Miami Heat win ugly game over Pacers, 87-82, on the back of defense

The Miami Heat have taken some rather embarrassing defeats this season already. Listen, in pro sports where all of the athletes are just that, highly paid professionals, any team has a chance to beat the other on a given night or day and that’s just that.

However, when you consider some of the teams that the Miami Heat have been defeated by in the last few games alone, the Pistons, an undermanned Grizzlies squad, and a struggling Spurs team (though they would beat Cleveland on Monday night), they should have won, at least, two out of three of those games if not them all.

With that, they had to respond on Monday night themselves. Traveling to Indiana to face a Pacers squad that can put up points on you in a hurry, they would need to find something in themselves to make sure they walked out of there with a win.

The Miami Heat have to continue to figure things out on the offensive side of the ball, but defense is where they should always sink or swim.

And respond they would. Though the offense in this game set basketball back by about 20 years, at the very least, the Miami Heat won in their type of way and on their terms.

This was the most Miami Heat type of game all season long for the team, in any win or defeat. They were swarmy on defense and had one of their best man-to-man showings of the year on that side, going to zone quite often this year.

Playing with energy and for one another on defense, they would also show that same tendency on the other side of the ball. Though the low score is indicative of how off the offense was at times on Monday, the guys on the Heat’s roster did make an intentional effort to play for one another on that side of the ball as well.

They need to continue to figure out how to maximize all of their talents at the same time on any given night offensively, however, when they struggle there, and even if they are all on one accord on that side, they can always hang their hats on defense.

This Miami Heat team hasn’t figured anything out. No, that isn’t the case.

However, when it comes to Monday, you are encouraged by what you saw.