Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat never stood a chance against the Spurs

The quest to avoid the Play-In Tournament took its fifth-straight setback as the San Antonio Spurs sullied Kaseya Center. The visitors were too big, strong and fast for the Miami Heat at full force on primetime TV.

Both offenses were firing like machine guns and it took more than half of the first quarter for the coverages to tighten up. They combined for 11 3-pointers, yet the Spurs had the edge on the glass, and the Heat went into the next frame down seven. 

Victor Wembanyama proceeded to blow up actions in the lane, plus Stephon Castle sparkled from inside and out. The Spurs’ lead climbed to 18 going into halftime and they subsequently made it ugly in the third quarter as they outmatched schemes and pummeled the Heat on the glass.

The rest was all academic, and the Heat lost 136-111. Bam Adebayo then mentioned Myron Gardner for his tenacity, saying, “We need to play with that type of energy. All of us.”

Takeaways:

• These teams hadn’t seen each other since Oct. 30 in San Antonio, which the Spurs won. The Heat naturally play fast, and it was their best bet for stretches, considering how Wembanyama is so potent as a deterrent in the half-court. Herro was effective dribbling into the lane for layups and drawing fouls; Andrew Wiggins experienced no rust early in his first game back from a toe injury; plus Norman Powell was on target with his jumper. Yet there wasn’t too much else working, and the offense scored 103.7 per 100 possessions, good enough for the 16th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

• The Spurs are a contender, having won 22 of their last 24 outings, and they’ve won six in a row. It’s a collection of high-end talent around Wembanyama, who looked like he was dominating high schoolers, shooting 81.8% in the restricted area. He also had five blocks, which caused a significant intimidation factor as players rushed shots and didn’t attack with the same force. 

• Castle’s head got clipped by Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s knee after falling. His brief absence didn’t affect the Spurs too much since they have a surplus of dependable bodies. Castle finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 

• The Heat allowed 76 first-half points off dribble penetration and permitting the Spurs to feast on second opportunities. Additionally, 136 is the third-most points they’ve given up this season, and they finished with four second-chance points, which is their third-lowest mark in that department.

• Adebayo and Spoelstra had a disagreement over minutes. Spoelstra said he didn’t want to play him 24 straight minutes, and Adebayo said, “I get he’s trying to protect me from myself. But also, I don’t want to be in the [expletive] Play-In.”

• Spurs coach Mitch Johnson spoke on Wemby’s MVP candidacy: “I think he’s close. All those guys you named are deserving. Couple of them obviously already have that award and I’m very biased. I get to see one of those guys every night, I get to see him on the practice court, I see what he does before the games.”