It was an exceptional night for the Miami Heat Monday as they beat the Sacramento Kings on the road despite being under-manned due to suspensions and injuries. It did not matter at the end as they had enough to get by as head coach Erik Spoelstra, Bam Adebayo, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. spoke after the game to talk about the miraculous victory.
Going into this contest, some people might have it had it already marked as a loss because of stars such as Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier, Nikola Jovic, and others missing the game. However, counting out a Heat team coached by Spoelstra down big players is a recipe for disaster and the phrase “We have enough” perfectly describes the culture of this team.
It was never in doubt for Spoelstra as he was confident in the players in the win over the Kings as Miami used their 30th different starting lineup. The Heat's head coach said that his players “love competition and love these kinds of scenarios” according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel.
“We have guys that love competition and love these kinds of scenarios,” Spoelstra said. “Look, these are our rotation guys, so don’t undersell them at all. Our guys have a competitive edge just to get desperate to try to find a way to win. That’s what it was at the end.”
Bam Adebayo coming up huge for short-handed Heat
Without a lot of the key players the Heat were missing, the weight was put on star and captain Bam Adebayo's shoulders and he led the team with an exceptional performance. He scored 28 points, collected 10 rebounds, and recorded seven assists in a jack-of-all-trades performance that saw him do everything.
Spoelstra commended Adebayo's performance to the media after the game and talked about how effective he was on both sides of the floor. So far this season, he has been averaging 20.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field.
“Bam was sensational on both ends of the court tonight,” Spoelstra said. “And then he just gave us those huge buckets down the stretch and the free throws.”
Adebayo is starting off the season after the All-Star break with a boost as he was also a huge factor in the win against the New Orleans Pelicans last Friday. The 26-year old said after the game that he knew Spoelstra would “call my number” throughout the game.
“I feel like you have that mentality when you have guys out,” Adebayo said, “So the top two guys out, obviously Coach called my number a lot tonight and I made plays.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr. with a huge performance
One of the many Heat players that stood out was rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. who started the game and stepped up big time. He would score 26 points as he made 12 of his 17 shot attempts.
While he has taken a slight backseat as of recent due to the team being fully healthy, he made the most of his opportunities Monday night as he showed again why he is one of the league's best rookies. Spoelstra said that Jaquez's strengths like his footwork and his ability to make plays were huge for Miami in the win.
“Jaime’s footwork, when he was able to maneuver and have some more balls come his way in that mid-post,” Spoelstra said via The Sun Sentinel. “It just shows you how advanced he is and fundamental when he gets to his spots. He can use his footwork to create advantages. He made some big plays.”
The comparisons have been ongoing about him and Butler and it continued against the Kings as one could say he filled into that role seamlessly. For the UCLA product though, he focused on the performance from the team as a whole and said it was a “collective team spirit.”
“It’s a collective team spirit,” Jaquez said. “Everybody has that mentality. When guys are down, it’s an opportunity for guys to step up. I thought everyone played great tonight.”
Kevin Love taking a time machine back? Other contributions from Miami
A huge addition for the Heat from last year's season was veteran Kevin Love who was obtained through the buyout market. Since then, he has in some ways revitalized his careers and embraced the role given as a big-man who brings a spark off the bench.
It changed this season where he has been the backup center for Adebayo and has played well as Monday was no different. In 15 minutes of play, he scored 19 points and collected seven rebounds, a performance that Spoelstra called “clever, physical” and “smart.”
“He’s so clever, physical, smart,” Spoelstra said. “For short stretches, he’s [Love] every bit as good as he was and you saw that tonight. Those 15 minutes, it felt like 30 minutes with how impactful they were.”
Another player who contributed double-digits as well was Caleb Martin who scored 16 points and especially had some big plays down the stretch of the game. Spoelstra gave huge props his way and repeated the same phrasing about him that he has used all season which is that Martin is the Heat's “X factor” according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“Caleb’s competitive spirit was felt throughout every second of his 40 minutes on both ends of the court,” Spoelstra said. “He is our ultimate X factor.”
Their next game is Tuesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers as it will be the tail-end of a back-to-back. The Heat are now 32-25 on the season as they have won eight of their last 10 games, putting them sixth in the Eastern Conference as according to Spoelstra, the team is “starting to rally around each other.”
“This group is starting to rally around each other and just pour into the team and pour into what’s necessary to put us in a position to win,” Spoelstra said. “We definitely can use Jimmy and Niko tomorrow night. But we have to enjoy this one until we get on the plane and then start figuring out how to get another one tomorrow in Portland.”
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