The Atlanta Hawks handed the Miami Heat a 120-110 loss, dropping Miami’s record to 15-14 on the season. They got closed out on a 12-3 run to end the game and took sole possession of the Eastern Conference’s sixth seed— pushing the Heat back into familiar territory in the seventh seed and play-in picture.
There were plenty of standout negatives from the night, especially on the defensive end. They allowed the Hawks to shoot 51% from the field and 41% from 3-point range. Tyler Herro’s 28/10/7 outing on 53% shooting was spoiled, with receiving very little help offensively. Bam Adebayo and Terry Rozier’s efficiency struggles continue to linger, but the supporting cast is just as liable for the blame.
Headlining that supporting cast are a pair of youngsters in Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr, along with the rookies Kel’el Ware and Pelle Larsson. After some encouraging run by Ware in recent games, he didn’t provide much of that rim pressure and interior impact. He finished with just 4 points and 1 rebound, with the Hawks outscoring the Heat by 8 points in his minutes.
Larsson was given just a four minute spurt, but after picking up two quick fouls, he did not see any more action. He had a stretch earlier this season where he looked like an intriguing rotation piece, but lately has been unplayable. His outside shot and fouling has been a negative part to his game in recent weeks, although still working himself back from an extended absence from an ankle injury.
The bigger problem here comes with Jovic and Jaquez. Once an integral part to the Heat’s rotation just a year ago, to providing some frustrating minutes this 2024-25 campaign.
Jovic finished the game with 4 points and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes. But the bigger problem has come on the defensive end, where he had several lapses and poor effort. Being 6-foot-10, his inability to grow into a solid rebounder has been discouraging. He made it a point to work on his size, strength and interior impact over the offseason, but the results have not shown.
After his impressive rookie season, Jaquez has seen a steady decrease in his statistical performance across the board. He is averaging just 8.9 points on 41% shooting and an abysmal 28% from deep. Against the Hawks, he added 8 points and 5 rebounds on 0 of 5 3-point shooting.
Just like Jovic’s rebounding struggles have been an issue, Jaquez’s inability to space the floor has been equally as troubling. The shooting efficiency numbers from the pair are not where they should be, and any consistent improvement hasn’t been on the horizon.
Their continued development could’ve been an impactful X-factor to Miami’s season. Instead, their progression seems to have taken a step backward.
The Heat have gotten poor production from their young core all season long. It seems like a matter of time until Coach Erik Spoelstra experiments with options elsewhere, such as Keshad Johnson or one of the two-way summer league standouts in Josh Christopher and Isaiah Stevens.