It was a frustrating result for the Miami Heat, who lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 103-95.Head coach Erik Spoelstra, Bam Adebayo and Josh Richardson talked about what went wrong after the game. The game at the Kaseya Center means that the Fever have lost five of their last six games on their home floor.
Defensively, it wasn’t such a bad game, as the Clippers’ tall team with stars like Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Paul George were held to just over 100 points, but on offence it was a different story. The turning point came in the final period when Los Angeles got a bonus with 8:52 left in the game.
Spoelstra says the Clippers have “professional foul trouble drawers”
When a team has players like Harden, Leonard and George in the bonus, it’s a recipe for disaster. Spoelstra addressed the issue with the media after the game, saying the Clippers have “professional shooters and professional foul makers” who know how to exploit that aspect of the game.
“I think we’re on our way to a very good defensive game. We really need to get this thing down in the dirt. But the way the game was going in the fourth quarter, I felt like we could hold them to the mid-90s, well below their average, at least 20 above their average,” Spoelstra said. “I think the game really turned in the fourth quarter when we started to miss. This is a tough team that can’t miss, but they have professional shooters and professional players who avoid fouls. And then we made mistakes three times in a row and got into the penalty area early, and then continued to make mistakes, which created that separation. It takes incredible focus and discipline not to foul, and if you’re too aggressive, they really know how to foul 30 metres away from the basket – Spo on what went wrong in the game.”
This led to a blistering Clippers’ offensive attack in the fourth quarter, as despite scoring less than 30 points in the previous three quarters, the Clippers scored 34 points in the final frame. Overall, they shot over 50 percent from the field and from three-point range, which Miami could not overtake.
Adebayo said the bonus was detrimental to the Heat’s aggressive play.
As mentioned, the defense was far from the worst part of the game, but Miami got too aggressive, which led to foul trouble in the first place. Adebayo, who finished the game with 14 points and 13 rebounds, said that in the NBA, when players are “crafty”, they have to find a balance between being aggressive and not when they are in the bonus.
“We were hurt by a couple of mistakes at the start of the fourth quarter. Being in the bonus so early in the fourth quarter is not good just because we play aggressive defence,” Adebayo said. “And when you’re in the bonus early, guys are skilled in this league. So we have to figure out how to get the balance when we’re in the bonus.”