Takeaways from the night the Heat learned it will face the Pacers to open the playoffs
At the start of the day, there was one big question surrounding the Miami Heat.
Which team would the Heat face in the first round of the NBA playoffs?
That answer came Wednesday at around 6:30 p.m., when it became official: The Heat will face the Indiana Pacers in a best-of-7 first-round series that begins either Monday or Tuesday.
With that mystery solved and its first-round playoff matchup set, the Heat (44-28) rested its starters in the second half of a 116-115 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (44-27) on Wednesday night at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista.
The Heat did not play Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, Andre Iguodala and Duncan Robinson in the second half. And other rotation players like Goran Dragic (played 5:54 in the second half), Derrick Jones Jr. (8:14 in the second half) and Kelly Olynyk (8:09 in the second half) logged limited minutes during the final two quarters.
“We had to plan during the day that everybody would play,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of how the team’s plan changed upon learning Wednesday evening that it would face the Pacers in the first round. “Then when I did the media session, we had just found out that Indiana won. So that changed things, of course. I just wanted to make sure we got guys in rhythm and we were able to accomplish that tonight.”
Miami led by 22 points with 10:21 to play. But after the Heat emptied its bench late in the game, the Thunder closed on a 34-11 run to complete the comeback behind 16 fourth-quarter points from wing Darius Bazley.
With the Heat ahead by two in the final seconds, Thunder forward Mike Muscala hit a game-winning three with 5.2 seconds to play.
The Heat closes its seeding schedule Friday with a game against the Pacers at 4 p.m. (Fox Sports Sun, ESPN) in advance of the teams’ first-round playoff matchup.
Five takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Thunder on Wednesday at the VISA Athletic Center:
The Heat’s final two seeding games carry very little meaning, with its playoff matchup already set.
Miami learned about 90 minutes before tip-off Wednesday that Indiana would be its first-round playoff opponent. The only thing left to determine is which team will be the No. 4 seed in the East’s No. 4 vs. No. 5 best-of-7 series.
The Heat could have clinched fourth place in the conference Wednesday with a win over the Thunder. Instead, the winner of Friday’s game between Miami and Indiana will enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.
But there’s essentially no difference between entering the playoffs as the No. 4 or No. 5 seed because they play each other and there is no home-court advantage in this unique format, other than the fourth-place team playing more games with its virtual fans on the screens surrounding the Disney court.
In addition, the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds are locked into the half of the East bracket that includes the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The winner of the Heat-Pacers series will play the winner of the first-round series between the No. 1 Bucks and the No. 8 Orlando Magic in the second round.
If the regular season is any indication, Miami should enter the playoffs as the favorite in its opening-round matchup against Indiana. The Heat has defeated the Pacers in each of the teams’ first three matchups this season, including a 114-92 blowout win over Indiana on Monday during seeding play.
The Pacers have been without All-Star center Domantas Sabonis throughout their seeding schedule because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot. And Indiana coach Nate McMillan said after Wednesday’s win over the Houston Rockets that forward T.J. Warren is also dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
But ESPN reported Wednesday night that Warren’s foot injury is “not serious” and he is expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs.
One of the big story lines surrounding the Heat-Pacers playoff series is the Butler vs. Warren matchup that grew contentious and ended with Warren’s ejection when the two teams met in January. Butler and Warren were involved in several confrontations that included a middle finger from Warren directed at Butler and then Butler blowing a kiss goodbye as Warren walked off the floor following his ejection.
One thing is for sure, Friday’s matchup between the Heat and Pacers to close seeding play will not be a true playoff preview. It’s hard to imagine either team playing its key players for extended minutes, if at all, with Game 1 of their first-round series just a few days later.
Including their two matchups during seeding play this week, Miami and Indiana could face off as many as nine times in a span of 10 games.
All four of the East’s first-round playoff matchups are now set: No. 1 Bucks vs. No. 8 Magic, No. 2 Toronto Raptors vs. No. 7 Brooklyn Nets, No. 3 Boston Celtics vs. No. 6 Philadelphia 76ers, and No. 4/5 Heat vs. No. 4/5 Pacers.
Heat rookie guard Kendrick Nunn missed his third consecutive game, and Dragic started in Nunn’s place. Spoelstra now has a decision to make.
Dragic started in Nunn’s spot for the second consecutive game Wednesday and the results were again very positive. Miami opened the game with a 24-16 lead before making its first substitution.
The five-man group of Dragic, Robinson, Butler, Jae Crowder and Adebayo has posted an impressive plus/minus of plus-33 in 51 minutes together this season. In the two games this lineup has started this week, it is a plus-25 in 21 minutes.
In Dragic’s second game back from a sprained left ankle that forced him to miss two games, he finished with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, five rebounds and six assists in 22 minutes.
“They’re all veteran guys and we’ve had to adjust,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s starting lineup with Dragic. “They’ve played well. I continue to be open to whatever is necessary.”
As for Nunn, he left the NBA’s Disney bubble last week to tend to a personal matter and returned early Sunday morning to begin a four-day quarantine upon reentering the league’s Central Florida campus.
Nunn was cleared Wednesday afternoon to exit his hotel room after continuing to test negative for COVID-19, but he did not play against the Thunder because of a sore throat — not COVID-19 related as he continues to test negative for the virus.
Nunn still has an opportunity to play in Miami’s eighth and final seeding game Friday to get on the court before Miami begins its first-round playoff series against the Pacers either Monday or Tuesday.
Spoelstra said Wednesday the hope is that Nunn will be able to go through an on-court workout Thursday, “and then we’ll evaluate from there.”
Nunn, who was named as one of three finalists for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award, played in each of the Heat’s first four seeding games before temporarily leaving the bubble. He has struggled to be efficient at Disney, averaging 7.8 points while shooting 32.4 percent from the field and 25 percent on threes in 20.9 minutes during that four-game stretch.
Nunn has started in each of the 66 games he has played this season. The Nunn-Robinson-Butler-Crowder-Adebayo lineup is a plus-two in 48 minutes together this season, and a minus-four in 24 minutes together since the season resumed at Disney.
With things going so well with Dragic in the starting lineup, will Spoelstra bring Nunn off the bench to start the playoffs? It’s a decision Spoelstra has to make this weekend.
Behind the success of its starting lineup, the Heat opened Wednesday’s game with one of its best quarters in the bubble. And Robinson was hot ... really hot to start.
Miami outscored Oklahoma City 42-29 in the first quarter with the help of efficient offense.
The Heat shot 16 of 23 (69.6 percent) from the field and 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) on threes, while limiting the Thunder to 7-of-19 shooting (36.8 percent) from the field in the period.
Wednesday’s first quarter went down as Miami’s highest-scoring quarter at Disney.
Robinson was phenomenal in the first quarter, scoring 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting on threes. He was fouled on two-made threes in the period, converting on a pair of four-point plays.
It’s the first time in the past 20 seasons a Heat player has recorded two four-point plays in a game, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Robinson did it in one quarter.
It went down as the second-highest scoring quarter of the season for Robinson, with only a 21-point second quarter in a Nov. 20 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers topping it.
Robinson finished Wednesday’s loss with 19 points on only eight shots, with the help of 5-of-7 shooting from deep in 16 minutes.
Robinson was also involved in a back-and-forth with Thunder All-Star guard Chris Paul late in the second quarter.
Robinson and Paul exchanged words during a stoppage in play, with Paul then stealing the ball and throwing it off Robinson’s back to force the Heat turnover on the ensuing possession. Butler defended his teammate, responding by sticking his shoulder into Paul’s chest on a drive to the basket that was called an offensive foul on Miami’s next possession.
“You’re not going to throw the ball at my teammate like that,” Butler said. “So, yeah, I’ll get a turnover, an offensive foul. We don’t do that here. So you mess with one of my guys, especially one of my shooters, they’re got to deal with me and everybody else.”
There was one scary moment for the Heat in its strong first quarter, though.
Crowder limped off the court after a knee-to-knee collision with Thunder guard Luguentz Dort with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter.
Crowder and Dort did not return to the game following the play.
“He says he’s doing fine,” Spoelstra said of Crowder. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Spoelstra added that an X-ray on Crowder “was clean.”
With the start of the playoffs less than a week away, losing the 30-year-old Crowder would be a big blow for Miami.
Crowder entered Wednesday averaging 12.3 points while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and 45.2 percent on threes, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19 games since he was traded to the Heat in February.
Crowder, who has started in each of Miami’s first seven seeding games, has made 22 of 39 threes (56.4 percent) at Disney.
With Adebayo, Butler and others held out of the second half as a precaution, Heat center Meyers Leonard made his first appearance during seeding play. And rookie Tyler Herro carried the offensive load.
Miami opened the second half with a lineup of Dragic, Herro, Derrick Jones Jr., Solomon Hill and Leonard.
Leonard, who started his first 49 games with the Heat this season, received six consecutive DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) to start the seeding schedule before getting in Wednesday’s game. The 7-footer finished with scoreless while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists in 18 minutes.
Herro, who has been impressive since the season resumed, recorded a career-high 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting on threes in 38 minutes Wednesday. It’s the most points scored by a Heat rookie off the bench in franchise history.
The 20-year-old guard is averaging a team-high 17.4 points on 53 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent shooting on threes, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists during seeding games.
“It has been a very long rookie season. Almost a year. I get to learn so much,” Herro said of his prolonged rookie year. “My teammates and coaches continue to put more trust in me and they continue to teach me. Every day, it’s a different vet. They’re helping me every single day. So I’m just grateful to have guys like Jimmy and Goran, even the new guys who we traded for. They continue to teach me and help me every day.”
Heat captain and veteran forward Udonis Haslem was made inactive for the game. It’s the first game this season that Haslem has entered as a healthy scratch.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 10:34 PM.
