Tense Heat facing ‘Code Red,’ J. Johnson says
Better communication, stop finger pointing would help team.
MIAMI — Heat tri-captain James Johnson had a message for his teammates as they carried a 7-9 record into Wedneday night’s game against the Boston Celt- ics, winners of 16 games in a row. “We’re no longer twit c hing the needle,” Johnson said after Wednesday morning’s shootaround session. “This is Code Red right now. We don’t have no time to wait. This is where the playoff games or games to get in the playoffs reside right now.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra is pleased with the work that’s been accom- plished since Sunday’s blowout home loss to the Indiana Pacers, but the challenge is to sustain it. The Heat entered Wednesday as the league’s seventh-best first-half team in terms of plus-minus at plus-44, but also the league’s worst second-half team at minus-87.
“There’s times in games where it’s like, OK, that’s what we’re trying to get to,” Spoelstra said Wednesday morning. “That’s the identity we’re trying to get to. And then boom, we have the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. So it’s about habits and behavior right now. We’re firmly rooted in process right now. And then we’ll see what kind of result happens from that. But it’s all these little steps that we have to correct first. And hopefully to find a little bit more
consistency and reliability.”
The talk in between games hasn’t helped the Heat.
After the starting back- court of Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters pointed to screen-setting as an issue hurting the Heat’s drive-and
kick offense, center Hassan Whiteside pointed the finger right back, saying the guards need to be patient.
But Heat guard Wayne Ellington said that type of dialogue needs to end.
“That comes with commu- nication between the guards and the bigs and we have to
hold each other accountable,” Ellington said. “We
can’t point the finger at one guy and he point the finger back. You got to say, ‘Hey, OK, I’m going to do my job and wait for you to get here and then wait for you to set this screen.’ That’s how you get through that and after you talk about it, you go out there on the court and you get it done.”
No more excuses. The Heat now want some wins.
“We don’t necessarily need the excuses that we were making,” Johnson said. “Guards, bigs. We just set the bar high during the last two days of practice and we just kept running and running and running until you didn’t need that excuse that you were using.” Adebayo learning on job: Bam Adebayo has spent most of the season on the bench.
Entering Wednesday’s game against the Celtics, the 20-year-old rookie has played in 10 of Miami’s first 16 games. He’s averaging 12.3 minutes of playing time in those 10 appearances.
But Adebayo is making
the most of his rookie season behind the scenes. “I give Bam a lot of credit,”
Ellington said. “As a young guy, it’s rare you see some- one as professional and as hard-working and who
understands it as much as him. I don’t know if that’s the culture that just wears off on him immediately or those are habits that he already had coming in.”
Adebayo, who was selected with the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft, is averaging 3.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in his limited time on the court. With Whiteside, Kelly Olynyk and Johnson ahead of him, Adebayo’s minutes usually come because of foul trouble, injury or a need for energy off the bench.
“Just always staying pos-
itive,” Adebayo said. “Giving to my teammates even though they don’t need me right now, just feeding positive energy into them is the best thing I can do.”
And Adebayo doesn’t have to play in a game to learn from his teammates. A lot of those lessons are taught behind the scenes.
“Just learning from the vets and just seeing what they go through having back-toback games and how they handle that.” Adebayo said. “It’s wearing on their body, but it shows how they take care of their body. You got
to be like a sponge. You got
to soak in all the information you can.”
Spoelstra praised Adebayo’s approach
“He hasn’t been caught up in any kind of dilemma or impatience,” Spoelstra said. “Now he wants to get out there and he’s a Type A wired personality where he’s extremely competitive, but he’s been focused on just getting better and spending a lot of time with (assistant coach Juwan Howard). He’s been diligent and consistent with his film study, his player development and it’s prepared him when he’s gotten that opportunity. And he gets it. He understands that whole process.”
That impresses Adebayo’s teammates.
“Whenever Spo calls his name, he’s ready to go out there and help the team win,” Ellington said. “It’s
tough to do, especially as a young player. He gets it, man. Him coming in here, he’s always the first person here. I’ve come in early and he’s already here, whether in the locker room or on the court. That’s something you look for as a veteran guy.
“He’s going to be a big problem in this league for years to come.”