Intense film session leads to Heat's turnaround after disappointing loss in Memphis

Miami Heat find motivation after pouring over tape from poor effort against Grizzlies

Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler wasn’t quite ready to reveal what occurred during a team meeting Tuesday in Philadelphia, the day after a disappointing loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

All Butler would say is the lashing from the coaching staff opened a few eyes in the locker room, especially the young players. It led to the Heat rebounding from the defeat and picking up one of their most impressive victories of the season Wednesday against the 76ers.

“I ain’t telling you what’s going on in our film session,” Butler said when asked about it following the game. “That’s for us.”

The Heat are now 8-0 in games after a loss. This one could be credited to a longer than usual film session after falling to the Grizzlies.

“We came locked and dialed. We were locked in,” Butler said. “It feels good to get this one on the road. We did what we said we were going to do (Tuesday) in the meeting.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the extended look at the game tape gave reminder just how poorly the Heat played in a game they were expected to win. The Grizzlies have the 13th-worst record in the Western Conference. 

“Everybody was really disappointed frustrated, if not angry with our performance in Memphis,” Spoelstra said. “All you can do is get to work. So we had a long film session of going through our painful autopsy of our lack of winning plays that we made in the Memphis game. I thought we made a lot more them [against Philadelphia] And that doesn’t guarantee anything. This was still a possession game going down to the end.”

The film review was geared mostly toward young players, including rookies Tyler Herro, Kendrick Nunn and second-year forward Duncan Robinson. All played key roles in the win against the Sixers. Nunn finished with a team-high 26 points while Robinson scored 15 on 5 of 11 shooting. Herro, the Heat’s 2019 first-round pick, had nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists. It was arguably the most complete game of his young career.

“They took a beating in the film session,” Spoelstra said. “They took it on the chin with an approach to get better. And they produced for this basketball team and they got recognized for that by the veterans. It was a really cool thing.” 

After an off day Thursday, the Heat return to action against the New York Knicks Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Guard Goran Dragic, who has missed nine straight games with a groin injury, is expected back in the lineup.