With the Miami Heat coming out of Monday's road game against the Charlotte Hornets with a close win, 116-114, the two teams will face once again Wednesday night. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra talked to the media before the game and spoke about the jarring scheduling decision to face the same teams twice in a row and if there are aspects to clean up on from the previous game.
“Yes. We went to work on that in the film. I'm sure they did as well. And these are unique scheduling deals where you have to face the same teams two games in a row. We're looking forward to this challenge,” Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints. “We've had two of these before, we haven't been able to get two wins out of these. And we know that they know they'll come in with a big sense of urgency and coach [Steve] Clifford will have them prepared as we know and we're looking to bring a hopefully even a better game than we did on the road.”
Asked Miami Heat HC Erik Spoelstra about wanting to see improvements from the team against the Hornets on Monday to tonight.
His full response: #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/AKKF0zWY2t
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) December 13, 2023
As Spoelstra said before, the Heat have had two instances before where they faced the same team twice in a row, but they haven't been able to come out of it with two wins. The first time was when they faced the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 18 and 20 where each team got a win. The most recent was a two-game showdown against the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 and once again, both teams got a victory.
Spoelstra on the scheduling effecting returning players
The unusual scheduling the Heat face could have an impact on the return of key players since the separation of games starting tonight isn't giving. After Wednesday's game against the Hornets, Miami has to play in the tail-end of the back-to-back Thursday against the Chicago Bulls.
Typically, the Heat don't practice the day after the game, but the third game in the home-stand is Saturday as they again face the Bulls. With key players such as Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, and others nearing return, they need some time and practice since they have all missed a significant amount of time.
However, Spoelstra said to the media before the game against the Hornets that it should not be a problem for them whether they are at home or on the road with a congested schedule ahead. He mentioned that he's confident in the amount of players he has to help the injured get back in game-shape.
“Yeah, actually, we could do it at home or away,” Spoelstra said. “But even if we don't have an official practice, we have enough guys that we can get these guys for full-contact workouts.”
Spoelstra on adjusting with injuries impacting rotations
Speaking of the players like Adebayo, Herro, and Highsmith, each will once again be out for the game on Wednesday. Add guard Josh Richardson to the party as he was added to the official injury report with a “head; non-COVID illness.” Spoelstra on the other hand said that the team will adjust to whatever is needed and that could be delving deep into the rotation.
“We'll adjust however we need to and we've had a bunch of guys preparing for this,” Spoelstra said. “Whether that means we have to go deeper in the rotation, we'll see.”
The Heat are once again under-manned, but that hasn't stopped Spoelstra and the rest of the team for going out and winning games. Miami is 13-10 on the season before Wednesday's game against the Hornets which puts them at seventh in the Eastern Conference.
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