Jacari McRae | November 6th, 2019
After blowing out the Houston Rockets on Sunday, the Miami Heat were looking to start the road trip off right with a win. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Up by 10 at halftime, the Denver Nuggets increased their lead with a strong third quarter, outscoring the Heat 31-20 in the period. The Heat now fall to 5-2 for the season.
Here are my three takeaways from the Heat’s blowout loss to the Nuggets on Tuesday:
Offense goes cold
The Heat entered Tuesday’s game as one of the top five scoring teams in the league. However, they didn’t look like one. The Heat had their worst offensive performance of the season, scoring a season-low 89 points. The team just couldn’t make shots, even the easier ones at the rim.
As a team, the Heat shot 36.4 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc. With the surging Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers coming up, the Heat better rediscover their offense soon.
Defense nonexistent
The Heat also had an off night defensively as well. Miami entered Tuesday’s game with the fourth-best defensive rating in the league, holding teams to 42 percent shooting. They appeared to be a step slow on that side of the floor.
The Nuggets scored a season-high 109 points while shooting 52.3 percent from the field. They also recorded a season-high 35 assists.
What is going on with Dion Waiters
With the return of both Derrick Jones Jr and Justise Winslow, the Heat were close to having a full roster. Since only 13 players are allowed to be active, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had to choose one healthy player to be inactive. Spoelstra ended up choosing Dion Waiters over Udonis Haslem and Chris Silva.
Waiters reportedly had participated in the team’s shootaround and Monday’s practice as well. This Waiters situation has been bizarre. Hopefully, they can find a resolution soon.
Next up, The Phoenix Suns on Thursday at 9pmET
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