The Miami Heat fell against the in-state rival in the Orlando Magic in the regular season opener, 116-97, also on the same night as Pat Riley celebrated having his name on the court. With the Heat looking to compete against a loaded East, Wednesday night wasn’t the best step forward as the Magic are a team to look out for this season.
Terry Rozier led the team with 19 points, Nikola Jovic was second with 15, Tyler Herro had 14, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 13 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Magic in the opener:
How the Heat’s starting lineup in the regular season opener to begin
It was a slow start for the Heat’s starting five which was the projected one throughout the offseason and preseason where it was Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Nikola Jovic, and Bam Adebayo. They began three of nine from the field which featured the five stars working on their flow.
There could be two reasons for the start which is the starting five continuing to gain that chemistry since they didn’t play a single second last season or that the Magic have one of the best defenses in the league. While fans can debate which one is right, both are correct in this situation.
However, the team would then go on a 10-0 run that showed what they are focusing on this season which is the Heat playing faster as buckets were scored in transition and with easy pathways for scores. Jovic would shine early with nine points in six minutes.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra would not bring out Butler or Adebayo until the middle of the second period where they struggled from the field as they combined shot one for 10 from the field. Butler would be one for seven and Adebayo would be zero for three, but five or eight from the free throw line.
For the starting five to be at its best, they will need them to get it going in the second half, though Herro has been a star setting up and finishing positive plays as he led with 14 points.
Second half struggles
The second half started out in ugly fashion for Miami as Orlando set the exact right pace, found what they wanted on offense whether it be in the paint or deep, and ultimately controlled the game hopping out of the gates on a 12-0 run. The Heat tried desperately to get out of their rut, but the spacing became messy which led to sloppy negative plays that led the Magic hopping to a 85-62 lead with 4;43 left in the third period.
By the end of the third quarter, Miami scored 18 points compared to the behemoth of a period Orlando had where they scored 39 points. The Magic at one point were leading by 28 points in what was a drastic turn of events for the Heat.
Orlando’s defense was just as advertised as they were pestering Miami this whole quarter where they were being suffocated. The focus as mentioned before on offense was to play fast, score in the paint and from deep, but that made an easy target for the opponents to conquer.
Still, it was a disappointing night for the main two stars in Butler and Adebayo has the former finished with three points, shooting one for eight from the field, and as for the latter, he ended with nine points on a one for five shooting night. The only shot made was a mid-ranger with over four minutes left of the third. Most of his points came from the free throw line as he was 7-10.
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How the Heat’s bench looked in the opener and schedule ahead
Spoelstra went nine deep for the lineup as they were missing Kevin Love who was announced to be out before the start of the game due to “personal reasons.” This led to Thomas Bryant being the backup center joining the others on the bench like Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., and Duncan Robinson.
There was little to be desired from the unit in the first half which fell down the same negative as the starting lineup did which was being unable to take advantage of certain opportunities while being overwhelmed by Orlando’s defense. One has to wonder if Spoelstra would extend the bench in the future, which could have maybe been beneficial in this one to see some minutes for rookie Kel’el Ware with the absence of Love.
The rookies Ware and Pelle Larsson, along with Dru Smith, would not get in until over six minutes left in the final period.
All options are on the table, but at the end of the day, there are a few aspects for certain. Butler and Adebayo had uncharacteristic nights that should not continue for the foreseeable future along with the fact that the Heat’s starting lineup has some work to do to gain the full chemistry they are looking for.
The Heat start 0-1 as they look to bounce back against the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night on the road.