Photo by Heat.com
After a short trip on the road, the Miami Heat were back at home for a four-game homestand. The first game was against the Charlotte Hornets, who they played on Monday. Again, Miami found themselves playing without three starters. The game started off very sloppy for Miami with careless turnovers. Offense was clearly a struggle for Miami early on. But, they did create separation as the first half ended and never looked back. With the win, Miami moves to 14-10 for the season. Here are my takeaways from Miami’s win over the Hornets.
Turnovers
The story of the first half were turnovers. Miami entered the game averaging 13 turnovers per game, which is one the fewest turnovers in the league. It didn’t appear that way in the first half, with Miami picking up 14 turnovers before halftime. The Heat were very careless with the basketball. The players were either trying to make homerun passes or just doing too much. Miscommunication also played a factor early in the game with the team not being sharp. However, it got better before halftime with Miami players spacing the floor and making the right passes.
Duncan’s Consistency
Missing Tyler Herro, the Heat needed production from it’s backcourt. Filling in for Herro, Robinson has been able to provide that. We all know how good of a shooter Robinson is. He’s been shooting the ball well off the catch. Most importantly, he’s shooting the ball with zero hesitation. However, he’s improved his all-around game. With defender’s respecting his shot, he’s able to get downhill and make plays for himself and his teammates. Once again, he had a good first half, with 14 points. He led all Heat scorers in the first half, including four triples. Once Herro returns, Robinson will be a key part of the Heat’s bench. Remember when Robinson was considered a bad contract? Times have certainly changed. Robinson ended the night with 20 points.
Lowry’s Perfect Night
This was one of Kyle Lowry‘s best all-around games of the season. He made his first five shots of the game. Lowry was 5 of 5 from the field, including 4 of 4 from downtown. Defensively, he was matched up against Hornets forward Miles Bridges. Bridges entered the game averaging 20 points per game. Despite the size advantage, he struggled against Lowry when he had the ball. Lowry played terrific on-ball defense on Bridges and forced him to lose the ball. Additionally, Lowry did draw a charge on a Hornets player. Lowry would finish the game with 17 points.
Minutes Without Butler
One of the biggest questions entering the game was how the Heat were going to survive the minutes without Jimmy Butler. Especially in the fourth quarter. After playing the whole third quarter, Butler usually sits the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter. And that’s usually danger time for Miami. Without Butler, Miami typically struggles to score without him. And we mentioned earlier that the Heat were missing two of their top three players. On Wednesday, Miami entered the fourth quarter with a 21-point lead. This time, Miami got the job done, with Caleb Martin and Jaime Jaquez Jr leading the charge. Most importantly, Butler didn’t have to play in the fourth period.
Next up: The Chicago Bulls on Thursday.
