The Heat squeaked out another win on their crucial road trip, taking down the Utah Jazz 97-92. It wasn’t pretty, but Miami’s getting it done without Jimmy Butler. Let’s break down the key takeaways:
• Jaime Jaquez is on fire: The kid’s having his best stretch of the season, dropping 20 points and going 3-of-5 from deep. He’s scored in double digits four straight games now.
• Clutch free throws: After missing some big ones against Sacramento, Jaquez iced this game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds. That’s growth, folks.
• The Kel’el Ware effect: This guy is like Calvin Johnson out there, catching everything thrown his way. His lob threat gives Miami a new dimension they haven’t had in years.
• Where’s the Ware-Bam lineup?: I’m shocked we didn’t see Spolestra roll out Ware and Bam Adebayo together against Utah’s big lineup. What’s holding Spo back?
• Terry Rozier’s struggles continue: I can’t figure out why Spo’s so committed to starting Rozier. The guy’s a foot away from being a good player, but he’s just not putting it together.
• Credit Cookie controversy: Dave’s handing out cookies like a dictator over here. Tyler Herro deserves more love for his clutch performance down the stretch.
Look, this Heat team is finding ways to win without Jimmy, but there are still some head-scratchers. Why isn’t Spo using his challenges? Why is he so loyal to Rozier in the starting lineup? These are the questions keeping Heat fans up at night.
The Jimmy Butler situation is looming large. All this talk about bringing him back? That’s just posturing from the Heat front office. They’re trying to create leverage for a potential trade. Don’t think they have us backed into a corner with that February 6th deadline.
Main points:
• Jaime Jaquez, Jr. is breaking out, providing a much-needed spark
• Kel’el Ware’s lob threat gives Miami a new offensive weapon
• Spo’s rotations and lineup choices remain questionable
• The Terry Rozier experiment isn’t working out as planned
• Miami’s winning without Jimmy, but his trade situation hangs over everything
The Heat are grinding out wins on this road trip, but there are still plenty of questions to answer. Can they keep this momentum going? Will we see some lineup changes? And what’s the endgame with Jimmy Butler? Stay tuned, Heat fans. This season’s about to get real interesting.
