With 22 games left in the NBA regular season, the Miami Heat are in the midst of finding their place in the Eastern Conference standings as they are 34-26, putting them seventh in the Eastern Conference. They can possibly move up or down as they have a game against the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night as Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke to the media about the storylines surrounding the contest.
While fans might write Tuesday's game and other sub .500 contests in the future as an automatic win, Miami should not overlook them as even Spoelstra mentioned that specifically Detroit have been in a lot of close games with viable teams in the association. The team knows this as the head coach expressed the Heat are “not where we want to be right now,” despite winning 10 of the Heat's last 13 games.
“We have a lot at stake and we're not where we want to be right now. One instance, but more importantly, the consistency to what we're trying to do,” Spoelstra said. “But this is what's great about the league right now, everything's just really competitive. And that that should bring out hopefully a better level out of us.”
A rematch against Detroit from the very first game of Miami's season
A lot has changed since the very first game of the season where the Heat got a tight victory against the Pistons on Oct. 25, 2023. Miami is fighting for position in the playoffs while the other is tied with the Washington Wizards for the least amount of wins on the season with just nine.
Looking back, the Pistons very young, inexperienced team gave the Heat a lot of problems, despite coming out of it with a one-point victory. For Spoelstra, that game has since a blur as he admitted to ClutchPoints that the season opener “feels almost like a different season.”
“I don't even really remember. We watch some of the clips, but that just feels almost like a different season probably for both teams. More relevant is what we've been trying to get to more consistently, to our identity,” Spoelstra said. “And Detroit has been playing better and I think that speaks to the talent they have on the team. I think Monty is just such an exceptional leader that he has fortitude, his team's embody that and if you pay attention, they've improved a lot. They've been in a lot of really tough, close games, particularly against the teams that we've been fighting against.”
No official comment on Patty Mills signing yet from Heat
Miami made some news Tuesday afternoon as it was reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that they will sign guard Patty Mills who will be bought out of his contract with the Atlanta Hawks. While it hasn't been made official from the team itself, Spoelstra talked about the depth of the team.
“I can't comment about anything but we love our depth and love the versatility that we have on our team and that's one of our strengths for sure,” Spoelstra said
The move for Mills is not totally surprising as the Heat are dealing with injuries to the back court as Tyler Herro and Josh Richardson continue to miss time with a foot and shoulder injury respectively. Mills adds another veteran presence to the locker room, especially one that has massive playoff experience like early in his career with the San Antonio Spurs who funny enough, faced Miami in the NBA Finals in 2013 and 2014.
Follow Us
Subscribe