Miami Heat Outplayed In The Paint By Indiana Pacers

Miguel Mike Medina | 7 Hours Ago

Nov 17, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat’s defensive performance was subpar because of constant rebounding issues in a 119–110 loss to the Indiana Pacers. 

The Heat had no answer for Pascal Siakam and Bennedict Mathurin, who combined for 21 rebounds. .

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra spoke about the team’s performance and the areas where the Pacers controlled the game.

“They were able to control the big muscle areas of the game,” Spoelstra said. “Attacking is in the paint, whether it was drives, cuts, post-ups, offensive rebounds that set the tenor of the game. We made a great comeback there, you know, with shot-making, but at that point, you know, if you’ve gotten so many layups and paint attacks, you know, then the three-ball seems a lot easier.” 

Heat got outscored in the paint by the Pacers 62-28. The Pacers won the rebounding game 45-38. 

Spoelstra could have used Kel’el Ware’s services to help the team in rebounds and defense. 

The Heat were outscored 62-28 in the paint in tonight’s loss

If only Coach Spo had a talented 7 footer hungry for some minutes… pic.twitter.com/843UlmoqNa

— Hot Hot Hoops (@hothothoops) November 18, 2024

Spoelstra acknowledged the Heat's missed opportunities.

“I don’t know necessarily off the top of my head like how many layup attempts we had,” Spoelstra said. “We definitely missed a bunch at the rim, but they had their fair share of not necessarily layups but shot attempts in the paint cuts, some second chance opportunities, or late dishes that led to little floaters that aren’t layups but their paint shots you know and they’ve they really you know set the tone with that type of aggressiveness. Those sometimes can be deflating plays if you miss layups and it ends up being a four or five-point swing, but those things happen. If you’re generating them, I’m good with it, but if we miss them, we can't lag back.”

Miguel Mike Medina is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com

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