The "Heat" beat Deetroit, the Alphonse to Orlando's Gaston worst team in the East 105-98 in the Bus. Now, that's a "normal" result, probably under the point spread by a little. (It was actually half the point spread!) Brooklyn's result tonight was not normal. Brooklyn is an abnormal team. They are playing very abnormally. Abnormal is the new normal heading into the playoffs. Very abnormal is tremendously normal. (Watch out for the "Nets".)
The "Heat" are playing too normal to be elite. This win would have been normal for Chazz. Like Philly's overtime win horror at Mouse would have been normal for the "Knicks." Tonight against the "Pisstons" the "Heat" won only by a 4th-quarter comeback! They went into the final inning losing--to Deetroit!--by 5! We actually won the game at the foul line, no lie. Deetroit missed 8 freebies. Holy cow, that's embarrassing to beat the "Pisstons" only by virtue of foul shots. If there's a hero (and there isn't) in such a result it's Herro. Actually it was the Composer. From AP:
#MIAMI -- — The game plan didn't call for Max Strus to play Tuesday night. He was not in the Miami Heat rotation to start the game, only entering after halftime because Jimmy Butler left with a sprained ankle.π
His impact wound up being massive.
Strus scored all of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, Tyler Herro finished with a game-high 29 off the bench and the Heat escaped with a 105-98 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.
True fact there, “escaped."
Detroit...closed the third quarter on a 19-0 run...!
EmBARRassing.
Heat: Butler's ankle will be evaluated again Wednesday. It's his third knownπsprain of the season.
Tyler had 29 on 8/15 (4/8). The "Heat" starting five shot 29.4%, a reverse of a recent Philly debacle. Miami's bench shot 50% (this is so fucking weird) led by Tyler and the Composer 6/9 (4/6). Of the starters, Bam had 16 on 4/8 and 8 boards; Irritated Big Toe had 8, 2/9 (0/2); Kyle was a donut, 6 on 0/3 (0/2), 7 rebbes and only 4 asts...Is this the second straight game Kyle has been a donut?* I'll check...Donut was a donut, 2/10 (2/9), 12 points and nothing but middling on the other metrics in 21'. PJ had 5, 5, and 1. The starters were just awful tonight, just sorry. Miami though is closing out a glorious regular season and closing in on the glittering gold standard of regular season records, 50 wins. They are 46-24 with 12 games left. Normally glorious, glittering, all them good things are great...But that and 50 cents will buy you peanuts in the playoffs. If the playoffs began tomorrow, we'd play Abnormal Brooklyn and get swept four straight.
*No.
