The Miami Heat have been one of the most surprising teams in the NBA. They are currently 27-21, ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference. They are even two games behind the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ever since LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh left the Heat, the team has never been the same. What used to be perennial NBA contenders transformed into an Eastern Conference bottom feeders the moment Wade left for the Chicago Bulls in 2016. Interestingly enough, the Heat have bounced back and are near the top of the Eastern Conference standings again. Nonetheless, their lack of effort shows sometimes on the court, especially in an embarrassing loss to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
The Kings won the game 89-88 with a game-winning dunk by De'Aaron Fox. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was not happy with how his team defended the play. According to Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post, Erik Spoelstra accused the Heat of “spectating on the game-winning play”.
Spoelstra said the Fox game-winning putback dunk “probably summed up the evening more than anything. One guy went for it and the rest of us spectated and that’s not how you win NBA games.”
The loss could have also been avoided had the Heat shot better. Miami made just 31 of their 82 shot attempts for an ugly 37.8 field goal shooting percentage. In any case, that defensive breakdown in the finals seconds by the Heat was uncharacteristic of them. Miami boasts of an elite defense that limits opponents to only 101.5 points per game — good for third best in the NBA.
Spoelstra is correct. Defense wins games. Hopefully, the Heat can get back on track on Saturday night when they take on the Hornets.
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