The Miami HEAT face the Washington Wizards Tuesday night at Verizon Center. The HEAT defeated the Wizards 114-94 in their last meeting on February 20. Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM, and television coverage is on FOX Sports Sun. You can also listen to the action live on 790 The Ticket.
1: Now that training camp is finished and we're getting to actual preseason games, what has been your biggest takeaway from the team so far?
Couper Moorhead: That everything is new and nothing is set in stone. There are all sorts of personalities on this team, and many of them have never played basketball together, so there's only so much you can take from seeing them after practice every day for a week of camp. And it's not just that these players are just getting familiar with one another, they're also getting familiar with their coaches and vice versa. Those coaches will only be able to learn so much about their players until they actually get into games and begin to experiment with lineups and rotations.
Justise Winslow, however, has stood out – as far as quotes go – for his willingness to embrace and accept the leadership role despite being one of the youngest players on the team. He's realistic enough to know that things aren't always going to be perfect this season with so much on his plate, but that hasn't appeared to stop him from carving out a prominent and crucial role on the squad. And his jumper is looking better, too.
Joe Beguiristain: My biggest takeaway from camp was that a lot of the new guys seemed willing to embrace the HEAT culture. Vets like Derrick Williams, James Johnson, Wayne Ellington and Dion Waiters fit well with the team and understand what the franchise is all about. It certainly helps matters that each guy came into camp in great shape, which is something Coach Spo alluded to a number of times. How it will all work on the court remains to be seen, but there is reason for optimism.
Another thing that stood out at camp was the desire of Miami's returning players to get better. Now with his shoulder injury behind him, Tyler Johnson has focused on playmaking, while Goran Dragic has been working on his outside shot. Both guards along with Justise Winslow, whom Coup discussed in length above, will be vital in helping the team move forward into a new era.
2: What are you most looking forward to seeing Tuesday night?
Couper: This might be a cop-out answer but everything, really. There's just too much of the unknown to zero in on any one thing at the moment. I'm looking forward to seeing who Erik Spoelstra goes with as his initial starting lineup against Washington, but that's also likely not to mean much as he tinkers throughout the preseason. Ideally we just get to see as many different combinations as realistically possible – with enough minutes to get a real feel – so we can see, for example, how Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside are running the pick-and-roll together with various other players at the other frontcourt position.
There has been enough talk about playing with a high pace, however, that you would expect that to be a through line, so to speak, with most of the lineups out there.
Joe: Since it is the first preseason game with a bunch of new players, there'll likely be a lot of tinkering with different lineups. After practice on Monday, Coach Spo stated that he doesn't anticipate playing guys over 20 minutes. As a result, things will likely be a work in progress.
At this early juncture, I'll simply be looking for which combinations work and which guys have the best chemistry. The four spot is particularly intriguing, with James Johnson, Luke Babbitt and Derrick Williams all possibilities (Josh McRoberts is out on Tuesday with an injured right foot). Each guy brings something different to the frontcourt alongside Hassan Whiteside.
The shooting guard spot is also similar in that regard, as a handful of guys could earn the starting job. While Coach Spo stated that he has an idea of his rotation, he wanted to see things in-game first. That'll be key in this eight-game preseason.
3: Does the outcome of this game particularly matter?
Couper: The outcome, no. The content of the game, yes. Nobody ever remembers who wins preseason games (this one won't have John Wall in it, with Trey Burke starting in his place), but this time of year can still be the genesis for things that prove to matter much later in the season. It was two seasons ago, when Steve Kerr took over as coach in Golden State, that the Warriors came out in preseason with a completely different, up-tempo, ball-sharing, aggressive style that made many in the league take notice. So there's always a possibility that, in one of these preseason performances, a particular starting lineup plays so well it marks the beginning of a season-long storyline.
Joe: Of course you want to win every game, but in the preseason it's really more about working out the kinks and figuring out what works. Miami laid a solid foundation in The Bahamas, but the team still needs time to mesh. Again, working with different combinations and lineups will be the name of the game throughout this month before the regular season opener on October 26.
I'm sure the team will be happy to face somebody else after beating up on each other for the better part of a week. We'll see how it all works out, but one thing is for sure.
It's good to have basketball back.
Highlights:
http://www.nba.com/video/games/heat/2016/02/20/0021500820-was-mia-recap.nba
http://www.nba.com/video/games/wizards/2016/01/20/0021500630-mia-was-recap.nba
Game Notes:
Efficiencies (Rank):(Note: Last season)
