team with veterans and savvy leaders that know how to win, close, and seal the deal on ballgames. The Houston Rockets are not.
They are a collection of young, athletic, springy dudes who just know how to go out and hoop right now. That is the difference between winning a few games in the league, being a bottom-feeder, or being a title-contender.
The Miami Heat needed to bring in guys with a ton of their own in protocols. They did and one of them, Kyle Guy, showed that he isn’t ‘just a guy’.
You have to have guys that have that know-how to close the door. The Miami Heat have two in Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler.
Jimmy was the guy on Friday, as he was in their previous win against Washington and you love that he lives for those moments. As far as the biggest winner on Friday night though, that would be one of the Miami Heat’s latest signings.
As a part of the rash of protocol-related 10-day hardship signings, the Miami Heat brought in a slew of guys. They brought in several guys from around the league, including two former Miami Heat guys in Chris Silva and Mario Chalmers.
However, they nor any other recent signing had as big a night for Miami as one guy in particular did. Kyle Guy, the former UVA standout, not only had a good night in his Miami Heat debut but he messed around and had a career showing.
Finishing with a career-high-tying 17 points, he did so on 6-8 shooting from the field and 4-6 from three. He also dropped four dimes and grabbed four boards to go along with that.
He had himself quite a night. Luckily for Guy, the Heat go on to face his former team on Sunday in the Sacramento Kings.
Perhaps, he has his sights set on another career showing.