The Miami HEAT fell to 6-8 and 11th in the Eastern Conference after a Wednesday night loss to the Washington Wizards, and though many can say it’s early in a season of 82 games, the striking them through 14 games is that they can’t stop turning the ball over. Wednesday night was no exception as they finished with 17 turnovers and allowed the Wizards to score 26 points off of those TOs.
Erik Spoelstra recognizes the damage turnovers have cost this HEAT team this season:
“That probably has been more damaging than anything all season long in our losses is our inability to take care of the basketball and see what happens in the second half of the possession.”
How concerned should the HEAT be about the turnovers? Josh Richardson seems to have a different perspective on how the team should be handling their turnover woes. Richardson believes it’s better to focus on winning than to get down on the guys for the problems.
Turnovers aren’t the only problem facing this HEAT team. Consistency throughout the game has been a major concern. They find themselves either starting strong, only to disappear in the second half of the game or going through ups and downs that end in mostly downs at the end of games. The third quarter has been a major question throughout the season and was probably the only bright spot of Wednesday night for the team, as they held the Wizards to only 10 points and scored 25.
Reliability from the roster hasn’t been there either. James Johnson has mostly been a non-factor. Johnson had a uniqueness about him that led them to the second half of the season success in 2016-17, but after being rewarded with a $50 million contract, he, Josh Richardson and sometimes Tyler Johnson haven’t been able to have that reliability that helped the team win at the end of last season.
While the atmosphere in the locker room is full of doubt and uncertainty, it’s also easy for this roster to remember where they came from last season and how they finished. If that isn’t motivation to turn this season around, then there is no telling what will bring the HEAT back to their winning ways that catapulted them into national spotlight before.