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ATLANTA — Observations and other notes of interest from Friday night’s 123-114 overtime NBA play-in victory over the Atlanta Hawks:
– Cliche’, yes.
– But the Heat wanted it more.
– And, in the end, it showed.
– For some, a No. 8 seed stands as a consolation prize.
– As in, why put yourself through a best-of-seven gauntlet against the Cavaliers, faced with overwhelming odds?
– A reasonable supposition.
– But for the Heat this was different.
– And not for making the playoffs from the No. 10 lottery seed.
– But rather because to the Heat this was something tangible.
– A climb from the depths.
– Without the assistance of Jimmy Butler.
– Still learning the new players injected into the mix from the Butler trade.
– And even now hardly a sure thing when building a substantial lead.
– For posterity, the 2024-25 standings will cast the Heat as, well, losers.
– A 37-45 record says as much.
– But to Erik Spoelstra it is all about ascension.
– From the Butler trade.
– From the 10-game losing streak.
– From a pair of play-in games on the road.
– So, yes Pat Riley, cue “The Rising.”
– Playoff tickets already had been on sale.
– Now they hold tangible value.
– With at least a Game 3 and Game 4 at Kaseya Center.
– White Hot to follow a soiled season.
– A bit of bleach, and the outlook has changed.
– The Heat stayed with their season-closing primary lineup of Kel’el Ware, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Tyler Herro and Alec Burks.
– Davion Michell and Haywood Highsmith were first off the Heat bench.
– Duncan Robinson then followed
– Kyle Anderson then made it nine deep for the Heat at the start of the second period.
– The nine Spoelstra has come to trust at a stage when it all is about trust.
– So no Ware at the close.
– Because one has to be ready for this.
– With the Heat a fixture in the round the past three years, Spoelstra was asked pregame for his thoughts on the play-in.
– “When you’re in it, you don’t wish that your season went that way,” he said. “You wish you would have an automatic bid to the playoffs. But it certainly made everything a lot more competitive.”
– Herro said having been in the play-in previously made this trip a bit more predictable this time,
– “Having guys who have been experienced in the play-in definitely helps,” he said at the morning shootaround. “having other guys we can lean on. The coaching staff has been through it, so it’s no unfamiliar territory.”
– Herro said there also was added motivation.
– “I don’t think a 10th seed ever went to the playoffs,” he correctly said, “so we could be the first team to do that. So that’s kind of on our minds.”
– There was respect going in from Hawks coach Quin Snyder.
– “As many times as you play a team over the course of the year, teams evolve, and I think they’re playing right now as well as anyone,” he said. “Really, the last time we played in Miami, I thought they’d really started to play at a high level. Similar to our situation, when you have a trade at the deadline, your team grows, however that evolution occurs.”
–Spoelstra went in with respect of his own.
– “We’ve been humbled by them twice,” he said of the Heat’s two regular-season losses in Atlanta. “We respect their firepower.”
– Spoelstra offered ample praise at the morning shootaround for Hawks first-round pick Zaccharie Risacher.
– “I think their system really fits his skill set,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a great off-the-ball player. He’s really good in transition. He runs to the rim, where there’s a lot of guys in this league that don’t do that anymore. A lot of guys run to the 3-point line. He runs to the rim. He’s a great cutter. He knows how to generate actions and these plays in-between that are kind of unscripted. That’s a notable skill set that he has.”
– Risacher was not a factor in this one, with just three points.
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– Cliche’, yes.
– But the Heat wanted it more.
– And, in the end, it showed.
– For some, a No. 8 seed stands as a consolation prize.
– As in, why put yourself through a best-of-seven gauntlet against the Cavaliers, faced with overwhelming odds?
– A reasonable supposition.
– But for the Heat this was different.
– And not for making the playoffs from the No. 10 lottery seed.
– But rather because to the Heat this was something tangible.
– A climb from the depths.
– Without the assistance of Jimmy Butler.
– Still learning the new players injected into the mix from the Butler trade.
– And even now hardly a sure thing when building a substantial lead.
– For posterity, the 2024-25 standings will cast the Heat as, well, losers.
– A 37-45 record says as much.
– But to Erik Spoelstra it is all about ascension.
– From the Butler trade.
– From the 10-game losing streak.
– From a pair of play-in games on the road.
– So, yes Pat Riley, cue “The Rising.”
– Playoff tickets already had been on sale.
– Now they hold tangible value.
– With at least a Game 3 and Game 4 at Kaseya Center.
– White Hot to follow a soiled season.
– A bit of bleach, and the outlook has changed.
– The Heat stayed with their season-closing primary lineup of Kel’el Ware, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Tyler Herro and Alec Burks.
– Davion Michell and Haywood Highsmith were first off the Heat bench.
– Duncan Robinson then followed
– Kyle Anderson then made it nine deep for the Heat at the start of the second period.
– The nine Spoelstra has come to trust at a stage when it all is about trust.
– So no Ware at the close.
– Because one has to be ready for this.
– With the Heat a fixture in the round the past three years, Spoelstra was asked pregame for his thoughts on the play-in.
– “When you’re in it, you don’t wish that your season went that way,” he said. “You wish you would have an automatic bid to the playoffs. But it certainly made everything a lot more competitive.”
– Herro said having been in the play-in previously made this trip a bit more predictable this time,
– “Having guys who have been experienced in the play-in definitely helps,” he said at the morning shootaround. “having other guys we can lean on. The coaching staff has been through it, so it’s no unfamiliar territory.”
– Herro said there also was added motivation.
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– “I don’t think a 10th seed ever went to the playoffs,” he correctly said, “so we could be the first team to do that. So that’s kind of on our minds.”
– There was respect going in from Hawks coach Quin Snyder.
– “As many times as you play a team over the course of the year, teams evolve, and I think they’re playing right now as well as anyone,” he said. “Really, the last time we played in Miami, I thought they’d really started to play at a high level. Similar to our situation, when you have a trade at the deadline, your team grows, however that evolution occurs.”
–Spoelstra went in with respect of his own.
– “We’ve been humbled by them twice,” he said of the Heat’s two regular-season losses in Atlanta. “We respect their firepower.”
– Spoelstra offered ample praise at the morning shootaround for Hawks first-round pick Zaccharie Risacher.
– “I think their system really fits his skill set,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a great off-the-ball player. He’s really good in transition. He runs to the rim, where there’s a lot of guys in this league that don’t do that anymore. A lot of guys run to the 3-point line. He runs to the rim. He’s a great cutter. He knows how to generate actions and these plays in-between that are kind of unscripted. That’s a notable skill set that he has.”
– Risacher was not a factor in this one, with just three points.
Continue reading...
