Takeaways: Why The Heat fall to the Bulls while their Roster is Decimated?
The Miami Heat fell behind 33-8 and, though they nearly came back, never led in Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The Chicago Bulls spoil the Miami Heat’s chances of sparking a win streak, defeating Miami, 124-116, Thursday night at Kaseya Center. What seemed like a lifeless game from the Heat forces them back to the drawing board to see what they can accomplish with three starters out (Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Haywood Highsmith).
Why the Heat lost: Bam Adebayo’s absence is missed
Miami lacks an offensive hub with Adebayo out of the lineup. It seems like a crazy scenario when your center is viewed as the best facilitator, but the offense is simply stagnant without Adebayo.
Spoelstra has options to move around the lineup, like Kyle Lowry and Jaime Jaquez Jr., but they’re missing offensive flow that Adebayo provided. He made an impact on the offense at all three levels and opened up opportunities for backdoor cuts, as well as 3-point attempts. Without Adebayo, the Heat are dribbling through the shot clock, forcing unwarranted attempts.
Since Adebayo has been sidelined, the Heat have found themselves relying on multiple pieces to lead the offense, but that’s varied from quarter to quarter. There isn’t a consistent player that Spoelstra can hand the keys to and trust to usher the offense through four quarters.
With Miami down 33-9 late in the first quarter, the Bulls had a chance to extend the lead, but Jamal Cain had other plans. Cain met Patrick Williams at the rim for an emphatic fastbreak block that sparked energy into the Heat.
The Bulls came out of the gate knocking down triples, enough to secure them a lead of more than 20 points in the first quarter. Cain’s block was able to give some sort of life to what looked like a drained Heat team. Miami went into the locker room down 60-56, riding a 12-3 run after the block.
“We didn’t start the game with a lot of juice, and we’re not going to make any excuses about it,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “I shortened the rotation. You have to go for wins whenever you can get them. We started a little but sluggish, but I loved the spirit that everybody brought in the second quarter. It was a game in the second half, and then they definitely made more plays.”
Despite spurted success from the Heat’s reserves, they couldn’t find a way to grab the lead. The Bulls maintained distance throughout the entire matchup, having their way on the offensive end.
Quote of the night: “We’re going to get better at that”
Spoelstra spoke with the media following the Heat’s loss, giving off a hopeless tone. Injuries have surroudned the Heat’s roster from the start of the season, and right now the coaching staff seems frustrated with the numerous game plans they have to develop.
“We had some of those breakdowns that led to open shots and if you defend it right and are super disciplined and focused and locked in that doesn’t guarantee anything. It leaves us wondering,” Spoelstra said. “Those last six minutes, whether those were mental fatigue errors or just lack of discipline errors, I don’t know, but we’re definitely going to get better at that.”
The Heat will have an opportunity against the same Bulls squad on Saturday, so Spoelstra will be able to make some adjustments and Miami’s players will get some rest after playing this one on the second night of a back-to-back.
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