Erik Spoelstra shares piece of advice Pat Riley gave him before latest Miami Heat win
After losing on Wednesday night by allowing the Oklahoma City Thunder to score 128 points, Spoelstra wants his squad to play stronger defence on Friday.
In order to secure a much-needed victory over Orlando, Miami had to play a very patient game, giving up just 41 points in the second half. With their strong play this season, the Magic are a strong contender for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro were both out of the game on Friday, so Miami was missing a significant portion of its typical attacking lineup.
Butler, who has missed a number of games for the Heat this season, is anticipated to play in a game against the Brooklyn Nets or the Charlotte Hornets. The squad would benefit greatly from that.
Miami’s offensive line on Friday was led by Duncan Robinson (23 points on 9 of 19 shots), Bam Adebayo (21 points on 8 of 17 shots), and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (19 points on 8 of 16 shots).
But against Orlando, the team’s defence was unquestionably its strongest suit.
The Magic were only able to shoot 43.9 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from beyond the arc against the Heat. Paolo Banchero, the standout player for Orlando, was also held to just 10-of-26 shooting by the squad. On Friday night, Banchero attempted 26 shots compared to his 25 points in scoring.
Spoelstra was well aware that the team would need to play a little different brand of basketball with Herro and Butler out of the lineup.
It is a blessing for the Heat that they have the great Riley on staff in addition to Spoelstra as head coach. Before moving into front office work, Riley was a fantastic coach as well during his time.
As the season progresses, the Heat would undoubtedly like to see their defensive rating rise from 12th in the NBA to a higher spot.
Should the Heat continue to play as they did on Friday night against Orlando, they will eventually find themselves in closer proximity to the highest defensive rating in the NBA this year.
At the Kaseya Centre on Sunday at 6 p.m. EST, the Heat will try to win again against the Charlotte Hornets.
