Game Thread: Miami Heat month of January Game Thread

[bksballer89]

At least we'll still be in 4th

 

[bksballer89]

Yep and as I said before, you could tell they all thought they had this W in the bag long before this game started. They sat Tyler out without him having any setback because they thought he wouldn't be needed tonight. If that's not being arrogant then idk what it is

 

[Andresrenee]

True but we have lost 4 of 6 and those losses have been to some bad teams minus the Rockets. Our wins were against a team who fired their coach after losing to us twice in the same week and a win against a bad Charlotte team who essentially gave us the game after blowing a five point lead with under 40 to go. Needle is pointing down. All star break can’t get here fast enough.

 

[Andresrenee]

Yep and as I said before, you could tell they all thought they had this W in the bag long before this game started. They sat Tyler out without him having any setback because they thought he wouldn't be needed tonight. If that's not being arrogant then idk what it is

That is a loss on the coaches and our forwards. Richardson was 2-13. Let that marinate.

 

[bksballer89]

True but we have lost 4 of 6 and those losses have been to some bad teams minus the Rockets. Our wins were against a team who fired their coach after losing to us twice in the same week and a win against a bad Charlotte team who essentially gave us the game after blowing a five point lead with under 40 to go. Needle is pointing down. All star break can’t get here fast enough.

Tyler missed all of those games except for the Bulls game where he got hurt in the 3rd quarter. He's pretty damn important to this roster with Waiters being done for the season. Considering how close all those games were, not sure we lose any of those games except maybe the Bulls game if he's in the lineup

Acting like beating a playoffs team 2x in a 4 day span is bad thing is hilarious though.

We will be fine. These are the ups and down of an NBA season. It happens. Unless you're the Warriors, playing 11 of 14 on the road will always be a rough stretch

 

[Andresrenee]

Tyler missed all of those games except for the Bulls game where he got hurt in the 3rd quarter. He's pretty damn important to this roster with Waiters being done for the season. Considering how close all those games were, not sure we lose any of those games except maybe the Bulls game if he's in the lineup

Acting like beating a playoffs team 2x in a 4 day span is bad thing is hilarious though.

We will be fine. These are the ups and down of an NBA season. It happens. Unless you're the Warriors, playing 11 of 14 on the road will always be a rough stretch

Good post but the Bucks are currently just an 8th seed in the East and they fired their coach for a reason. Also, Heat and Bucks are the only two teams in either conference in the top 8 with a negative plus/minus point overall point differential. We may be fine but this has been a bad stretch which combine with the 7 game winning streak gets us where we are today.

 

[bksballer89]

Good post but the Bucks are currently just an 8th seed in the East and they fired their coach for a reason. Also, Heat and Bucks are the only two teams in either conference in the top 8 with a negative plus/minus point overall point differential. We may be fine but this has been a bad stretch which combine with the 7 game winning streak gets us where we are today.

3 games separates 3rd through 8th so yeah they're 8th now but tomorrow night they could be 6th and 4th by Sunday

It's a bad stretch but this team is still better than any of us would have thought. You do realize the injuries they have had all year long. In reality with all the injuries they had to deal with and having 4-6 players out several different times this year, they shouldn't be close to 27-21 and 4th in the East. They should probably be 19-28 or something along those lines so yeah not going to cry about a little rough stretch where we lose 4 of 6 and still 6 games over .500

 

[Paolo305613]

One thing I'm noticing about this team is they play better when they only get 1 day off instead of multiple.

Last time they had multiple days off, they played a very crappy 1st half as they did tonight but thankfully Miami played just as bad and they were able to turn it on in the 2nd half.

It seems this has been an issue since back in the Big 3 days. They just dont seem to put in enough work to whats necessary when they have multiple days off. They seem to pick a thing or two to fix but not always a focus on their bigger issues.


We have to(players included especially along with coaching staff) realize that for as many strides this team has made compared to how they started the season and how things went last season - and our current position in the standings - this team is simply not good enough to under estimate teams like SacTo or ANY team for that matter and decide to only partially show up for a game.

For years this organization/fans tried to discredit the importance of regular season games because the playoffs were virtually automatic due to the talent on the team -- the organization cant let that mentality continue.

This team has to do a better job of valuing every game - every second of every game and every possession. This was the problem last night and every other time this team has had similar melt downs and lost games they thought they had in the bag.

They responded when Spo sat the regulars early in the third, but once they got cushion -- they pretty much folded.

This is on everyone. But players especially must respond and execute the game plan.

 

[Paolo305613]

In more important news, it doesnt seem Hassan has lingering effects from getting banged up last night so he should be fine for next game. He just needs to be more engaged to what is actually asked of him on offense and more focused on defense.

 

[bksballer89]

So the Hassan trade rumors starting again

 

[Paolo305613]

So the Hassan trade rumors starting again

A win tonight and the positive narratives reappear. Thats what this fan base does - changes the narrative with every win/loss.

2 bad losses and people want firings and trades - 1 win and few are actually satisfied and want to nitpick at things to still complain about regarding the team as a whole or Spo.

A win tonight/good game from Hassan tonight and the narrative changes and he will give us one of his famous, slightly incoherent, chest puffing post-game interviews to Jason Jackson saying all the right things.

Another loss and I bet THE troll(s) will come out acting like its the end of times and suggesting the Heat should start tanking the rest of these season.

 

[bksballer89]

A win tonight and the positive narratives reappear. Thats what this fan base does - changes the narrative with every win/loss.

2 bad losses and people want firings and trades - 1 win and few are actually satisfied and want to nitpick at things to still complain about regarding the team as a whole or Spo.

A win tonight/good game from Hassan tonight and the narrative changes and he will give us one of his famous, slightly incoherent, chest puffing post-game interviews to Jason Jackson saying all the right things.

Another loss and I bet THE troll(s) will come out acting like its the end of times and suggesting the Heat should start tanking the rest of these season.

I just hate how they attack him. Dude was dominant for at least 4 straight games. He plays like shit on Thursday with several other players and now he needs to be traded.

Where is this same criticism of JJ, J-Rich, Dragic, and etc when the have a bad night? Just seems unfair

 

[Paolo305613]

In other news, its going to be another "warm-up with intent to play" scenario for Tyler Johnson tonight.

Tyler Zeller out for CHA tonight while MCW is questionable with a shoulder strain.

Heat enter the day still as the 4th seed in the east with a game lead over the Wizards and 1.5 behind Queen James for the third seed - so at least the previous two losses werent the end of times.

 

[Paolo305613]

I just hate how they attack him. Dude was dominant for at least 4 straight games. He plays like shit on Thursday with several other players and now he needs to be traded.

Where is this same criticism of JJ, J-Rich, Dragic, and etc when the have a bad night? Just seems unfair

Check the twitter of Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald -- he has been getting a lot of tweets, as well as Ira, about Goran being a "liability" and " holding on to the ball too much" I mean....I know there is turmoil in this country but this level of stupidity from some within our "fan base" is absolute insanity.

There was mention also from our beat writers about JJ and the possibility of complacency due to having gotten paid -- as well as what I like to call "over-valued" by the coaching staff and organization as a whole. Dont get me wrong, he is a quality guy and player, but I think he is one of the many players this organization has overrated based off of 1-2 moments in the earlier portion of his career with the team -- this is the reason I think you dont see the same criticism for a guy like him by the team, local media and the fans. He does 1 or 2 good things and its as if he could do no wrong when in reality he does countless things that have hurt the team.

The same goes for Richardson, again -- dont get me wrong -- he is a quality guy and has made strides as a player from where he started -- But, it seems he is another one that because of 1-2 moments of taking steps forward in his game, it has overshadowed the moments that clearly signal he is still a work in progress despite all the strides he has made. He is just another guy on this team that I think gets too many free passes.


As for Goran, you may have a valid point there he has never faced any real big moments of criticism but I truly think he is one of the few players currently on the roster from previous seasons(aside from UD) that has done so much for the team on and off the court that he gets a longer leash before getting criticized.

I think more so than the other guys you mentioned, Goran brings a great sense of leadership to the team and thats why he gets a longer leash. I think the problem with the other guys you mentioned is that they are just to casual about some of their shortcomings.


It might be a childish take in a sense, but I think if Spo/the team stripped JJ/J-Rich of so much responsibility within the offense , and captain status in the case of JJ, maybe it would cause them to reevaluate how they approach games and certain moments in games.

These are guys who get a lot asked out of them but arent doing enough in that regard but seem to be doing a lot of finger pointing and bitching towards teammates when things go south.

Lets see if two bad losses in a row are enough for these guys to look in the mirror and realize their roles on the team and do their job as is asked of them - not more, not less. Time to get back to basics

 

[Paolo305613]

Per Heat, TJ available tonight -- unsure if he starts. Derrick Jones Jr still with team - Walton Jr not

 

[Paolo305613]

TJ to start

 

[Paolo305613]

15-8 into this first timeout for Heat. slow start aided by yet another JJ turnover

 

[Paolo305613]

-4 after 1 for the Heat. Uneven start which is not a surprise anymore

 

[Paolo305613]

TJ banged up again

 

[Paolo305613]

TJ back in