The Miami HEAT fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 119-95 Friday night at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The game was presented by Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida. Bam Adebayo, Dion Waiters and James Johnson each scored 13 points apiece for Miami.
1. Bam Shows Off His Skills
Bam sure is fun to watch, isn’t he?
After not playing at all in the first half against Philadelphia, the 20-year-old took full advantage of some extended playing time after the break. From a nice attack in transition like this…
…to a thunderous jam like this…
…the rookie definitely made some noise.
What’s more, he also knocked down a few mid-range jumpers for good measure. To top it all off, Adebayo continued to show quick feet on switches and guarded Dario Šarić, Jahlil Okafor and Emeka Okafor quite well.
Simply put, there’s a lot to be excited about with the former Kentucky Wildcat. In addition to his 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting, Adebayo also accumulated nine rebounds and two assists.
2. Whiteside vs. Embiid
There’s nothing quite like the matchup between Hassan Whiteside and Joel Embiid.
Although Whiteside got into some early foul trouble, he competed hard against the 23-year-old and came away with this impressive block on the perimeter.
A little later, Whiteside got him once more in the second quarter.
On the offensive end, the 7-footer out of Marshall did his usual damage on the glass and also threw down a thunderous alley-oop jam thanks to a great pass from Tyler Johnson.
In all, Whiteside had seven points, three rebounds and his aforementioned two blocks in 11 minutes of action.
3. JJ in Attack Mode
From the second James Johnson checked into the game, he was ready to do some damage. He started off guarding Embiid as the small-ball five before he worked his way to Jahlil Okafor and Šarić as the night progressed.
Offensively, Johnson proved to be no match for the 76ers, as he relentlessly attacked the basket and converted often inside.
One of his more impressive plays came early on in the second quarter off a nice steal from Justise Winslow on the inbounds pass.
Johnson finished with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.
Other Takeaways:
-Based on his play on Friday night, Dion Waiters seems ready for the regular season. In short, the 25-year-old routinely got a step on his man and finished with ease at the rim. As such, he tallied 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, four boards and an assist.
Game Note:
-Rodney McGruder (left tibia stress fracture), Okaro White (strained left shoulder), Josh Richardson (rest) and Goran Dragić (rest) all sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT finish the preseason at 3-3 and open the regular season against the Magic on Wednesday at 7:00 PM. Miami will then host Indiana in its home opener on Saturday, October 21 at 8:00 PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.