76ers 90 - HEAT 99 Recap

MIAMI, November 26 – A team doesn’t always need a perfect, double-digit victory to get themselves out of a slump. They just need to win, however possible, and move forward with a win under their belt.

That’s why it doesn’t matter that the HEAT were only up two over the 3-13 Philadelphia 76ers with 11 minutes to go Friday night. What matters is the HEAT proceeded to go on a 10-0 run, produced by LeBron James and Chris Bosh, and that Dwyane Wade took the 99-90 win home to end a three-game losing streak.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game for us, all the way through,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, “but it was an important game for us, to bounce back, just to remember what it was like to win.”

Not that it was a particularly ugly game – the HEAT committed a mere nine turnovers – just slow; 88 possessions slow. As teams have done lately, with Memphis recently forcing an 88-possession game, the 76ers worked their offensive sets, the paint and the shot clock, pushing defenders back to prevent Miami from running off misses.

Not that the HEAT were on top of their game, either. They won despite shooting 45 percent to Philadelphia’s 47, and with Jodie Meeks scoring a season-high 21 points on five threes.

They won even with James, Wade and Bosh all shooting below 50 percent, and they did it at the free-throw line, shooting 23-of-29, with the 76ers earning just 21 attempts in all.

It didn’t matter how they did it, just that they did.

“We got to get away from worrying about how we get wins,” Wade said, adding that they’ll never begrudge a win. “We got to worry about getting wins. We can’t worry about blowouts, we got to worry about playing well.”

The HEAT played well enough to win Friday night, but at the same time they acknowledge that they’re still working things out, adding things like a late-game set which featured James, Bosh and Wade on the right wing, with Bosh drawing the defense with a cut and James feeding Wade in the post. It was a set rarely seen from the HEAT, but one that led to a Wade hoop and sealed the game with a 13-point lead.

“We’re still working on the fly, but once we figure things out, once we figure what works best for us, that’s going to propel us,” Bosh said. “But it’s not easy finding that out. We just have to keep working.”

Arroyo’s New Game

With all the talk about James, Wade and Bosh adjusting to playing with one another, it’s been easy to forget how the team’s new makeup affected role players like Carlos Arroyo. Normally a point guard that does a lion’s share of ballhandling, Arroyo now brings the ball up and often fills in the empty spot on either wing or corner, waiting for the open jumper that his new teammates are sure to create for him.

“He’s a real true point guard, and with the ballhandlers that we have on this team, he’s put in a situation he’s not accustomed to doing,” James said.

Arroyo capitalized on those situations Friday, making 6-of-9 from the field for 17 points which his teammates credited for bailing them out whenever the 76ers threatened to make a run.

“The main point I’ve made to Carlos all the way through is there’s a reason he’s been open,” Spoelstra said. “He’s one of our very best shooters. With him, it’s just a mentality of stepping up and that’s just what the team needs.”

That includes shooting 46 percent from 16-23 feet, where 66 percent of Arroyo’s shots are assisted, or contributing with an effective field-goal percentage – which adds weight to the fact that deep shots are worth an extra point – of 96.5 from three, where every single one of his jumpers has come off an assist.

All those open looks may not result in 17 points every night, but it’s clear that, with the rest of the team still gelling, Arroyo is among those playing his new role perfectly.