Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat lose season opener in Orlando

The Heat left Orlando- the 10th season opener between them- with a narrow loss. One of the biggest problems was stopping the Magic from getting to the line for 14 attempts in the fourth quarter, of which they made 13.

Norman Powell wasted no time asserting himself with the Heat in desperate need of firepower on night one. He drained deep jumpers and set up Bam Adebayo on a screen roll and Davion Mitchell on a drive-and-kick play in the first five minutes as the visitors took a 23-19 lead. At the same time, Desmond Bane was doing the same thing- raining jumpers and layups- for the Magic in his first stint with Orlando.

Miami added more 3-point bombs, helping them build a brief 12-point lead, but Orlando raised their intensity by 50°, cutting it to just one going into the second quarter. The hosts had success pushing the pace and exposed coverages by going to the body, which looked like a light heavyweight picking off a welterweight. At one point, despite only holding a four-point edge over Miami, Orlando was nailing 80 percent of attempts at close range, with six baskets belonging to Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.

The Heat went to intermission down four, as seven of their players had converted multiple field goals. Adebayo gave them a boost with numerous trips to the line late in the second quarter, but the Heat struggled against Orlando’s length, taking most of their attempts in the paint non-restricted area- one of the hardest spots to score because defenses collapse there quickly.

Subsequently, the Heat experienced some playmaking issues, stemming from the lack of a true orchestrator in the lineup, but they found enough of a rhythm on transition strikes and actions around pindowns. On top of that, Kel’el Ware didn’t let the Heat’s defense fall apart in the non-Adebayo minutes, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. plus Davion Mitchell gave the Heat relief scoring, looking as sharp as ever.

The Heat led by six with eight minutes left and came out of their timeout in the mud. Banchero chipped away, attacking the hole and Jalen Suggs’ pick-6 had the Heat on shaky legs.

Jaquez checked in for Nikola Jović in the last four minutes, but it didn’t matter because the Heat let go of the rope as Wendell Carter Jr. overwhelmed the restricted area, nailing a key layup and three freebies that took the lead for Orlando. Mitchell also turned it over on a sideline ATO play because he couldn’t inbound it over Wagner. Afterward, Wiggins tied it with a pull-up trey, but Suggs downed a jumper in the lane on the following possession, and Carter added two extra free throws to put it out of reach.

The Heat lost 125-121. Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that he is “more encouraged than not. I don’t want to focus too much on moral victories… but I do see a blueprint.”