Game 41: Miami Heat at Indiana Pacers (1/10/18

The halfway mark of the season has arrived and the Heat visit Indiana on the second day of a back to back looking to extend their winning streak.

Despite it being the second day of a back to back on the road, the Heat came out strong and scored 38 in the first quarter. Even though they were missing James Johnson for suspension, they managed to be efficient. Yet again, Dragic led the Heat in scoring with 20 and Tyler Johnson scored 15 off the bench in his return from injury. Victor Oladipo led the Pacers with 26 points.

Even though it is not viable for full time usage, the Whiteside-Adebayo combination was amazing for the second game in a row. They got almost every rebound and scored impressively. This combo will be useful for short periods, like Coach Spo has been doing the last few games. However, this lineup would not work against top teams that play small ball, such as the Warriors, Cavs and Celtics.

The game went came down to the final seconds and the Heat were able to hit clutch shots to secure the W. This included a crazy Wayne Ellington three the bounced all the way up on the rim and in. This shot were the dagger and prevented the Pacers from getting any momentum late in the game.

The Miami Heat defeat the Indiana Pacers 114-106 and improve to 24-17 on the season. The winning streak increases to 6 in a row.

 

Game 40: Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors (1/9/18)

The Heat start out their road trip against the new powerhouse Toronto Raptors.

Tonight was a huge night. The Heat managed to beat a hot Raptors team by out-rebounding them 64-37. Dragic led the Heat with 24 points, but the big contributor was Bam Adebayo. He had 16 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks and Whiteside added in another double-double as well. DeMar DeRozan was the top scorer for the Raptors with 25.

Other noteworthy events that occurred in the game included Derrick Jones Jr. making his first start for Miami and James Johnson getting ejected for a fight. Derrick impressed yet again tonight, and managed to show off the amazing dunking ability that got him to the dunk contest last season. These highlights included a few great put-back dunks. James Johnson and Serge Ibaka got into an altercation during the game and both players traded blows. A suspension and fine for both players will most likely be coming soon.

This game will surely go down as one of the Heat’s signature wins for this season. Despite the huge rebounding margin, the game was decided in the final seconds.The Raptors were trying to foul the Heat on the dribble, since the Raptors had a foul to give, but messed up and left Wayne open the corner. Wayne Ellington won it on a layup with 0.3 seconds left for the Heat.  How ironic is it the prolific three point shooter won the game on a layup?

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The Heat beat the Raptors 90-89 to move to 23-17 on the season and extend the winning streak to 5.

Game 39: Utah Jazz at Miami Heat (1/8/18)

Rookie of the month Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz visit Miami to play the Heat for the second time this season.

Despite 27 points from the impressive rookie, the Heat managed to pull out a win to sweep the season series with the Jazz. Dragic and Tyler Johnson led the Heat in scoring with 16 points each. Whiteside had an impressive game as well, as he had a double double (14-10) and added in 4 blocks. But yet again, it was Josh Richardson who had the best night of anyone.

Richardson took another huge step in his development on Sunday. With a little over 5 seconds left in the game, JRich hit a clutch layup to put the Heat up by 1. This proved to be the difference maker and allowed the Heat to get the win against the Jazz. Richardson also impacted the game by locking up opponents defensively this game, as he forced a huge turnover from Donovan Mitchell late in the game and guarded multiple positions throughout the game.

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With this victory, the Heat increase their winning streak to 4 games in a row and continue their rise in the Eastern conference standings. As of writing this (1/8/18), the Heat are 5th in the East, and only a half game behind the Wizards for fourth place. It seems finally that Miami is meeting the expectations set before the season. Could Josh Richardson be the star that Miami has been lacking for the last few seasons?

The Miami Heat defeat the Utah Jazz 103-102 and move to 22-17 on the season

Game 38: New York Knicks at Miami Heat (1/5/18)

The Heat played the Knicks (18-20) Friday night looking for revenge for a 29 point embarrassment earlier in the season. 

The Heat managed to win a OT thriller in the rebound game of the season series. Wayne Ellington was the top scorer for the Heat, with 24 off the bench. The Heat were outshot by the Knicks, but managed to pull off the win with clutch shots and free throws. Courtney Lee for the Knicks, AKA a Heat-Killer, had another big game against Miami with 24 of his own. Former Heat #2 overall draft pick Michael Beasley had 20 points off the bench in his return to Miami for New York.

The newly signed Derrick Jones Jr. made his Heat debut today. He even managed to score his first basket, and ended with 2 points on 1-3 shooting. The former Suns player and two-way contract signee seemed to impress Coach Spo and the organization, which warranted his early minutes into this game. I was happy to see a young player get a chance to show off his stuff. Many people do not remember this, but he was in the dunk contest last year representing the Suns, which is why I am so happy the Heat managed to sign him after he was waived.

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Finally, lets discuss the OT. The Heat almost blew this game, as the Heat had the lead, but Doug McDermott hit a clutch three from the corner to tie the game and send it to OT. In  OT, the Knicks had life, but shortly into the period Michael Beasley injured his ankle and New York’s hot hand had to leave the game. This factor helped the Heat pull out the victory. Josh Richardson and James Johnson iced the game with their free throws and capped out an overall great day from the line for the Heat.

The Miami Heat defeat the New York Knicks 107-103 and move to 21-17.

Game 37: Detroit Pistons @ Miami Heat (1/3/2018)

The Pistons (20-15) came to Miami on a hot streak, having won 6 of their last 8 games.

Miami managed to end this hot streak behind hot shooting and 6 double digit scorers. Kelly Olynyk was the Heat’s top scorer with 25 points, but he was not the only high scorer as Dragic had 24 and Richardson had 22. James Johnson returned from injury tonight and performed well, with 16 points off the bench. Overall, the Heat shot 51% from the field and 50% from 3.

Tobias Harris led the Piston’s side with 19 and as usual, was the biggest problem for the Heat. Seriously, this guy always has a good night when he plays the Heat. One of the reasons why the Heat was at an advantage tonight was the fact that Andre Drummond did not play tonight, due to a rib contusion. The Pistons were unable to match Miami’s hot three-point shooting, as they shot only 38% from long range.

Once again, the Heat went with a Dragic-T. Johnson-Richardson-Olynyk-Whiteside starting lineup and I love it. Personally, went the Heat signed Olynyk over the summer, I saw him starting alongside Whiteside to provide more spacing for the team. At the beginning of the season this was not the case, as he came off the bench, but as of the last few games, has been fitting alongside Whiteside very well. Teams have to step out for Olynyk’ shooting ability and respect the fact that Whiteside is close to the basket. This combo is deadly and add Dragic, Richardson and Johnson to the mix to create a match up nightmare.

Finally, the Richardson hype train is still running strong, as he once again took a big step in his development with another 22 point performance. He has, in my opinion, been the Heat’s overall best player this season. I had never imagined back in 2015 the guy we drafted in the second round would be so consistently producing great performances like he has been. Its a longshot, but I believe he deserves to be an All-Star this season from his high level of play this year.

The Heat beat the Pistons 111-104, and move to 20-17 on the season.

Oh yeah, and lets get Wayne Ellington into this years Three Point Shootout #WE2LA

Introduction

Welcome to my blog dedicated to the Miami Heat! I am a college student that currently attends UConn. My passion for the Heat has lead to create this blog where I will write recaps on every Heat game, win or lose! I am by no means a “official NBA pro-writer” so do not take everything I write as fact. I hope that you enjoy my takes and be sure to write yours down below!