Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat lose 107-98
Pistons defeat Miami.
You can roll out a starting lineup of Willie Reed, Luke Babbitt, Rodney McGruder, Wayne Ellington and Josh Richardson. You can roll to a 14-point first-half lead behind the strength of 10 3-pointers over the first 24 minutes.
But when you are lacking Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic and Justise Winslow, you still leave yourself vulnerable to getting rolled, which turned out to be the case for the shorthanded Miami Heat in Sunday’s 107-98 loss to the Detroit Pistons at American-Airlines Arena.
“I told our guys there’s nothing to be ashamed about with this game,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Against an opponent that entered with losses in seven of its previous eight games, the Heat moved ahead by 14 early, but could not sustain, missing 11 consecutive shots during one second-half stretch.
“I think, to be fair, we probably ran out of gas a little bit,” Spoelstra said. “Not as an excuse, but we were playing guys big minutes.”
The absences of Whiteside, Dragic and Winslow not only left the Heat without three starters, but also lacking depth, with guard Dion Waiters and forward Josh McRoberts remaining sidelined, amid their extended absences, Waiters with a groin issue, McRoberts a foot injury.
“I mean, for me it’s not so much frustration, it’s more just sympathy,” said Winslow, who sat out with a shoulder stinger. “I feel for guys getting banged up. I don’t even really feel bad when I get hurt or whatever. But it’s just more other guys, because I see guys putting in the work. I see how hard we’re trying as a team. So it’s not frustration, you feel for your brother.”
The Pistons’ only concern was making sure to maximize the advantages they held with center Andre Drummond and guards Reggie Jackson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Drummond closed with 25 points and 18 rebounds, a challenging test for Reed in only his third NBA career start. Jackson scored 27 points, Caldwell-Pope 23.
The Heat attempted to shoot their way past the Pistons, with limited results, especially in the second half, when they went nearly nine minutes during one stretch without converting a shot. The Heat scored only 32 points in the second half, shooting .275 (11 of 40) from the field over the final two quarters.
“I think down the stretch we just kind of ran out of gas,” Richardson. “We were playing really hard, but we’re shorthanded. So they just took a toll on us.”
Forward James Johnson led the Heat with 20 points and seven rebounds, with Ellington scoring 18 points and Richardson adding 14.
“I think they just wore on us,” Spoelstra said.
Dragic missed his second consecutive game due to back spasms that could create ongoing issues on the six-game trip the Heat open Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns.
“I feel much better the last two days,” he said. “Today I was doing a little bit of weights and I was running in the pool. So it’s getting looser, definitely.”
Dragic said his intention is to be on the court Tuesday against his former team.
“Oh yeah, definitely, I need to play against Phoenix,” he said with a hopeful smile. “I’m going on the trip. We’ll see day by day, but the last two days, they were good for me. There’s a lot of improvement, so I’m hoping.”
Dragic has now missed three of the past four games due to his back issue, playing over the past week only in Thursday night’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
Whiteside was sidelined after being poked in the right eye by Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder during the fourth quarter of Friday night’s loss at TD Garden.
Whiteside underwent extensive eye tests Saturday, but Spoelstra said playing in goggles is not an option at the moment.
“Not right now,” he said. “That might be something down the line, but right now his eyes are too sensitive.”
Winslow suffered his shoulder injury when he got tangled with Celtics center Al Horford during the final play of Friday’s game in Boston.
“I’m not too worried about it. I should be fine,” he said. “We kind of just banged a little bit, that’s really it.”
Spoelstra said it remains unclear who will travel Monday, when the team flies to Phoenix.
“J-Mac won’t travel, unless something miraculous happens and he can meet us at some point,” Spoelstra said of McRoberts’ stress fracture. “Guys may start the trip not traveling.”
As for Waiters, Spoelstra said, “I hope he’ll travel with us.”