Here’s what has hurt the Heat during its 3-5 start to the season
Inconsistency has been a characteristic of this Heat roster since the group’s core was put together in the summer of 2016.
The 11-30 start followed by the 30-11 finish to pull off the biggest in-season turnaround in NBA history in 2016-17. Disappointing losses to struggling teams like the Nets, Magic, Knicks and Kings paired with encouraging wins over some of the league’s top teams like the Raptors, Celtics and 76ers last season.
Any sense of consistency has been fleeting for the Heat over the past two seasons.
Miami’s inconsistency is now showing up within games. The Heat’s 3-5 start to the season has included a handful of uneven performances.
That trend continued in Saturday’s 123-118 road loss to the rebuilding Hawks. Miami fell behind by as many as 15 points, and allowed Atlanta to score 102 points on 58.2 percent shooting through three quarters.
The Heat’s defensive finally tightened up in the fourth quarter, limiting the Hawks to 21 points on 35 percent shooting in the period. But not even that was enough to overcome three quarters of spotty defensive play.
“The fourth quarter defense and the effort from the guys is what is going to be required for 48 minutes,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat now moving on to Monday’s matchup against the Pistons to close out a three-game trip. “We were able to hold them to 21 points, and you could feel the intensity of the guys on the court laying it all out there for better or worse. That’s the type of desperation and urgency we’re going to need for a complete game.”
The Heat has actually outscored its opponent in the fourth quarter in four of its five losses this season, but those have all still resulted in defeats because opponents have outscored the Heat by a total of 50 points over the first three quarters in those five games.
One quarter of quality play just hasn’t been enough for the Heat to start this season, and it won’t be enough moving forward for a team that has a small margin for error without a perennial All-Star on its roster.
“We just got to come out with a sense of urgency earlier in the game,” wing player Josh Richardson said. “I think we’ve had too many games already this year where we have a good second half or a good fourth quarter. But we’ve already dug ourselves a hole or we’ve already allowed the other team to get hot.”
How inconsistent has the Heat been within games this season? Miami entered Sunday ranked as the league’s sixth-best fourth-quarter team (outscoring teams by 8.5 points per 100 possessions in the period), but the 20th-best first-half team (teams outscoring the Heat by five points per 100 possessions in the first two quarters).
One reason for this discrepancy could be pace.
The Heat has seemed to struggle when the game is played at a faster pace, as it’s averaged 103.3 possessions per 48 minutes in the first half this season. The Heat’s fourth quarters, which it’s been sharp in, has been played at a more methodical speed (98.5 possessions per 48 minutes in the final period this season).
Regardless of pace, Spoelstra just wants to see a complete defensive effort from the Heat. That should fix a lot of Miami’s issues.
“I don’t care what league or what pace you’re going, that’s not Miami Heat basketball,” Spoelstra said after the Heat allowed 123 points to the Hawks. “I believe we held [Atlanta] to 49 in the second half. It required an incredible intensity and effort. Well, that’s what it’s going to require for a full 48 minutes or longer if you need to.”