The Miami HEAT fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 93-90 Friday night at Smoothie King Center. Gerald Green led the way for the HEAT with 24 points.
1. Déjà vu for Gerald Green
What else can be said about Green this preseason? Once again, the dynamic athlete scored at will and provided a spark off the bench for Miami. He got it all started with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer before he went off in the second quarter. Green scored 13 of his 24 points in the second and helped give the HEAT the lead at halftime. In addition to a few mid-range jumpers in the quarter, Green also threw down two thunderous jams.
Perhaps the better of the two came with about four minutes to go in the first half. Mario Chalmers drove baseline and found Green cutting inside from the right wing. Green caught the ball, gathered himself and punished the rim with one hand.
The vet shot 10-of-15 and also grabbed five boards against the Pelicans. Hopefully Green can keep up his high level of play once the regular season begins.
2. Hassan Whiteside Meets Anthony Davis
While Chris Bosh matched up with Davis for the majority of the game, there were some times where Whiteside and the MVP Candidate went to battle. On one play in the second quarter, Whiteside decided against a jumper and instead connected on a hook shot over Davis thanks to the soft touch. As a whole, Whiteside displayed great footwork and drew a lot of fouls on Friday night. He also was a menace on the boards.
Defensively, he altered plenty of shots at the rim and even blocked Davis twice. Whiteside tallied his first double-double of the preseason with 10 points and 12 rebounds to go along with his three blocked shots.
3. Bosh Looks Ready
Although Green led the team in scoring for the preseason, Bosh was Miami’s most consistent player. That didn’t change on Friday night. Against the Pelicans, Bosh saved his best for the final quarter, where he scored eight of his 19 points. In the fourth, he aggressively took it inside and got to the free-throw line. Otherwise, Bosh had the quick trigger going from mid-range and also connected on a few hook shots inside. On the defensive end, he was stout in the paint early on and made things difficult for New Orleans. In all, Bosh had five rebounds and a block in addition to his 19 points.
Other Takeaways:
-Josh McRoberts certainly is a unique player. Rather than score, McRoberts continued to show his point-guard like passing abilities. He led the team with six assists and setup his teammates very well. On one of those assists, he threw up an excellent lob to Green for an alley-oop in the fourth quarter.
Game Notes:
-James Ennis (dislocated left ring finger) left the game in the first quarter and didn’t return.
-Goran Dragic (illness), Luol Deng (hip) and Greg Whittington (illness) sat out.