What happened to the defense in the first half, other takeaways from Heat’s loss in Atlanta
.JPG "Atlanta Hawks guard Aaron Holiday, right, drives past Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, in Atlanta.")
The Miami Heat has leaned on its defense to make up ground in the standings in recent weeks, but that usually reliable defense was a no-show in Monday’s first half.
That proved to be too much to overcome, as the Heat (24-21) rallied from a 26-point second-quarter deficit to make it a game that was decided in the final seconds but still fell to the Atlanta Hawks 121-113 on Monday afternoon at State Farm Arena to open a three-game trip.
“A tale of two halves,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “... I probably could sum it up in a sentence. In the first half they just did not feel us, at all. In the second half, they did.”
The Heat, which entered with wins in 12 of its last 17 games, allowed the Hawks to enter halftime with a 20-point lead behind an incredible shooting display.
Atlanta (22-22) scored 70 points on 66.7 percent from the field and 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) shooting from three-point range in the first two quarters.
But the Heat did not go away without making a second-half push, opening the third quarter on a 25-12 run to cut the deficit to seven points with 3:37 left in the period.
That run allowed the Heat to enter the fourth quarter within striking distance, trailing 91-80, despite its nightmarish start to the game.
The Heat’s push continued in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to just four points with 34.3 seconds to play.
It was too late, though, as the Hawks closed the game on a 4-0 run to seal the win.
It didn’t help that the Heat committed a five-second violation on an inbounds pass while trailing by six points with 25.4 seconds left that essentially erased any remaining hopes it had at completing the comeback.
“I don’t think I diagrammed the best play,” Spoelstra said when asked about that costly late-game turnover. “They defended it well. I thought a couple of things were open and they weren’t. So that’s not at all on the guys. That’s on me.”
The Hawks were led by guard Dejounte Murray, who finished with 28 points. Atlanta star guard Trae Young closed with 24 points but also committed 10 turnovers
The Heat wasted an excellent performance from star Jimmy Butler, who finished with 34 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field and 11-of-11 shooting from the foul line.
Heat center Bam Adebayo contributed 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
Victor Oladipo recorded seven points, six rebounds and a season-high 10 assists in 34 minutes off the Heat’s bench.
“I think we’re so talented offensively that we get lost in what’s going to win us games, which is defense,” Butler said. “Again, when our shots are not falling, we tend to press on that and get further away from getting stops and playing defense. I think as a group, as a whole, let our defense dictate our offense.”
The Heat continues the trip on Wednesday against the Pelicans in New Orleans.
Five takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Hawks on Monday:
The Heat’s defense has been a strength this season, and it has been especially good over the last month. But the first half was a rough one for the unit.
Whether the Heat played man or zone, the Hawks seemed to have an answer.
The Hawks’ offense was very comfortable early, totaling 38 points on 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) shooting from the field, 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) shooting from three-point range and 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) shooting from the foul line in the first quarter.
The Hawks continued to shred the Heat’s defense in the second quarter with 32 points on 14-of-20 (70 percent) shooting from the field and 4-of-5 (80 percent) shooting from three-point range in the period.
By halftime, the Hawks had 70 points on 66.7 percent shooting from the field and 8-of-12 (66.7 percent) shooting from deep to enter the break with a 20-point lead. The Heat allowed 137.3 points per 100 possessions in the first half, which is its fourth-worst single-half defensive rating of the season.
“I can’t recall, it feels like one of our poorer defensive games in about a month, just in terms of a disposition and commitment on that side of the floor,” Spoelstra said.
The Heat’s defense stabilized in the second half, allowing just 106.3 points per 100 possessions with the help of eight Hawks turnovers in the final two quarters. Miami’s second-half defensive rating on Monday would rank first among NBA teams for the season.
“When you look at that first half, it’s like a total different team in the second half,” Adebayo said.
But the Heat’s first-half defensive display was so bad that even a dominant second half wasn’t enough to overcome it. Miami outscored Atlanta 63-51 after halftime.
“We had that urgency and edge in the second half, born out of them blowing the doors off of us in that first half,” Spoelstra said. “And that’s just too many mistakes to overcome in that second half. Everything really had to go our way, and there were a couple of key times where it felt like we were going to get it to five. We just couldn’t quite get it over the hump.”
That first-half performance is uncharacteristic for the Heat, which entered Monday with the NBA’s seventh-best defensive rating (allowed 110.9 points per 100 possessions) this season. Miami also posted the league’s second-best defensive rating (allowed 109.8 points per 100 possessions) during its 12-5 run that preceded Monday’s loss.
Considering that that Heat holds the NBA’s 23rd-ranked offensive rating this season, it needs its defense to be above average to win most nights. The defense was well below average on Monday.
“Sometimes these lessons can be costly in terms of how committed you have to be to your identity,” Spoelstra said. “Our defense is paramount to us. That’s how we win basketball games, particularly as you bring guys back from injury.”
Heat starting point guard Kyle Lowry missed his fourth straight game, but the fact that he even traveled with the team for this trip is a positive sign that his return could come soon.
Spoelstra confirmed as much, but stopped short of speculating on a possible return date for Lowry, who is dealing with left knee discomfort.
“I don’t want to give a date to it,” Spoelstra said a few hours before Monday’s game in Atlanta. “But certainly the fact that he’s on the trip shows that he’s still going to be on that day-to-day protocol and we’ll just have to continue to let him and the trainers do their work. Eventually one of these days, he’ll be ready to go.”
But one source familiar with the situation believes that Lowry’s return will come this week. The Heat has two games remaining on the trip — Wednesday against the Pelicans and Friday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Along with missing Lowry, the Heat was without Nikola Jovic (lower back stress reaction), Duncan Robinson (finger surgery) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) against the Hawks.
The Heat also made forward Jamal Cain inactive for Monday’s game in order to save one of his two-way contract days. Cain was sent back to the G League following the loss in Atlanta but is expected to rejoin the Heat for Friday’s matchup against the Mavericks in Dallas.
Despite Lowry’s absence, the Heat continues to get healthier as two starters made their returns on Monday.
Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin were back in their usual starting spots for the Heat against the Hawks after missing time with injuries. Herro missed the previous three games with left Achilles soreness and Martin missed the previous five games with a left quadriceps strain.
“The most important thing is that they’re back and able to play those minutes,” Spoelstra said.
Herro closed Monday’s loss with 15 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-8 shooting on threes, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes.
“Tyler was trying to get in a rhythm in the first half,” Spoelstra said. “He finally got in a better rhythm in the second half. And these are things to be expected.”
Martin finished with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field and 1-of-1 shooting on threes, six rebounds, one assist and two steals in 26 minutes. He also spent most of the game as Young’s primary defender.
“Caleb’s energy in the second half was terrific, outstanding,” Spoelstra said. “I didn’t anticipate playing him this many minutes, but we just had to. But it was basically 12 straight minutes in the third quarter. But the momentum was shifting and really, I think he was the one that kind of spearheaded the shift in our whole deal defensively. He was just so active. It was great to see him back out there like that.”
With Herro and Martin back, that allowed Max Strus and Haywood Highsmith to return to bench roles. But Gabe Vincent made his fourth straight start in place of the injured Lowry.
It’s also worth noting that the Heat again used undrafted rookie center Orlando Robinson as the backup center on Monday ahead of Dewayne Dedmon. Robinson finished with a poor plus/minus of minus-14 in 12 minutes against the Hawks.
The Heat entered Monday with the second-most missed games in the NBA (185 missed games) this season due to injury, according to Spotrac. But slowly, Miami is getting healthier.
It’s been an up-and-down season that has included more than a few disappointing losses for the Heat. But one thing it hasn’t included much of are blowout losses.
The Heat has played in the second-most clutch games (one that has a margin of five points or fewer inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter) this season at 30, with a 16-14 record in those situations. That means plenty of close wins and close losses.
Despite trailing by as many as 26 points, Monday turned into another clutch game for the Heat as it pulled within four points with less than a minute to play.
The Heat only has five double-digit losses this season. For perspective, the team with the NBA’s best record, the Boston Celtics, has six double-digit defeats this season.
The Heat-Hawks matchup was part of the NBA’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day lineup.
It marked the 17th time that the Heat has played on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, including the sixth consecutive season. Monday’s loss snapped Miami’s three-game winning streak on the holiday.
“I think it’s a great day of reflection and celebration and hopefully it always continues into action,” Spoelstra said when asked about the significance of the day. “I know I always think if [Martin Luther King Jr.] was still living, what would he do in today’s time right now to really try to drive change and what would he think about where we all are? I know he would see progress, for sure. But there’s still a long way to go. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and we all need to be a part of it.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2023 at 6:00 PM.
