HEAT 109 - Bobcats 97 Recap

After Dwyane Wade fell hard to the floor, laid out horizontally in mid air, against the Orlando Magic last night, it appeared unlikely he would return to that game, much less play tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Well, he did and he did, coming up with a triple double of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a 109-87 victory over the Bobcats which continued the HEAT’s best stretch of offensive basketball this season while also giving them their fifth win in a row.

Once again, everything was clicking, and moving, in Miami’s offense. Not just scoring 128 points per 100 possessions in a physical game against a division opponent, but dishing 24 to eight turnovers had Erik Spoelstra saying that the team is reaching the next level of offense he spoke about so often back in December.

“Certainly offensively,” Spoelstra said. “We’re starting to enter a new horizon. We’re executing much better, much less home run, less hero ball.

“We’re starting to realize that you can get easier opportunities from the offense.”

While you could tie your tongue trying to figure out whether the execution is better because of the play of Eddie House and Mike Miller or if House and Miller are playing better because of the execution, there’s no question that it’s a symbiotic relationship.

Before, when Miller was out hurt and House had fallen out of the rotation, Miami’s offense, though still highly efficient, would still stagnate into isolated, taking-turns offense for Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. But now, because of Miller and House’s excellent off-ball movement – curling off screens, cutting through open areas – the predictability factor has faded away.

Not only do the HEAT have some of the best scoring, shooting and passing options in the league now, but the team is committed to working toward their best utility. And opposing defenses are either guessing, or defenseless.

Friday, the Bobcats guessed wrong, overplaying the three All-Stars, though the beauty of it is how a team can guess right and still be wrong. Nevertheless, opportunities were afforded Miller and House, and they responded, Miller with 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting, House with 16, 11 in the fourth, on four triples in 21 minutes.

“Eddie is simply ignitable,” Spoelstra said. “He can turn a close game into a double-digit lead in three, four straight possessions.”

At the onset of the fourth quarter, the HEAT up six, House did just that, hitting three treys in less than two minutes to extend the lead to 12. The Bobcats, who had been having an exceptional offensive night as well, never came within six the rest of the way.

“House has probably been our best player the last couple of weeks,” James added.

Defensively, things were more of a mixed bag. Charlotte shot over 50 percent for the better part of three quarter, scoring around eight more points per 100 possessions than is their norm, the 25th least efficient offense in the league. As happened in the final six minutes against the Magic Thursday, the HEAT were inconsistent in their rotations and slow in their closeouts.

“Defensively, we need to reach another level,” Spoelstra said. “The times that we can eliminate those lapses will allow us to reach the level we need to be at in the playoffs.”

They have been at that level before in stretches, Spoelstra added, but the key, as it will always be, is maintaining. And with the schedule toughening up in the next month, Miami’s consistency in playing playoff-level basketball will be tested like never before.