Takeaways From The Miami Heat’s Monday Loss To The Minnesota Timberwolves
The Miami Heat’s road woes continued as they fall to the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-101 on Monday. Their record on the road is now 1-7.
Here are some major takeaways from the game:
-The Heat, once again, blew another lead. The Heat had a great first half as they went into halftime with a 60-47 lead. But the Timberwolves sparked up a huge 37-19 run in the second half which was highlighted by a lot of fast break opportunities.
-One of the Heat’s huge disadvantages was the lack of size coming into this game. The Timberwolves had a lot of height compared to the Heat, who have been criticized all season for the small ball lineups. The Timberwolves took full advantage of it. Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the tallest players on the team, scored 25 easy points and was able to grab eight rebounds. Max Strus had the assignment of guarding him most of the game but was unable to stop him on many occasions.
-The Heat were also very short-manned. They had eight players on the inactive list, mainly due to injuries. The Timberwolves had a lengthy inactive list, as well, but it didn’t feature their top talents. The Heat were without their leading scorers Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro.
-One of the bright sides for the Heat was Bam Adebayo’s productivity. He finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, giving him his seventh double-double of the season. He also blocked two shots.
-Kyle Lowry was also very productive. He recorded his 15th game of the season with double-digit points (21 points) and filled the stat sheet up with five rebounds, nine assists, three steals, two blocks, and four 3-pointers.
-Rookie Jamal Cain had arguably his best game of the season. He played a huge 24 minutes off the bench, which was mainly due to the lack of players available. He finished with ten points, two rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
-The Heat have one of the worst road records in the league (just behind the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic). With the next two games against Washington in Miami, they will try to take advantage of home court as they have a 6-4 record at FTX Arena.
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
