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MIAMI – With 3:09 to play in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s 121-112 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat forward Andrew Wiggins headed to the bench. Turned out, his night was over.
Considered a key component in the best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series that the Cavaliers lead 2-0, Wiggins to this point has been little more than a bit player.
In Sunday night’s series-opening 121-100 loss, there were 14 points, with the Heat outscored by a game-worst 22 with Wiggins on the court.
Wednesday night, there were just 10 points and only one rebound, the Heat outscored by nine when he was on the court, worst among the Heat’s starters.
So when it came to closing time, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra instead went with Nikola Jovic for all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter Wednesday night and even with Haywood Highsmith for all but 25 seconds of that decisive final period.
Spoelstra said the intention was to get Wiggins back for the close, but his team’s rally within two altered that calculus.
“I actually put him at the scorer’s table at six to go,” Spoelstra said, “and the group wanted to keep on pushing through.”
That push came in the void of the defense of Wiggins that had been trusted to the degree at Wednesday night’s outset that it was Wiggins who was given the initial defensive assignment on Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, even with Spoelstra having inserted defensive stopper Davion Mitchell into his Game 2 starting lineup.
Donovan Mitchell scored just four points in Wednesday night’s opening period, but 17 of his 30 in the fourth.
Spoelstra said the lack of late minutes was not an indictment on Wiggins.
“Obviously he’ll be very important the rest of the series,” he said.
Acquired at the Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline from the Warriors in the deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Golden State, Wiggins has two seasons remaining on his contract, at $28.2 million next season and then a player option for $30.2 million in 2026-27.
Davion Mitchell, who closed with 18 points Wednesday night, said he will be better braced for Donovan Mitchell on Saturday.
“I mean, it’s tough,” Davion Mitchell said of the assignment. “He hit some tough shots. I mean shots that we can’t really, I mean it’s nothing you can really do really. I mean, it’s kind of like pull-up mid-rangers, step-back threes, deep threes. The kind of shots that sometimes you can’t get to.
“I mean, he’s a superstar for a reason. I mean, you just got to kind of just contest and try to bother him, make him see different looks next time, don’t let him go. That’s what he want to get to. So we’ll be ready for it next time, though.”
Donovan Mitchell closed 10 of 21 from the field in Game 2, but was 4 of 4 on 3-pointers in the decisive fourth quarter.
After attempting 31 3-pointers in their Game 1 loss, the Heat cranked that total up to 45 in Game 2.
“This is what this game presented and we have to be able to take open shots, create open shots,” Spoelstra said of the changed shot profile. “If those shots end up being from behind the three-point line, take them.”
Highsmith closed 5 of 6 from beyond the arc in Game 2, with the rest of the Heat at 9 of 39.
Tyler Herro, who closed 4 of 11 from beyond the arc in his 33-point performance, said the threat of the threes helped unlock more of the Heat offense, as he played more off the ball in Game 2.
“Obviously I want to score,” he said, “but sometimes just running off the ball and creating those overreactions allows my teammates to get easier baskets and then from there, I can kind of open up for myself. But definitely trying to create those overreactions is a big part of what we’re trying to do right now.”
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Considered a key component in the best-of-seven opening-round Eastern Conference playoff series that the Cavaliers lead 2-0, Wiggins to this point has been little more than a bit player.
In Sunday night’s series-opening 121-100 loss, there were 14 points, with the Heat outscored by a game-worst 22 with Wiggins on the court.
Wednesday night, there were just 10 points and only one rebound, the Heat outscored by nine when he was on the court, worst among the Heat’s starters.
So when it came to closing time, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra instead went with Nikola Jovic for all 12 minutes in the fourth quarter Wednesday night and even with Haywood Highsmith for all but 25 seconds of that decisive final period.
Spoelstra said the intention was to get Wiggins back for the close, but his team’s rally within two altered that calculus.
“I actually put him at the scorer’s table at six to go,” Spoelstra said, “and the group wanted to keep on pushing through.”
That push came in the void of the defense of Wiggins that had been trusted to the degree at Wednesday night’s outset that it was Wiggins who was given the initial defensive assignment on Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, even with Spoelstra having inserted defensive stopper Davion Mitchell into his Game 2 starting lineup.
Donovan Mitchell scored just four points in Wednesday night’s opening period, but 17 of his 30 in the fourth.
Spoelstra said the lack of late minutes was not an indictment on Wiggins.
“Obviously he’ll be very important the rest of the series,” he said.
Acquired at the Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline from the Warriors in the deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Golden State, Wiggins has two seasons remaining on his contract, at $28.2 million next season and then a player option for $30.2 million in 2026-27.
Mitchell v. Mitchell
Davion Mitchell, who closed with 18 points Wednesday night, said he will be better braced for Donovan Mitchell on Saturday.
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“I mean, it’s tough,” Davion Mitchell said of the assignment. “He hit some tough shots. I mean shots that we can’t really, I mean it’s nothing you can really do really. I mean, it’s kind of like pull-up mid-rangers, step-back threes, deep threes. The kind of shots that sometimes you can’t get to.
“I mean, he’s a superstar for a reason. I mean, you just got to kind of just contest and try to bother him, make him see different looks next time, don’t let him go. That’s what he want to get to. So we’ll be ready for it next time, though.”
Donovan Mitchell closed 10 of 21 from the field in Game 2, but was 4 of 4 on 3-pointers in the decisive fourth quarter.
The long ball
After attempting 31 3-pointers in their Game 1 loss, the Heat cranked that total up to 45 in Game 2.
“This is what this game presented and we have to be able to take open shots, create open shots,” Spoelstra said of the changed shot profile. “If those shots end up being from behind the three-point line, take them.”
Highsmith closed 5 of 6 from beyond the arc in Game 2, with the rest of the Heat at 9 of 39.
Tyler Herro, who closed 4 of 11 from beyond the arc in his 33-point performance, said the threat of the threes helped unlock more of the Heat offense, as he played more off the ball in Game 2.
“Obviously I want to score,” he said, “but sometimes just running off the ball and creating those overreactions allows my teammates to get easier baskets and then from there, I can kind of open up for myself. But definitely trying to create those overreactions is a big part of what we’re trying to do right now.”
Continue reading...
