At just past the quarter pole of the NBA season, the Miami Heat have already lost four games during which they led by at least 16 points.
On Wednesday night against the visiting Charlotte Hornets, the Miami Heat will try to grab a lead and keep it — easier said than accomplished in the NBA.
On Monday in Charlotte, the Heat led by as many as 14 points but had to hold on for a 116-114 win. Charlotte’s Terry Rozier, who made eight 3-pointers and scored a game-high 34 points, nearly won the game with a half-court shot that bounced off the backboard at the buzzer.
“We showed resolve at the end,” said Duncan Robinson, who led Miami with 24 points. “But we have to do a better job managing leads.”
Perhaps there’s a reason for those struggles as the Heat are playing without their top two scorers: Tyler Herro (ankle injury) missed his 15th straight game on Monday, and Bam Adebayo (hip) has missed six of Miami’s past nine contests. Herro averaged 22.9 points through eight games, and Adebayo is averaging 22.3.
The one healthy member of Miami’s “Big Three” is Jimmy Butler, who is averaging 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.2 steals.
Miami is 2-0 against Charlotte this season, but the Heat have won those contests by an average of just four points.
Meanwhile, the Hornets are just 2-4 since LaMelo Ball went down with an ankle injury on Nov. 26. Ball leads the Hornets in scoring (24.7) and assists (8.2).
But Hornets coach Steve Clifford — perhaps trying to remain optimistic — said his team is competing well without its star player.
“I think that our shot profile has gotten better the past five or six games,” Clifford said. “Early in the season, we were scoring a ton in the paint. But we weren’t taking or making many 3-pointers.
“Now, we’re getting a better balance.”
The Hornets made 41.5 percent of their 3-pointers on Monday (17 of 41).
Charlotte’s Miles Bridges said he and his teammates have made the adjustment to losing Ball by getting more balanced scoring.
“That’s what we need to do with Melo out,” Bridges said. “We have to be aggressive every game.”
Ball was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2021 and an All-Star in 2022. But he has been injury-prone; he was limited to just 36 games last season with an ankle fracture.
With Ball out, Rozier — who is working on his fifth straight season averaging at least 18 points — is Charlotte’s go-to scorer. Rozier is averaging 23.6 points and 7.7 assists, and he’s on track to have career highs in both categories.
The Hornets continue to struggle as a franchise. The Hornets own the longest active playoff drought in the NBA at seven seasons. Since Charlotte returned to the NBA in 2004-2005, there have been zero playoff-series wins.
Hope for the future resides in the play of rookie Brandon Miller, the NBA’s No. 2 overall pick this year. He is averaging 14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists, and he is shooting 40.2 percent on 3-pointers.
“He’s a big-time talent,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Miller. “He’s being coached and held accountable to the details of winning, and, for a young player, that’s the most important thing.”
–Field Level Media