Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
As year opens, Head tied for most losses
No, 2016 has not exactly been a year to remember for the Miami Heat. Chris Bosh again was sidelined with blood clots, no longer part of the team’s future. Dwyane Wade left for the Chicago Bulls after rancorous free-agency negotiations. And now the reality that the no team will go into 2017 with more losses than the Heat’s 24.
At 10-24 heading into Sunday’s New Year’s game against the Detroit Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat New Year’s resolutions arguably could center on maximizing their possibilities in the NBA draft lottery.
But even with a challenging six-game trip to follow the one-game pit stop at home, coach Erik Spoelstra insists the Heat is not giving in to pessimism.
“Offensively, the last two games, I think we saw improvement,” Spoelstra said, pointing to ball movement that left the Heat with 35 assists to only 12 turnovers in Friday night’s 117-114 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. “Being able to execute under pressure on the road and getting the type of shots that we wanted to for the majority of the night, those are steps of improvement.
“It’s painful in our locker room. But we’ve said before: Experience is the best teacher and we’re getting that experience right now.”
The loss in Boston continued the trend of close losses, an area where the losses of Bosh and Wade have proven profound, considering it was just in May that the Heat were one victory from an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals.
“I think we just need to get over the hump,” guard Tyler Johnson said. “I thought [Friday] was just a good, hard-fought battle. I think we did a good job of not putting ourselves behind in the first half and coming out with good energy, so we weren’t fighting that uphill battle.”
Forward James Johnson, who led the Heat with 22 points in Boston, said he sees the types of strides not reflected in the standings.
“I think we’re just a couple steps away from getting over the hump where we win close games,” he said. “We’ve won [one] or two in close-game situations. We’ve battled back. Now we’ve just got to learn to sustain the lead or step on people’s neck and go up by 20.”
One-eyed center
Hassan Whiteside‘s next appearance could come in goggles, after the Heat center was poked in the right eye late in the loss in Boston.
“I feel like Jae Crowder like swung for the ball and he like poked me in the eye,” Whiteside said of his fourth-quarter moment with the aggressive Celtics forward.
Whiteside was scheduled to see a specialist Saturday after receiving treatment in Boston.
“I just can’t see anything out of it right now,” he said after Friday’s game. “But I’m meeting with an eye doctor to see what the analysis is.”
Whiteside said it is his first career eye injury.
“You would think as much as I rebound, it would happen more often,” he said.
Whiteside closed with 11 points and eight rebounds against the Celtics, his third consecutive game without a double-double, matching his longest such streak of the season.
Turnaround time
Spoelstra said he appreciated the pushback from forward Justise Winslow against the Celtics. After being limited to one point on 0-for-9 shooting against the Charlotte Hornets, Winslow closed with 11 on 5-of-13 shooting in Boston, thriving on his attempts closer to the rim.
“I liked his competitive response. He was our leading rebounder,” Spoelstra said, with Winslow closing Friday with a game-high nine. “He did a lot of winning-play type things. It’s exactly what we’ve been talking about and been emphasizing.
“Regardless of what your shooting percentage is, whether the ball is going in or not, there’s a world more of plays that you can make, and he’s mature enough that he understands that.”