POSTGAME REACTION: Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards, 3/10/24.

POSTGAME REACTION: Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards, 3/10/24.

How do you sum this up uh it’s tough loss um we’re well aware of that um and you know Washington made some plays you know down the stretch uh this is not at all I know my basketball team this is not a case of uh overlooking an opponent

Uh we came in with a a disposition um you know and and the right mindset you know to approach this game but this is what uh you know competition you know is about sometimes uh you know uh another team will just make more plays uh as frustrating as that may uh be um

You know and even the two games that we just lost on the road I know I know the team in the locker room we approached both those games uh to win and I thought we did enough you know in all three games uh to win and we just didn’t do it and so

Uh you know we dropped this one um we’ll have to live with those results but you know that this is also why we love this profession we love all the context and pressure uh at this time of year um and we didn’t handle our business in in these three games

But you know I know there will be teams in the East that don’t as well we’re not leaving it up to them you know we’re just going to have to focus on ourselves but uh this is uh a Haro harrowing ride um and our our our group has the right

Intentions uh we will just take a day off tomorrow recalibrate uh and get ready and prepare practice on Tuesday for a big game uh on Wednesday what was your view of that final possession was it plan to go for the win in that situation no not necessarily you know

Just the get the right available shot we were fully ready to take a a timeout you know if necessary uh and I thought we got two great looks at it I I thought the last four three-point looks we got I thought all four were going down uh and

Would that have made things you know different yeah you know they made theirs down the stretch uh and and a lot of that happened in in the two previous games as well you know we missed some shots they made theirs uh you know this one do you know is painful we have a

Bunch of competitors in our locker room nobody’s you know feels great about this uh but we just have to you know get some rest recalibrate and and focus on this all these games down the stretch well how many do we have left 18 yeah uh you

Know this is why I love this time of year because every team is going through it and you feel like it’s only you uh that are going through something like this uh everybody’s going to have the context and pressure and expectations uh on the games uh down stretch they have meaning

Uh it’s not as if we have to talk about the standings everybody’s well aware of the standings especially the competitive nature of the group that we have uh but you also cannot be overwhelmed with everything what we can focus on is our rest tomorrow we do need that uh I think

We’ve had five and seven or something like that and and a crazy travel day and getting in late and that’s not an excuse that’s not why we lost at all Washington you know made those plays uh down the stretch but we we can get some rest and

Get ready for practice on Tuesday and prepare for a big game on Wednesday Washington hadn’t been making a ton of Threes before and then they had that stretch the middle of the fourth did you feel like those threes were any different than what they were getting before they came about differently or is

That just variance yeah I think it’s always dangerous they did get to a little bit of a comfortable Rhythm you know in the second half you know so that’s my view of it some of it is the karma yeah we held them probably you know six eight points under their

Average uh but um they were getting to their game a little bit too too much you know in my my view um they’re getting some of uh the free throw attempts that drives uh the um you know passes over the top versus our switches and that that created some

Overreactions and they got some open shots out of that now once you get some open shots you see the ball go in it becomes a different thing if we’re defending the way we’re capable of uh and making it physical doing things with force and just as importantly with

Discipline and if that’s the only shot they’re left with and they didn’t have the Rhythm I think the context is totally different uh but at that point you know you get to the last 6 minutes of of the game you don’t want to give anybody anything any kind of airs space

Especially when we’re playing you know possession games you don’t want to DARE anybody uh and they made us pay you know for that so at that point the analytics are all out you can’t look at anybody’s percentages um you know with all that said they also made all of those and and

We missed some of ours and and that’s that’s what you have to live with thanks coach okay thank you Jimmy what do you make out of a game like this I mean obviously you look at the standings you look at the records you see a huge differential you guys

Needed a bounce back I would think after Dallas in Oklahoma City and they said you come in and do this what’s your takeaway that this game is just very humbling and if you don’t come out with the right mindset this is what will happen this is what will continue to

Happen so you know ain’t too much to say you think the mindset is off coach said he thought you guys competed and came in with the right mindset what did you see missing no I think uh we came in and with the right mindset but I don’t think

We sustained that mindset the entire game I think we played their game more than we played ours and you know up and down making it a pickup game but you know they’re good at that and they made shots tonight we didn’t guard and that’s the league for

You Jimmy obviously you’re In the Heat of the game You’re In the Heat of the Moment at the end there was there a thought to maybe go for the tie or was it just you know just going on I’m never going for the tie ever thank

You Terry you guys are I think pulled ahead by four with like 8 minutes left and then Washington seemed to catch fire what would you point to down the stretch of what happened there that allowed Washington to kind of pull away and take that 10-point lead well Ain nothing

Specifically that I can point to down the stretch but you know just our level of play uh throughout the game who that put us in that possession uh you know and know all the credit goes to them you know they deserve that that win but when you get a

Team like that to feel comfortable throughout the whole game then shots like that start to fall in the fourth quarter so it’s too late by Terry what’s what’s been the Common Thread through these three games we’ve seen three games you’ve jumped to early leads look very good early and then it

Sort of slips away a little in the third quarter and goes from there what’s sort of unwinding for you guys during Second halfs of these last three games that double digit leads go to something else uh just got to sub sustain the right level of play man just

We got to have a way that we that we want to play and we got to go out there and and and do it to a te and sustain that throughout the whole game we understand in this league is you know just the best players in in the world

But when we got a plan and and we can execute it we’re we’re tough to beat but you know these last couple games it’s kind of like we get away from our identity and who we are so it’s tough to win like that Terry you you and Bam

Still had some success in the pick and role but when Washington didn’t didn’t have any real centers tonight so they played small how did their small lineups kind of change the complexion of the game the way they were defending uh you know you play a small lineup they start

To switch you know so sometimes I can’t really hit bam in the pocket like I want to uh you know give to him in a sweet spot so sometimes we got to you know do more post ups but uh you know just trying to find a way uh to make that

Make that click you know with all the guys just trying to you know really see ways I can you know make it make it easier on them you know and Bam is definitely one of them trying to uh you know get them back going and get them back feeling

Right Terry is a loss like this sort of humbling or is it sort of just going you just need to go back to business as usual it’s not that deep I mean in this league you you play 82 games you know it’s a little bit of both you don’t

Never want to get too high you don’t want to get too low like what can we do about today it’s over with we got to worry about Denver nug I mean yeah the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday so it’s it’s a little bit of both you know in this

League you don’t you don’t want to get too high or get too low you got to move on so thank you

The Miami Heat fell to the Washington Wizards on Sunday by a score of 110-108. Hear from head coach Erik Spoelstra, Jimmy Butler, and Terry Rozier on the defeat. 🎙