Heat extends rotation, showcases its depth
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 115-99 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
1. With 12 rotation-level players healthy, coach Erik Spoelstra expanded the rotation. After using a 10-man rotation for most of the season, the Heat went 11 deep against the Celtics.
That means Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Dwyane Wade, Dion Waiters, Bam Adebayo, Derrick Jones Jr., Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Johnson all played. The only active Heat players who did not get in the game were Wayne Ellington and Udonis Haslem.
2. Miami’s elite-level defense made an appearance against Boston. The Heat usually wins when its defense is on, and it was on Thursday. Miami limited Boston to 99 points on 40.4 percent shooting. While Celtics All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving finished with 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting, the rest of the team combined to shoot 26 of 70 (37.1 percent).
It was one of the Heat’s most impressive defensive performances of the season, considering the Celtics entered with the league’s top offensive rating over their last 20 games.
3. When adversity struck, Wade stepped up to settle the Heat.
After Boston used a 24-6 run to cut Miami’s 26-point lead to eight with 1:24 remaining in the third quarter, Wade scored nine straight in a two-minute stretch to end the Celtics’ surge.
At the end of Wade’s nine-point run, Miami led by 13. The Heat controlled the game from there.
Wade finished with a team-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench.
4. Spoelstra spoke before the game about the need for Miami to win the rebounding battle after two disappointing performances on the glass. The Heat ended up dominating the boards against the Celtics.
Miami outrebounded Boston 51-37, which is usually a good sign for a Heat team that entered averaging the fifth-most rebounds per game in the NBA. The Heat is 13-8 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
5. The Celtics were one of the hottest teams in the league, but the rested Heat took advantage of favorable circumstances. While Miami was off Wednesday, Boston hosted the Pacers to start a homeand-road back-to-back set. The Celtics won their fourth straight in a 135-108 blowout. Boston then took a late three-hour flight to Miami for its matchup against the Heat, which marked the Celtics’ third game in four nights.
It’s overly simplistic to blame Boston’s loss on this, but it definitely didn’t hurt. This was something Miami couldn’t take advantage of Tuesday against Denver, which was also playing its third game in four nights on the second night of a backto-back set.