Barely anything went right for the Heat as they got embarrassed by Kings

Mamma mia; the Kings mowed down the Heat in one of their two worst losses of the season. The latter sullied schemes, went up as much as 28 digits, and former Heatle Precious Achiuwa took revenge for getting booted a second time by the club. 

Few things will humble and disturb coach Erik Spoelstra like getting defiled at home by one of the worst teams in the league, who had lost four in a row prior. Or maybe it’s watching Nikola Jović, who was no different than a kid holding a ball for the first time at LA Fitness. He even looked defeated after missing a corner triple early in the fourth quarter. 

They were a serious squad not too long ago, and now resemble a small bunch of JAGs who are mentally as strong as Jello. This wasn’t a symptom of missing Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell. It is indicative of a larger problem they must solve: they don’t get up for every game. 

A team that plays up or down to the level of completion cannot be trusted. 

Consider how the Heat were down two with eight minutes left in the first half, and then went to intermission below 17. The Kings were denying the Heat’s first actions, and Zach LaVine’s artillery strikes and drives to the basket racked up 29 points up to that moment. He finished with 42, including eight made trifectas on 61.5% accuracy. 

Bam Adebayo was the furthest thing from a max player. Kel’el Ware lost his starting spot in the second half and got outplayed by the obscure but talented second-round pick, Maxine Raynaud. 

Shots were not going down, so they went soft on defense, and the 16-point deficit at the conclusion didn’t properly explain how reprehensibly they played, losing their third straight. The Kings shot 75.9% at the rim, which is 9.2% above the league average.

Their next one is Tuesday against the Orlando Magic in the knock out round of Emirates Cup play. Maybe the prospect of earning some extra money will motivate the Heat.