Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Herro returned, but the Heat got torn apart by the Timberwolves in Minnesota

A humiliation on prime time programming starts the four-game road trip. 

The season series with the Timberwolves is over and they lost both outings over a three-day stretch. Tyler Herro’s return was spoiled as the Timberwolves forced their submission, and Rudy Gobert was the most dominant big man on the floor, amassing 13 digits and 17 rebounds.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game that Gobert is one of the most underrated players in the league and that Kel’el Ware “was introduced to someone who brought a physical presence.”

Bam Adebayo played well below standard. He’s been through a toe injury and back spasm this year, but it was the ninth straight night scoring below 20 (7) and the 12th time this season he has shot below 40%. Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell disappeared, too. The trio combined for 21 points on 25% shooting. 

Norman Powell carried the crew before it got ugly, and Herro played as if he hadn’t missed a beat, scoring from inside and out, plus setting up two teammates for 3-pointers. They went to halftime down seven, then started getting smacked around, getting outrebounded by 13 and getting lit up by eight trifectas in the second half. The outcome was obvious after they missed six shots in a row to start the fourth quarter.

The final marker highlighted a 28-point loss, and the team could only score 38 in the lane. It was also the Heat’s third time this year tallying below 100 points (94). Minnesota had six scorers in double figures, totaling between 12 and 26 points.  

These are the losses that can’t be flushed, especially since they lost to the same team by 10 earlier. Despite being the fourth game in six nights, they went soft when they saw Minnesota’s avalanche coming. The autopsy, being the worst since the Toronto Raptors massacred them in Miami on Dec. 23, shows how exposed the Heat are against versatile size.

The smart teams are getting better at denying the Heat success in transition, as was the case Tuesday with the Wolves holding them to the second percentile in points per 100 plays. The half-court offense, lacking enough juice, and barely being able to get to the line, compounded the issue.

Spoelstra said, “We showed less of a spirit on this one. The one on Saturday, we had a spirit to fight until the end. That’s what is most disappointing to me as the head coach. The last six minutes, it felt like we let it go.”