What could be considered the first official game of the post-Jimmy Butler era for the Miami Heat didn’t go as planned after losing by 18 points to the Boston Celtics on their home floor, but the team’s captain struck an optimistic tone when evaluating the new roster.
“There are more positives than negatives in this game,” Bam Adebayo said.
The Heat shot 33.7% overall and 24.4% (11 of 45) on 3s, but Adebayo pointed to the fact that the Heat committed just four turnovers and were within one rebound of Boston’s total.
“It speaks to what we can be,” Adebayo said. “We didn’t shoot well from three, but everything else was in our wheelhouse.
“Obviously, we lost. But when you got two new guys in the starting lineup trying to figure out our system and trying to figure out what they can be at this point, they’re going to get comfortable and we’re going to figure it out.”
If there was one silver lining, it was the flash of the defensive potential of Miami’s new starting lineup. The Heat opened with Davion Mitchell, Alec Burks, Andrew Wiggins, Adebayo and Kel’el Ware. Tyler Herro was a late scratch due to a stomach illness but will return in Burks’ place when he’s ready.
The decision to insert Mitchell and Wiggins in their first game with the Heat following last week’s trade is a clear sign that coach Erik Spoelstra wants to go all in on defense.
The potential was obvious from the jump, with Mitchell picking up ball handlers full court and Wiggins taking on the Jayson Tatum assignment. The Heat held the Celtics to 3 of 14 shooting and built an 18-11 lead before making their first substitution at the 5:19 mark of the first quarter.
“I think that it’s going to be really hard to score on us,” Mitchell said.
But that was Miami’s best stretch. After Boston's offense found its rhythm, Miami’s starting lineup was outscored to begin the third quarter and the Celtics pulled away.
However, the Heat’s starting lineup played the Celtics to a 29-29 tie in 13 minutes together on Monday, while the team was outscored by 18 the rest of the game.
This might be part of why Adebayo remains optimistic, especially with the eventual returns of Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (also out with a stomach illness) that will boost the rotation.