It was easy to be confident as a Heat fan before tip-off. We witnessed the Heat fight their way to the NBA Finals, keep much of their team in the offseason while adding productive players, draft a promising forward, and have historically been superior against the Magic. It was the making of a coming-out party, but it was spoiled to in-state rival Orlando who handed Miami their first loss of the season
Turnovers killed Miami
Turnovers plagued Miami once again. Despite it being the first game of the regular season, it was still painful to watch the one thing that held Miami back last season reared its ugly head again. The Heat chalked up 22 turnovers compared to the Magic’s 18. Bam, unfortunately, had the most on the team with seven turnovers, only one more than Butler.
Guard play lifted the Magic
The Magics had a game plan and came to play. Orlando’s guards combined for 69 points, more than half of their total. Evan Fournier led the team with 25 points and sparked a late run to send Miami home. Throughout the game, Orlando kept rotating guards and each once gave Miami a unique look. Each guard shifted gears and kept Miami unbalanced defensively. Fournier was able to drive home the dagger with a three-point game in the final minute of the game.
Rusty much?
Although Miami kept the game close, they had signs of rust in their first game. As a team, they posted a better Field Goal Percentage than Orlando but lost in other aspects of the game. Orlando outmuscled Miami in rebounds and came up with more steals than the Heat. They also held a slim margin in fouls and took advantage of their fast-break points.
The Heat are not alone
One of the bright spots of this game is that it’s early in the season and plenty of other contenders have started on the wrong end of the win column. On opening day, the reigning NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers had their opener spoiled by crosstown rival LA Clippers. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors lost their season openers as well. So many fans are feeling the same way that Miami does.
Pelicans on Christmas Day
Miami plays New Orleans on Christmas Day and if there’s one thing that I want for Christmas is for Miami to finish the game with less than 20 turnovers. The game with be nationally televised and I would hate to start that day off by seeing them lose another game. The Pelicans look impressive in winning their opener against the Raptors. If Miami plays the way how they played yesterday then it’s going to be a long game
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