NBA Power Rankings week 12: injury fallout, OKC Thunder highs and lows
27-12. Previous: 8th. Miami Heat. 6. team. 110.
Miami Heat:
Offense: (110.9) 8th
Defense: (107.5)14th
Net: (plus +3.4)10th
Games Week 12 (1-2): Won vs. Pacers: 122-108, Lost vs. Nets: 113-117, Knicks: 121-124
Games Week 13 (3 games): Weds vs. Spurs | Fri at Thunder | Sun at Spurs
For as great as the Heat are playing this season there is a commonality in games following tough wins. THEY LOSE!
- Oct. 27th defeat the Bucks: 131-126 in OT – Oct. 28th, lose to Wolves: 109-116
- Nov. 3rd defeat Rockets: 129-100 – Nov. 5th, lose to Nuggets: 89-109
- Dec. 3rd defeat Raptors: 121-110 in OT – Dec. 4th, lose to Celtics: 93-112
- Dec. 14th defeat Mavericks: 122-118 in OT – Dec. 16th lose to Grizz: 111-118
- Dec. 28th defeat 76ers: 117-116 in OT – Dec 30th lose to Wizards: 105-123
- Jan. 2nd defeat Raptors: 84-76 – Jan 3rd lose to Magic: 85-105
- Jan. 8th defeat Pacers: 122-108 – Jan 10th lose to Nets: 113-117
In fairness, half of these losses occurred on the second game of a back-to-back set. More concerning is the teams they lost to include the Wolves, Grizzlies, Wizards, Magic, and Nets — all teams they should theoretically beat.
Dive deeper and notice the scores they put up in the losses as three are under 93 points.
What does this tell us? Arguably that Miami brings the heat (no pun intended) against the top teams and either lose focus in the next game or is so spent they have nothing left to give. Logically, it’s a bit of both because they have a ton of young players involved in the overall system.
This could be something the team irons out as the season progresses — or it could be a harbinger for the postseason when they’ll face those high-end teams who are used to bringing it on a nightly basis like the Bucks, Celtics, Raptors and potentially the 76ers and Pacers although the latter two also have similar issues in sustaining efforts after big wins.
Examining the entire schedule there was a stretch of five games the Heat won between December 18th and 28th which culminated in the win over the 76ers. During this stretch, Miami beat the 76ers, Knicks, Jazz, Pacers, and 76ers again. It’s the ONLY time they’ve followed up a win over a top-rated team with a win in the games immediately after.