The Miami Heat are in preparation to hopefully snap their seven-game losing streak Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, though they will be without a key weapon in Duncan Robinson. The skid is the longest for the Heat since the 2007-2008 season where the team only won 15 games the whole year.
Robinson is currently in concussion protocol where it links to a spill that happened in last Saturday's matchup against the New York Knicks. He would eventually play Monday's contest against the Phoenix Suns, but left early which was listed as an “illness” at the time. Now on the NBA official injury report and by the Heat, he is in the protocol as mentioned before.
Erik Spoelstra talks about the plan of attack for Miami without Robinson
The un-drafted gem for Miami has always been a big threat from three-point range, though he has improved in a ton of areas to make himself an all-around solid player off the bench. With him out, there could be a question about the lack of spacing, but Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra believes they have enough and there are a ton of players that are “due” and “ignitable.”
“We have enough spacing, and I feel like a handful of guys are due and they're ignitable. Our whole offense doesn't have to be build on that. Obviously, we know what we want to get to,” Spoelstra said. “We want to be aggressive and put some pressure on the paint, that's when we're at our best and then it all works together. But you got me talking about the offense again, the defense is something that we definitely want to collectively have more commitment and resolve on that side of the floor. We just feel like a lot of these things will take care of themselves if we can get the karma of the game going in the right direction.”
Tyler Herro being a “catch and shoot guy”
The same was said about star Tyler Herro Tuesday after their film session as he has transitioned into a “catch and shoot” player as newcomer Terry Rozier gets more acclimated into the offense. In the past three games, he has taken at least 10 shots from beyond the arc and even himself said after the Heat's loss to the Suns that he is “trying to sacrifice how I play to fit the team” which further proves the team experimenting in finding consistency.
“Yeah, trying to sacrifice how I play to fit the team,” Herro said. “I’m going to try to be more of a catch-and-shoot guy to fit the offense.”
It will be interesting to see Herro's role as the second half of the season moves forward as he averages 21.5 points while shooting 43.2 percent and 40.3 percent from the field and deep respectively. In terms of Robinson's health, Spoelstra said that he felt fine after the Knicks game, but felt off in the Suns contest. He also mentioned that he is in the “beginning of the process” in terms of recovery.
Spoelstra talks about the Kings ahead 0f battle
Looking at the matchup ahead, it is against another tough team from the Western Conference in the Kings. At a 27-18 record, they are fifth in the conference as their team is stacked with talented players such as De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, and more.
Spoelstra would praise head coach Mike Brown to the media before the game started as he is doing a “heck of a job” with Sacramento. He further said to ClutchPoints that the team has some “continuity” now, which they haven't had in the past.
“They had a very good season last year. They're talented, Mike is doing a heck of a job with that team,” Spoelstra said. “I think they've built a system on both sides of the floor that really makes sense. And they've had some continuity now, which they haven't had for so many years before that. So that has led to some more comfort and confidence and understanding what their game is.”
The road doesn't get any easier for the Heat as they look to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Kings Wednesday night inside the Kaseya Center. They are 24-23 which puts them at seventh in the Eastern Conference.
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