This was a matchup between two No. 1 seeded teams from each conference. Both the Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns were without one of their star players. Still, the game was played. It started off Miami’s way early as they went up by 11 early. The Heat were getting great looks from downtown and making them. Then, the Suns crept back in and tied it up in the second. From there, the Suns took over the game. Phoenix outplayed the Heat in the second half and blew them out. With the loss, Miami moves to 44-23 for the season. Here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s loss to Phoenix.
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Turd Quarter
The good old dreadful third quarter returned for Miami. In the first opening minutes of the quarter, Miami’s offense went cold. The Suns’ offense, on the other hand, got better. Phoenix kept moving the ball and had the Heat’s defense scrabbling. They were able to get multiple good looks against the Heat’s defense. The Heat’s offense went downhill, and they kept missing easy bunnies. Phoenix ramped up their defense and made it tough on Miami throughout the second half. They clearly frustrated Miami on that end. Phoenix outscored Miami 34-19 in the third period.
Missing Jimmy
When Miami’s offense gets stagnant, they usually go to Jimmy Butler to calm things down. Unfortunately, he didn’t play. Watching this team’s offense without Butler, you can see the impact of Butler. The Heat were lacking consistent rim pressure and that normally comes from Butler. He has the ability to get to the basket and either score or draw fouls. Miami didn’t have that on Wednesday night. Instead, they had to depend on hot shooting from the outside and weakside cuts. But Phoenix’s defense made it very tough for Miami and there was an overreliance on P.J. Tucker to do something on the offensive end. Without collapsing the Suns’ defense, Miami is not going to get as many good looks.
Rebounding
The great Pat Riley once said, “No rebounds, no rings.” Well, that saying applied to this game as well. The Heat were outrebounded throughout the whole game. There was one possession where Phoenix had multiple offensive rebounds. Instead of boxing out or going for the boards, Miami spent more time watching the ball. The Suns made them pay and took advantage of those second-chance opportunities. Phoenix’s two centers had double-digit rebounds. Former Heat Jae Crowder also crashed the boards as well. Phoenix finished the night outrebounding the Heat 55-38.
The Impact of Martin’s Injury
Caleb Martin injured his knee in the second period off a drive. He ended up leaving the game and never returning. Up to that point, Martin was everywhere on the floor making an impact on the game. It’s unknown how serious the injury is but it does raise some questions about Miami’s rotation. With Markieff Morris out, Martin has been filling in nicely as the backup power forward. But now, the backup power forward position is once again a question mark. Unless Morris returns, the Heat are very thin in the frontcourt, especially when it comes to size. A Morris return would certainly help but there’s been no update on when he’ll return. For now, we will just have to wait on the updates.
Next Up: The Cleveland Cavaliers. The game tips off at 7:30 pm eastern.
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