Q: How anyone could watch that last play against the Rockets and think the Heat had the right personnel on the floor and proper block-out scheme and defensive stack is beyond me. This coaching staff excels at player development, but is very poor at in game adjustments and execution of key plays. It’s glaring – Tom.
A: OK, I’ll bite. First, Bam Adebayo’s defense on Kevin Durant was everything you could ask or want in forcing the miss at the end of Saturday night’s loss in Houston. But that also has been an issue with having Bam on the perimeter, is that it keeps him off the glass. Nothing wrong in having Kel’el Ware in the game, as long as there is confidence he has his legs after not playing since a single, early four-minute stint. His box out against Alperen Sengun is what the Heat have been demanding for two years, although the reaction time to what then transpired was a tick slow . Pelle Larsson is active in general, but did become somewhat of a spectator. Simone Fontecchio provided the type of length the Heat otherwise lacked, which is an ongoing issue (especially with the dwindling faith in Nikola Jovic). Then there is Tyler Herro, whose missed block out on Amen Thompson was critical. But Herro also is one of the Heat’s better rebounders, and simply a bigger body than Davion Mitchell, to provide length against outside shooters. So perhaps Myron Gardner? But do you want to risk the foul there? Bringing it back to Herro, would you rather have Myron out there, and risk a neophyte foul? What you needed was Andrew Wiggins, who only now appears headed back to the mix. And Jaime Jaquez Jr., if he was available, and he again appears to be, almost certainly would have been out there in place of either Herro or Fontecchio. That final play also again offered an example of the Heat’s glaring lack of athleticism.
Q: Andrew Wiggins being back is big. That defense was looking awful. Jaime Jaquez Jr.,s bench scoring helps, too. – Washington.
A: There are times when Andrew Wiggins makes you appreciate him most when he is not out there. He could have significantly helped these past four games, so perhaps he is poised to help again. And, yes, Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the engine of the second unit. As Erik Spoelstra would say, this is when the Heat need all hands on deck.
Q: Will ESPN have the ability to reverse course and switch back to Hawks vs Magic once the Celtics open up a 35-point lead early in the 3rd quarter against the Heat. – Jeff.
A: This was in response to ESPN on Sunday announcing it has picked up the Heat’s April 1 home game against the Celtics. The reality is the Heat have proven capable of building huge leads against the Celtics this season. Retaining them has been another issue. So it could be competitive a bit longer than you estimate . . . until it isn’t.