But then, Wade missed his last seven field goals and went scoreless in the fourth quarter, and the Heat only scored 11 points in the final 12 minutes of play en route to a 86-76 loss in a possible playoff preview.
This time, Wade's teammates were not there for him like they were against Cleveland. Mario Chalmers, who shot six-for-seven from downtown just three nights ago, shot one-for-seven from downtown tonight and 1-for-11 overall. Shawn Marion did not continue to be more aggressive with the ball, instead going one-for-five from the field for just four points.
Wade started a fourth quarter in which Miami was down two on the bench. Coach Erik Spoelstra usually has his star guard rest at the commencement of the fourth quarter, but broke from that in the home game against Cleveland. Spoelstra, however, stuck with his usual rotation and watched Orlando jump out to a quick five-point lead early on.
Even with Wade in the game, Miami's offense either hoisted up a prayer or turned the ball over. By the midway point of the fourth quarter, Hedo Turkoglu extended Orlando's lead to eight on a pair of free throws. And while Daequan Cook hit a three-pointer with 5:30 remaining to make it a 72-76, Miami couldn't get much offense after that. Orlando shot 32 percent from the field in the fourth quarter, but its defense simply stifled the Heat.
It is beyond my knowledge why Spoelstra did not put in Michael Beasley after seeing Wade struggle. Orlando did a good job of defending the pick-and-roll, and closed out nicely to open shots by Udonis Haslem and Cook. Why wouldn't Spoelstra put another offensive threat on the court to make things easier for Wade? Beasley's offense would have been useful in Miami's fourth-quarter scoring drought.
Beasley finished with eight points on four-of-nine shooting in 13 minutes.
Udonis Haslem had 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting and eight rebounds, but his shot went cold late in the game. Wade never forced anything in the final stanza of play, and found Haslem for open looks. Haslem didn't deliver, and maybe Wade made a mistake by deferring to his teammates so much.
Cook was the only other Heat player to score in double figures, with 10 points on four-for-nine shooting. Cook has worked hard to get the "streaky" label off him as a shooter this season. Chalmers, however, will have to keep that label with him, after he followed a great night with a deplorable one.
Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire did a good job on Dwight Howard, holding him to 15 points, five below his season average. Rashard Lewis, however, made Miami pay for leaving him open, with four triples and 17 points in total. And although Turkoglu had a rough shooting night, he did make it to the free throw line eight times. Wade, by comparison, only made two trips to the foul line. Orlando as a whole shot 30 attempts from the line, while Miami only went for freebies 10 times.
Marcus Banks may have gotten the backup point guard role just recently, but he may have given it up tonight. The 6-foot-2 journeyman shot zero-for-two from the field, committed two fouls and turned the ball over two times. With 11 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Banks fouled Jameer Nelson about five feet away from the three-point line. Only the Heat didn't have a foul to give, and Nelson went to the line for a pair. I know Chris Quinn couldn't get past half-court and couldn't contain Jordan Farmar against the Los Angeles Lakers two weeks ago, but at least he could offer some shooting and steadiness.
The Heat will have little time to regroup after this loss, as the team will fly down to Miami to host the New Jersey Nets. Miami has beaten New Jersey twice, albeit barely both times, this season. And this is a win the Heat needs, with San Antonio coming up next, followed by a seven-game road trip. With Detroit on a five-game winning streak and Atlanta already 10 games above .500, this wasn't a good way to start January for the Heat if they want to go up in the standings.
No comments:
Post a Comment