The Miami Heat had a lot to fix between their first and second games of the season.
They will see how the attempted upgrades turn out when they oppose the host Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
“You don’t need stats to see it,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of shortcomings in the team’s season-opening 116-97 defeat to the Orlando Magic. “You can feel it.”
The Hornets rallied from 18 down to win their season opener Wednesday at Houston but then fell 125-120 on Friday night at Atlanta despite LaMelo Ball’s 34 points.
Ball was charged with 10 of Charlotte’s 18 turnovers, and he fouled out with more than three minutes to play, so there are topics to address.
“I also don’t like the fact that they shoot 38 free throws,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said. “Those are some of the things that we can control. I think we’re going to learn from (Friday night’s game).”
Saturday will mark the first regular-season home game for the Hornets under Lee.
Miami hasn’t played since the home loss against the Magic on Wednesday. The Heat’s defense got out of balance too often in certain matchups.
“We need to shore that up,” Spoelstra said. “We will get better with that.”
The Heat were miffed by the breakdowns, particularly with the season’s high expectations.
“We kind of fell apart there in the second half on both sides of the floor,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “That can’t happen for a team like us. We want to compete for a championship.”
Ex-Hornet Terry Rozier led the Heat with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. However, Miami wound up below the 100-point mark — something that happened in all four of their defeats in a five-game, first-round playoff loss to the eventual champion Boston Celtics last spring.
Miami shot 39 percent from the field in the opener and grabbed only nine offensive rebounds (to Orlando’s 18). Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined to shoot 2-for-13 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point range, but Adebayo did get to the free-throw line 10 times. They wound up combining for only 12 points (nine by Adebayo).
The team looked out of sync, particularly compared to strong stretches during the preseason.
“Offensively, we have to trust some of the things we’ve been working on,” Spoelstra said.
Overall, the Magic held a 57-41 rebounding edge on Miami.
The Heat defeated Charlotte in all four meetings last season, including two by six or fewer points. The last of those matchups included Adebayo scoring a team-high 24 points in a 104-87 rout. Miami has defeated Charlotte in 11 of the teams’ past 13 matchups.
The Hornets will be without second-year guard Brandon Miller, who was injured in the opener and won’t return until at least Nov. 1.
Lee decried the loss of Miller.
“He brings a lot on both sides of the floor,” the coach said.
Charlotte center Mark Williams sat out the team’s first two games.
Heat forward Kevin Love (personal) and center Kel’el Ware (illness) will miss the Saturday game.
–Field Level Media
