LOS ANGELES – Off to the side, beyond the end of the bench, Heat players Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell were standing on the baseline, talking with their hands on their hips.
The sober looks on their faces, however, gave the impression that it was something else. It looked like more of a debrief. As in: how did it get like this?
Just to their right, one seat from the end of the bench, sat Giannis Antetokounmpo, who draped a towel over his shoulders. He was staring blankly ahead, his head resting on his hand.
Once again, an opposing team had bombarded the Miami Heat. This time, it was Luka Dončić and the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, Nov. 2 in a 138-117 torching. Miami jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes. It was the last time the Heat would
be ahead.
And as these remade Heat seek to build a contender around Antetokounmpo and Adebayo, it’s not the offense or perimeter shooting that has become the problem. It is – surprisingly – the team’s defense. All of which raises a question, and a significant one, even this early in the season.
Is this a fatal flaw that will prevent Miami from making the playoffs?
Realistically, it’s far too early for such sweeping pronouncements. The lack of cohesion, however, is significant enough to be a serious concern.
“We’re not playing hard enough,” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the game. “We’ve got to play hard, have some pride. Individual pride, first of all, and then we’ve got to keep one another accountable and trust one another defensively. Right now we don’t trust one another. We’re not giving that extra effort.
“Effort, individual pride and trust. We’ve got to have those three things.”
The Heat have a collection of stellar individual defenders. Adebayo is an elite stopper, a six-time All-Defensive selection and a player who can guard any position. Antetokounmpo is six years removed from his Defensive Player of the Year award but remains a force in the paint. Mitchell, the starting point guard, has the nickname “Off Night” because convention goes that when he’s guarding a prominent offensive player, said player will have an off night. Andrew Wiggins is a defensive-minded wing with plenty of length.
Yet, the sum has not been greater than the parts, and it shows.
“A lot of times I feel like when fatigue sets in, we stop communicating, and that’s when mistakes happen,” Adebayo said. “That’s when bad habits set in. The lack of effort is there. We’ve got to figure it out.”
The Lakers made eight of their first nine shots. They dropped 79 points in the first half. Entering the night, NBA teams had been averaging 113.7 points per game; Los Angeles had already reached 111 by the end of the third quarter.
Dončić flamed the Heat to the tune of 42 points and fellow guard Austin Reaves dropped 27.
And after the Lakers converted on 19-of-43 (44.2%) attempts from beyond the arc, no team in the NBA is allowing more made 3-pointers per game (17.3) than the Heat. Making matters worse, Miami also ranks second-to-last in opposing 3-point percentage at 41%; by comparison, the last-place team, the Suns, are giving up 3s at a 41.1% clip.
It’s not just perimeter defense, either. Time after time Monday night, Lakers players blew past Heat defenders on closeouts, as L.A. outscored Miami in the paint by a margin of 60-40.
To a certain extent, this lack of trust does make some sense. The Heat traded four players to land Antetokounmpo and the group is still figuring out how to play together. So, in practical terms, what does this lack of trust actually look like on the floor?
“Like, when a guy beats you off the dribble, sometimes you don’t close out all the way to Luka, and that is because you don’t feel like somebody has your back,” Antetokounmpo said. “So then you give him air space to hit a stepback 3 or pull up for a 3. Same thing with Austin Reaves: you have to close out all the way, knowing that somebody has your back in the paint.
“Sometimes, when you don’t feel that trust, you kind of hesitate and you go half way. You don’t put yourself out there. That’s the trust I’m talking about; you’ve got to do your job. I got to do my job. When they shot goes up, I’ve got to box out and get the rebound. They’ve got to trust that I’m going to get them the possession. That’s the kind of trust that I’m talking about.”
The Heat still have Erik Spoelstra roaming the sidelines. He’s a basketball lifer who is widely considered to be the best active coach in the NBA, a coach who does not shy away from in-season adjustments. After the game, he expressed optimism that his group would figure it out, though he acknowledged it would take time.
Losses like these, in their own way, help by showing Miami what it cannot afford to do. Lessons can come from victories, too. The paradox about trust is that, in a sense, you have to let go of individual insecurities for a greater good. You have to yield. That is, of course, easier said than done.
“If you don’t want to play defense as a team, you can’t do it by yourself,” Mitchell said after the game. “It’s not surprising. We’ve got to have a better sense of urgency. We’ve got to be intentional about our situation and our game plan, and we’ve got to stick to it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heat defense under scrutiny after Lakers rout
