Takeaways From The Miami Heat's Loss Friday To Dallas Mavericks

The Heat were blown out by the Mavericks Friday in Dallas

The Miami Heat hoped to take advantage of a Dallas Mavericks team playing without their second leading scorer, Christian Wood. 

Instead, the Heat suffered their second-worst loss of the season on Friday.

Here are some major takeaways from the game:

-The Heat knew the NBA’s leading scorer Luka Doncic was a threat but it didn’t help. While Doncic had the ball in his hands the majority of the night, the Heat did whatever they could to stop him. They sent double-teams to him but left players like Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith open to get off easy shots. At times, they even put Bam Adebayo on him but Doncic still finished with 34 points.

-Mavericks coach Jason Kidd pointed his team is one of the worst defensive teams after their loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

“It’s like a shootaround,” Kidd said. “Until we put more effort and understanding into defense, we can score 120, but we’re also going to allow 130 or 140. One night, we might give up 150.”

The Mavericks picked up their defense and they did it without Maxi Kleber, one of their best defenders. The Heat shot 47 percent from the field but the Mavericks were more aware, double-teaming them in the post at times. The Heat didn’t react well to them, repeatedly turning the ball over.

-Kyle Lowry finished with five points, his third straight game in single-digits. Regardless, he is proving critics wrong in a different way. After being criticized for his heavy weight, he has become consistent in the fast breaks. He is the Heat’s third leader in fast break points, scoring nine in the last two games.

-Jimmy Butler has become a player known for finding his way to the free throw line, averaging seven free throw attempts. The only time this season he didn’t get there was on Oct. 21 against the Boston Celtics. He finished the game with 12 points but got half of them from the free throw line.

-Even though the chances of Victor Oladipo becoming a starter are slim, he still deserves to see an increase in his minutes. He finished with 20 minutes in the 28 minutes. 

-Last season, the Heat were the best 3-point shooting team but now they are one of the worst. They hit a season-low four 3-pointers, the worst since Feb. 5, 2018.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog https://allball30.wordpress.com