The loss Wednesday marks the fourth straight for Miami.
The Miami Heat suffered a brutal loss Wednesday night, falling to the depleted Memphis Grizzlies 105-96 at the Kaseya Center. The Heat are struggling tremendously right now, particularly on offense, with this game being possibly their worst loss of the season, as they have failed to score 100 points in five of their previous seven games.
After the team’s fourth consecutive loss, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra stated that the team is in a “funky” stage of the season that he “can’t even explain it.”
To get through the lapses on both sides of the ball, Spoelstra expressed that it is going to take some “fortitude” and “collective toughness” to play better in the second half of the season.
“Right now, it’s just one of those weird moments in the NBA season. I can’t even explain it. That’s basically what I told the group. There are a number of atypical offensive plays. I felt we’d do a lot of good things offensively and then miss a shot,” Spoelstra said. “It will only take some fortitude.
It’s good to have a grind in this profession where things don’t always go your way; you just have to stick with it and create that collective resilience. Nobody is pleased or comfortable with this. And I know a lot of folks are trying to do the right thing on offense.
I see it. I don’t want the group to get frustrated with that, because a breakthrough is right around the corner.”
Spoelstra wanted to win “ugly as heck”
Spoelstra is well-known for his fondness for “ugly as heck” contests in which the Heat beat rival teams in the mud. Wednesday was one of those nights, but Miami struggled to overcome a sluggish first three quarters despite a modest comeback in the fourth. The head coach even recounts a time when the club had a chance to grab a one-point lead on a step-back three-pointer by Heat rookie Terry Rozier, which would have been a “beautiful moment,” but he missed.
“And in the interim, if you’re suffering offensively, you can still defend, have a game in the mud, and find a way to win. Ugly as hell. I mean, this was a poor offensive performance for two games in a row. It may still have been a very winnable game. Obviously, Terry had the step back three, and that was his shot that had an opportunity. “I thought, wow, this would have been a beautiful moment,” Spoelstra explained. “Not just for Terry, I’m saying, play a nasty offensive game and then find a way to win in the end.
And then something like can throw a spark back into your group, which unfortunately did not happen tonight. But I believe it’s good. We have the Eastern Conference’s top squad coming in tomorrow, as well as a highly competitive group. And I believe everyone will be looking forward to a good level of competitiveness tomorrow night.
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