The Miami Heat suffered a disappointing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night, 111-99, where the team missed three starters in Bam Adebayo, Haywood Highsmith, and Tyler Herro. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, Kyle Lowry, and Josh Richardson spoke to the media after the game about the recipe for disaster and why the team performed the way it did.
Spoelstra wanted to start his statement by giving props to Cleveland for having an exceptional game-plan against Miami. He went on to say that the Heat's 18 turnovers were shattering, but even the plays that don't count towards the stat-sheet like bobbling the ball and missing catches were negative to the team's momentum.
“First you have to credit Cleveland. But we're bobbling, mis-dribbles, missed catches, careless with the ball right out of the gate. Even if we didn't turn it over, that kind of set the tone for the game. If you did turnovers throughout the course of the game with the bobbles, missed catches, Miss-dribbles. It probably was 35 [turnovers],” Spoelstra said. “It gets you disjointed, gets everybody out of rhythm and we just couldn't overcome that. I thought there were some decent things defensively throughout the course of the game, but not even scoring 100 points, granted they are a good defense. But that's that's not going to get it done.”
Miami missing the presence of Bam Adebayo
The Heat missed Bam Adebayo for the third straight game due to a nagging hip issue that's been around since the start of the season. He brings not only elite defense and soaring offense, but also much-needed rebounding. This was a vast issue in the matchup against the Cavs and even with missing Evan Mobley, they beat Miami in the rebounding battle, 51-37.
Spoelstra talked about the backbreaking rebounds, especially when Cleveland would get second-chance opportunities. Losing that significantly in rebounding prompted the head coach to talk about why the team needs to build fortitude for the future.
“Yeah, we scrambled around and there was more than a handful of possessions when we got them into the clock and have good defensive stops that lead to an offensive rebound. Those can be deflating plays,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “The three of them in the first half that happened after missed shots, when we are missing shots, they all hold the floor, it still could have been an eight to 10 point lead even by missing all of our shots in the second quarter. And that's the type of fortitude that we're going to develop as the season goes on and that's what's required in the playoffs. These are painful lessons when you lose games at home like this.”
Asked Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra about the team losing the rebounding battle, 51-37.
Said there are components they have to work and goes into detail why they lost tonight’s game. Full response: #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/reU0ipCODa
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 9, 2023
The Heat would have a 16-point lead in the second quarter, but it was quickly erased after the Cavs would go on a 15-0 run and took a one-point lead into the second half. This performance from Miami is different than the team that went on a seven-game winning streak earlier in the season.
Kyle Lowry talks about what went wrong for Miami
Point guard Kyle Lowry, who had a team-high 17 points, said that a huge aspect is not letting the lack of offense “dictate” how the defense plays. Besides the turnovers and losing the rebound battle, it was simply that shots weren't falling as Lowry explains to ClutchPoints.
“We missed a lot of open shots early in the game. We had a lead after the first quarter. I think that they're, you know, they're really good rebounding team and they didn't have one of the bigger guys, you know, I think they just spaced the floor,” Lowry said. “And we missed a lot of looks early in the game and throughout the game, but you know, that's a talented team down there and they're playing better.”
Asked Miami Heat’s Kyle Lowry about the turnovers and rebounding margin. He said they’ll be better and gave props to the Cavs. Full response: #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/bS4x1NCmmc
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 9, 2023
Josh Richardson gives credit to Cleveland
Another player that agrees with Lowry is Josh Richardson who also had 17 points on the game, even though he scored all of it in the first half. He said to ClutchPoints that the Cavs did a good job on the glass even without the force that is Mobley.
“I mean, honestly I think we were getting a lot of good looks at it. I think they did a good job of just backing the paint, making making shots tough for us. They did do a good job on the glass, especially without Evan [Mobley] out there,” Richardson said. “You know, I think that the way Dean Wade stepped in and did a great job and George played a good game. So we have to go back to the drawing board and you know, figure it out, but nothing to panic over.”
Asked Miami Heat’s Josh Richardson if the 18 turnovers and losing the rebounding margin was a back breaker for them. His response: #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/hJ6Cc5j6Jr
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 9, 2023
The Heat are now 12-10 in the regular season which puts them at ninth place in the Eastern Conference. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the immediate sense, Miami will play five of their next six games at home. First, they'll travel to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, Dec. 11.
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