Heat not in position to take anyone lightly, including Pistons in next two; Herro, Love out again
DETROIT — An argument could be made that these next two games had set up as an exhale. Now, with the Miami Heat gasping in a midst of a four-game losing streak, the ante assuredly has been raised on their side of the ledger.
For all the Detroit Pistons have not been this season, they have won four of their last five, entering the pair of games against the Heat on Friday and Sunday at Little Caesars Arena.
Beyond that, having lost to the Washington Wizards at home on Sunday, when the Wizards entered 10-53, it’s not as if the Heat can be taking anyone lightly, even the 12-53 Pistons.
“It’s a sense of urgency definitely at an all-time high,” Heat forward Caleb Martin said, “but also staying composed. We’ve got a lot of guys who’ve done a lot of winning in this locker room, So they’ve been here before. They know how it goes. We follow their lead. We have a lot of confidence in those guys and they have a lot of confidence in us going forward.
“And that’s just part of the game. We’ve got to figure it out. We definitely want to figure it out now.”
With less than a month left until the end of the regular season, the Heat are staring at another play-in round fate, where one or two losses would mean elimination before the start of the best-of-seven first round of the playoffs, and, instead, a ticket to the draft lottery (yes, the Heat own their own 2024 first-round pick).
Since Jan. 1, the Heat are 16-16.
“I feel like it’s slippage,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We’re not communicating enough.”
There also have been some the Heat have been unable to communicate with, with Tyler Herro and Kevin Love having been sidelined.
Herro did not travel Thursday, to miss his 10th straight game, with the Heat listing him out with medial tendinitis in his right foot.
Love also did not take flight Thursday, having missed the past seven games with a bruised right heel.
Coach Erik Spoelstra has offered little clarity regarding Herro.
“He’s making progress,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t have anything more for you. But he’s doing everything he needs to do.”
The Heat remain without Josh Richardson (season-ending shoulder surgery), and with Jamal Cain and Alondes Williams on G League assignment.
In addition, Adebayo is listed as questionable with a lower-back contusion. Martin is listed as available with a sprained left thumb.
Threes down
Among the ways the Nuggets were able to win 100-88 on Wednesday night was to limit the Heat to 21 3-point attempts. It is a number that Spoelstra said has to change.
The Heat closed 5 of 21 from beyond the arc.
“To me, it felt like we passed up some open threes,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t think it would have been 43 attempts. But certainly, it should have been 10, 12 more. We passed up open ones and then drove it into their size.
“We certainly needed to take a few more.”
Martin said the Pistons were playing the Heat for the 3-pointer.
“They kind of spread out,” Martin said. “When the ball goes to the middle they encourage the middies and the long twos. They do a great job of fanning out.”
Milestone close
With seven more points, Heat forward Jimmy Butler will become the 65th player in the league to score 1,000 points this season. It will be his 10th consecutive season scoring at least 1,000, including all five seasons with the Heat.
At 1,000 points, Butler will become one of six active players in the league to extend their streaks to 10 or more consecutive such seasons, joining LeBron James (21), DeMar DeRozan (14), James Harden (13), Giannis Antetokounmpo (10) and Tobias Harris (10). Russell Westbrook has an active streak of 15 consecutive seasons scoring at least 1,000 points, but has not extended that yet this season (641 points through 64 Clippers games) and now is out with a hand injury.