Erik Spoelstra’s gut-check reaction to the Miami Heat’s season-opening blowout to the Orlando Magic on Wednesday still had not changed two days later as the Heat got ready to embark on its first road trip of the 2024-25 NBA season.
“It just wasn’t one of our more active or big-disposition games,” the coach said. “That stayed true throughout all of the analysis, whether we were looking at the film, our gut feel, the analytics to it.”
On the night it honored legendary coach Pat Riley by naming Miami’s Kaseya Center court after him, the Heat (0-1) let a four-point halftime deficit balloon to 28 in the third quarter before starting the regular season with a 116-97 loss to the in-state rival Orlando Magic. Miami’s offense was awful and its defense wasn’t much better, and the combination made the Heat’s chance to win all but impossible.
The combination also left Miami with plenty of room to improve before it faces the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Spectrum Center in North Carolina. As usual, the Heat will first focus on the defense, especially given the uncharacteristically low scoring output from stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who combined for just 12 points, in the opener.
“We pride ourselves on that side of the floor,” Spoelstra said. “We have to be better.”
In the preseason, Miami created turnovers on 21.7% of opponents’ possessions — the most in the NBA — and then had just five steals and nine deflections Wednesday.
Last season, the Heat averaged 7.5 steals and 13.9 deflections per game. The Magic shot 42.7% from the field and made 18 three-pointers, and Orlando forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner — the top two scorers of the game — combined for 56 points on 22-of-40 shooting.
“You want them to feel you,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not necessarily going to be the metrics, or steals or deflections every single time. It’s more about doing tough things, being physical, getting teams out of what they typically want to do at every point of attack that we’re there, and that wasn’t the case.”
The Hornets (1-0) had a similar opening night to the Magic, shooting 44.7% from the floor, and getting 34 points and a near triple-double from star guard LaMelo Ball.
Activity is the focal point of the Miami’s defense, or at least the defense it hopes to play this year. The Heat wants to jump into passing lanes to disrupt offenses, but also not to sacrifice easy back-door cuts or second-chance points. In Game 1, Miami didn’t accomplish any of that, getting outrebounded 57-41 to go along with the 3.7% shooting disparity.
“To be a No. 1 defense, that’s what you have to do,” forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “As an organization, as a team, that’s what we strive to do, being able to do all those things. They’re very hard to do. No one’s saying they’re easy.”
If there’s ever a time to fix it, Week 1 isn’t a bad time.
“Early on, it should be pretty easy,” Jaquez said. “We had a month of training camp, first game, so coming back in today we just wanted to work on what we know we need to get better as a team.”
Heat down two big men
Neither Kevin Love nor fellow center Kel’el Ware traveled with the Heat to Charlotte this weekend, leaving Miami down a pair of post players for Game 2.
Love also missed the season opener due to personal reasons, while Ware played six minutes in his debut. Love is still out due to personal reasons and Ware is dealing with a stomach illness.
Guards Josh Richardson and Josh Christopher, meanwhile, practiced in full Friday at Kaseya Center and will travel with the team after sitting out the opener. Richardson is still questionable with a left heel injury, and Christopher is available to play despite a big toe contusion.
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