‘There’s no excuse,’ for the Heat to be turning the ball over this much, one player said
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra could only scratch his head.
Turnovers here and there are a given in the NBA, but it got to a point during the Heat’s 110-106 loss to the Washington Wizards on Saturday that left him looking for answers.
“There were some that I’ve never even seen before,” Spoelstra said after the game, one in which the Heat turned the ball over 19 times. “That’s what’s starting to become a little big concerning. I don’t want this to become the trademark for our team. From the beginning of training camp, there were the types of turnovers that I wouldn’t necessarily say were acceptable, but they are in our wheelhouse of our identity of being aggressive, of attacking. There were some tonight that were a little bit perplexing.”
On a roster where the whole needs to be greater than the sum of its parts and continuity is relied on more than a single All-Star presence, the Heat’s margin for error on the offensive side of the ball is already slim to none.
Self-inflicted wounds will only make it that much harder.
And that’s been a key deterrent over the Heat’s past seven games, a stretch where it has gone 2-5 and includes losses to the Sacramento Kings, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers and Wizards — a quintet with a combined 27-35 record.
The Heat is giving up fifth most turnovers in the league with an average of 16.8 per game. Over this recent seven-game stretch, that number has swelled to 17.7 per game and includes 42 total in back-to-back losses to the Pacers and Wizards.
The Heat is turning the ball over on average about once every six possessions after 12 games, a 16.4-percent rate that is the fourth-worst in the NBA and is on pace to be the worst mark for the Heat since the 2001-02 season when they turned the ball over on 16.6 percent of their possessions.
“I can’t say if there’s any specific reason behind it,” Rodney McGruder said. “Guys are trying to make the right plays and just getting hung up. I know I had a couple of those as well. I think the heart’s in the right place when we’re trying to make those decisions. ... It’s just something that we have to try to limit.”
Guard Wayne Ellington added: “We’ve had a few different lineups, guys come in and out a little bit. We’ve had some guys hurt. But there’s no excuse. We’re a veteran team and guys are used to each other. We all know each other. That’s an area we can control and we got to do a better job.”
McGruder’s back
After a three-game stretch of off nights, McGruder had another typical offensive outburst on Saturday, this time going for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting against the Wizards.
On the year, McGruder is averaging 13.6 points per game.
“It’s just playing, getting a feel for the game,” McGruder said. “My teammates did a great job of finding me. I was fortunate enough to make shots. That’s all that was.”
This and that
▪ Goran Dragic was held scoreless for the first time in his Miami Heat tenure on Saturday.
▪ The Heat hosts the Philadelphia 76ers, who just acquired Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler, on Monday to close out a four-game homestand.