Miami is now 38-32, putting them eighth in the East.
The Miami Heat suffered another ugly loss inside the Kaseya Center as they start the four-game home stand against the New Orleans Pelicans with a loss Friday night, 111-88. Heat star Jimmy Butler and head coach Erik Spoelstra and spoke after the game to reflect on what went wrong for the team as the regular season comes closer and closer to the end.
Butler would lead Miami with only 17 points in what was a frustrating night for himself and the rest of the team as they shot 36 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from three-point range. The featured Heat star would say that the performance from the team was similar to the past where the offense dictates how they are on defense.
“It’s just a retelling of what’s happened to us a couple of times this season where whenever we don’t make shots, we tend to let our offense dictate our defense in the sense of we don’t guard nobody,” Butler said. “We don’t hustle as often as we should and the game gets very ugly when were doing what we’re not supposed to be doing.”
Jimmy Butler talks about the Heat’s performance against the Pelicans and how it looks similar to past losses.
“Whenever we don’t make shots, we tend to let our offense dictate our defense…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/ywH19H8CiP
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 23, 2024
Spoelstra talks about how Pelicans “flattened” Heat
The Heat would start the game out hot as they lead by double-digits, but it quickly turned around come the second half where they continued to struggle from the field and New Orleans didn’t let up on the gas pedal. Spoelstra spoke to the media after the game and said that New Orleans’ zone defense “flattened us out.”
“I thought we started the game out great, those first four or five minutes they went to the zone, that definitely flattened us out. And then from there, our level of energy, detail, and willingness to go to different layers of our offense was not great and then obviously it always works a little bit different if you knock down shots,” Spoelstra said. “There were some stretches during first half of that we had some good looks, or when several empty possessions and they’re packing in the paint, staying in the zone and I would’ve done that too. There was some detailed things where we didn’t just only have to live live with those in our aggressiveness and body movement, player movement, those were not examples of our best body of work and when they made us pay the price.”
Erik Spoelstra reacts after the Heat lose to the Pelicans.
“I thought we started the game out great…and then obviously it looks a little bit different if you knock down shots…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/nB1QXFDli6
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 23, 2024
Spoelstra talks about Miami’s defensive performance against Pelicans
It was a mixed bag on the defensive side of the ball as Miami held down the Pelicans most explosive player in Zion Williamson to four points, but on the other hand CJ McCollum would score 30 points. Spoelstra said to ClutchPoints that while the first half was “in our wheelhouse,” the second was a different story and complimented McCollum for his performance.
“Throughout the first half, it was in our wheelhouse, it’s always tough to look at things objectively, you feel it. You know, when they’re going on runs, but we push that thing back, there’s always gonna be ups and downs. We pushed to 46 to 42, that seems like a game in the 90s,” Spoelstra said. “There was a tough start of the third quarter defensively and offensively. And then we just had to dig and dig and dig the rest of that quarter and we did show some moments where we were able to do that, but not enough and McCollum was very good in those isolation situations, he was able to get to spots and shot make. And also when we’re in the zone, he hit some big ones that made us think twice about staying in that.”
Asked Erik Spoelstra about the defensive performance where they held down Zion Williamson, but CJ McCollum scored 30.
“The first half was in our wheelhouse…and then there was a tough start to the third quarter…[CJ] McCollum was very good…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/hpsHEpvZ0V
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 23, 2024
Another loss at home for the Heat
With Friday night being the start of the four-game home stand, this could’ve been the beginning of a turnaround for Miami’s performance at home with a middling record of 17-15 heading into the game. However, they drop another one inside the Kaseya Center as Butler said to ClutchPoints that whether it’s at home or on the road, “we have a job to do.”
“Home or away, we have a job to do, we don’t think anybody is scared to come in here and play us, don’t think people are scared to play us on the road either,” Butler said. “Hopefully in the coming games we figure it out, put our heads down and get to work cause we definitely gotta start winning if we want to be where we want to be.”
Asked Jimmy Butler about the 17-16 home record.
“Home or away, we got a job to do…hopefully the coming games we figure it out, put our heads down and get to work…” #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/Dm4cayiNQf
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) March 23, 2024
Miami now drops to 38-32 on the season which now falls the team to the eighth seed in a tightly-packed Eastern Conference. Their next game is the second in the home stand where they will face the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night.
About the Author
Zachary Weinberger joined ClutchPoints in October 2023 as a Miami Heat reporter as well as an Associate Editor. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2022 after covering the school’s athletic programs since his freshman year at the FAU University Press, where he was a Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief. He then covered FAU Sports for The Palm Beach Post.
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