Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat’s cruise control enough to overpower the Wizards in Washington

The Heat got a break in their schedule, defeating the struggling Wizards in Washington. They had seven scorers in double figures, including rookie Kasparas Jakučionis, who set a new career high (22).

Coach Erik Spoelstra said, “We’ve shown that ability to bounce back after disappointing games. It started yesterday with a good, solid film session and meeting.”

The Wizards put up a valiant effort in the first quarter, but the guests were in total control by the next frame when Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware detonated in the lane. Six Heatles subsequently drained seven treys coming out of intermission and made the fourth a formality, as it started with a 32-point lead. Only two Miami starters played between four and eight minutes in the final stretch.

They won 132-101, and derailed the Wizards’ half-court attack to the 51st percentile. Not one Washington starter shot over 46.2%, either. 

Takeaways:

• A win against the Wizards, who are losing to ensure they don’t send their pick to the Knicks, shouldn’t count for anything. It was such a low-stakes game that Spoelstra felt comfortable deploying the shelved, double-big lineup of Adebayo and Ware for some time. They combined for 41 points and 22 rebounds, yet Adebayo was the strongest presence inside, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the lane, and seven were off second chances. Still, his most impressive work was on defense, coming up with five steals by intercepting passes and pressuring the dribble.

• Myron Gardner got his third career start and was factor on defense and on the glass, pulling in seven rebounds, including three offensive. He’s a hustler who does the dirty work to win, and he is carving to a nice spot in the rotation.

• The Heat’s 3-point shooting carried them, and they made 21, tying their third-most of the season. The team’s most prolific shooters were the rookie Jakučionis, who was unblemished in six tries, and Norman Powell, who drained five on 50% shooting. Furthermore, Jakučionis has caught Spoelstra’s eye, and he was played over Dru Smith, who is a favorite of the coach. 

• Andrew Wiggins spent some time guarding Wizards big man Alex Sarr, presumably because the latter is of the leaner build and did decently. This might be a strategy the Heat could use more often against players of a similar build, allowing Adebayo to feast on smaller guys.

• Over a quarter of the Heat’s time on offense was spent in transition, putting their frequency in the 99th percentile.  On top of that, Jakučionis had eight of the team’s 26 fastbreak points, and next was Simone Fontecchio (5).
• This was the 12th time this season the Heat have gone to halftime with at least 70 points (74). They are undefeated in those games. 

• The team has 28 outings left and is three games outside of the sixth seed, which would bypass the Play-In Tournament. They’ll play at home against Utah on Monday and in New Orleans on Wednesday before getting eight days off for the All-Star break. Spoelstra said handling the next one is “very important.” He presumably thinks the same of the NOLA matchup, but he rarely looks past teams.