It was just one game, but Heat knows it needs to respond after being ‘punched in the mouth’
The Miami Heat didn’t shy away from stating the obvious Thursday after its 95-78 loss to the Boston Celtics.
“That’s probably as poorly as we’ve played offensively all season, including the preseason and training camp,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
The quick numbers:
▪ The 78 points were the fewest it has scored in a game since Jan. 17, 2016, and it came after the Heat entered the matchup averaging a league-best 115.6 points per game and outscoring opponents by an average of 16.7 points per contest.
▪ 34.6 percent shooting from the field, the first time since Dec. 29, 2017, with a shooting efficiency that low.
▪ A nine-point second quarter, just the second time in franchise history the team scored fewer than 10 points in the second quarter. The other came on Dec. 23, 1995.
▪ Eighteen turnovers, the third time in eight games they’ve committed at least that many.
But with that said, the Heat also isn’t putting too much weight on an early November loss, so long as it learns from it. There are 74 more games to play, after all, and Miami entered that game against the Celtics as one of the league’s top teams over the first few weeks of the season.
The turnaround is quick. The Heat hosts the Utah Jazz (7-1) on Saturday, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. from FTX Arena.
“It’s one game,” center Bam Adebayo said, “so let’s calm down.”
“I think any time you get punched in the mouth like that, you got to learn from that,” guard Duncan Robinson added. “Great teams obviously learn from their wins, as well. And I think we took a lot away from wins. But I think you’re forced to learn a lot from losing, as well. So yeah, we’ll definitely take away a lot from this one.”
The Heat’s offensive struggles came in part due to the Celtics’ aggressive switching defense. Boston was prepared for just about everything Miami had planned. The Heat generated little momentum as a result.
“Those nights are going to happen,” Spoelstra said. “Sometimes it’s going to be ugly offensively. Sometimes teams are going to take you out of what you normally do. We’ve been in a great groove offensively and we just didn’t play the way we’ve been accustomed to playing. The mistakes, the turnovers obviously were a factor and some missed shots at key times and then where they just took us out of some things. We jammed up some possessions and weren’t able to capitalize on what they were trying to do.”
The Heat responded well from its first loss of the season, winning five consecutive games after an overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Now, Miami is presented with another opportunity to show how it can adapt.
“The league is constantly going to adjust,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not like whatever we’re doing now that this is going to just be it for the rest of the season. We have to continue to adjust and do things sharper and do things with more purpose, more intention.”
Kyle Lowry injury update
The Heat’s big question heading into Saturday’s game with the Jazz: Will Kyle Lowry play. He left Thursday’s loss late in the third quarter with a left ankle sprain and did not return.
Spoelstra did not have an immediate update on Lowry’s status postgame Thursday and the team has listed him as questionable for Saturday. KZ Okpala (sprained right ankle) is also questionable.
“I know him well enough that it’s very similar to Jimmy,” Spoelstra said Thursday. “You ask him how he’s doing and he’s like, ‘Fine.’ But we’ll have to see how it responds.”
Both of the Heat’s losses this season have come in games where Lowry either left with an injury or did not play. He was inactive in Miami’s 102-91 overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Jazz is dealing with its own injuries, as star guard Donovan Mitchell (right ankle sprain) is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game against the Heat.
Royce O’Neale (right ankle sprain) is also questionable for Utah. Udoka Azubuike (G League) and Rudy Gay (right heel injury recovery) will miss the game.
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 12:27 PM.
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