The Heat (14-5 Overall, 9-1 Conf.) drop to third in the conference after winning two out of their three games for the week. Miami started their week defeating the Hornets(8-13 Overall,6-8 Conf.), 117-100. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler both scored 21 points each to push the Heat over a scrappy Charlotte team, led by former Boston Celtic Terry Rozier. After being down by 11 at halftime, the Hornets hung around thanks to sloppy turnovers from the Heat. However, the Heat got back to basics and attacked the paint, putting away the Hornets.
Miami would lose to the Houston Rockets (13-6 Overall, 8-3 Conf.)a few days later in Houston. They lost that matchup 117-108. James Harden and Russell Westbrook were just too much for Miami and they combined for 61 points. Danuel House Jr. had a big game for Houston. He scored 23 points as he took advantage of Miami’s big men. The Heat’s stars struggled heavily. Miami made 37 percent of their shots and, to add insult to injury, turned over the ball 19 times compared to Houston’s 15. One bright spark was Tyler Herro and Kelly Olynyk stepping up for the Heat scoring 22 and 19 respectively.
The Heat extended their home streak by beating the Golden State Warriors( 4-17 Overall ,3-13 Conf.), 122-105. Miami took advantage of the struggling and injured Warriors. Miami was up big at halftime, 71-57. From they outscored Golden State for the rest of the second half. Goran Dragic led the Heat with 20 points and Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 20 as well. Miami would end their week with a narrow win over the Brooklyn Nets(10-10 Overall, 6-5 Conf.), 109-106. Miami was able to grab their first road win since beating the Bulls back on November 22. Miami had to battle back from being down at halftime, 58-65. The Heat’s veterans stepped up in the win. The Heat had six players in double figures with Dragic leading with 24. Brooklyn Guard Spencer Dinwiddie led all scorers with 29.
The Heat still have a long way to go to be a potential title contender. Miami’s consistency reminds me of the Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde movie. On the road, we play like an average team but at home, we play like a beast. Miami’s road consistency is day and night compared to home consistency. Being undefeated at home will be a large boost to our confidence but coming up short against major opponents especially on the road won’t help this team challenge for a top spot in the playoffs. Besides consistency, one problem that continues to read its head is turnovers. The win over Brooklyn was the first time since November 7 that the Heat recorded fewer turnovers than the opposing team. This was 11 games ago. While we still have a long way until playoffs, the Heat are heading in the right direction, but they will ultimately beat themselves if turnovers and consistency on the road aren’t addressed.
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