The Miami Heat continued their slow start to this season on Saturday, this time suffering a 120-100 loss to the lowly Detroit Pistons.
After the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra shed light on their struggles and singled out turnovers as a major issue:
“These turnovers really just have been crippling,” Spoelstra said, via Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “It’s tough to really get a read on how the game is going when you’re just gifting the other team some easy baskets.”
Prior to the Pistons game, the Heat racked up a total of 20 turnovers against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers capitalized on these errors and scored 37 points off those turnovers for a 125-108 victory.
After that lopsided loss, the Heat failed to right the ship in their next game against the Pistons, committing a season-high 23 turnovers. Detroit also took advantage of these miscues and scored 27 points off them.
Miami and the Chicago Bulls rank at the bottom of the NBA with 18.3 turnovers per game. The Heat are last in turnover percentage.
With the loss, Miami slipped to a 4-7 record for the 11th spot in the Eastern Conference. It has been a bumpy ride to start this season after making the NBA Finals just a few months ago, with injuries and COVID-19 issues leaving them consistently shorthanded. Jimmy Butler has only appeared in six games.
The Heat will have another opportunity to work on their errors as they aim to overcome the Pistons in the second game of a two-game set on Monday.
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