Miami overcomes the ‘planned loss’, now enters the crucial part

After that The Miami Heat had a return game against the Utah Jazz last Saturday, the team had a quick turnaround for Sunday’s matchup, hosting the Phoenix Suns in the second contest of back-to-back games. As it is The heat had a worrying trend throughout January in a streak that ended with a 111-102 win on Sunday.

While winning the second game of a back-to-back doesn’t seem out of the ordinary, the context matters for Miami, as it was the fifth road game in seven days, plus the team’s quarterback following Utah’s win in Phoenix was tough to say the least. The team’s flight would be delayed more than three hours, causing the Heat to land around 4:30 a.m. (MT).

However, the lack of sleep did not prevent Miami from putting forth a flawless effort in the victory over the Suns, whose head coach Erik Spoelstra recognized could be seen as a “planned loss”, according to The Miami Herald.

“It was a tough turnaround, and I’m not making any excuses for it,” Spoelstra said. “I’m just saying when we go to bed at 6 in the morning and we have two games in less than 22 hours, it’s fun. It’s fun to try to rally around a challenge. This can often be a scheduled loss, and everyone just rallied around the opportunity.”

It was a key win for the team as they went 3-2 on a five-game road trip that got off to a disappointing start, and now return home for Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic.

“We knew how important this win was,” Jaquez said. “We know how important this next stretch of games is for us going into the All-Star break. So we’re just taking it to heart and we’re done talking about it.”

Warmth Norman Powell could use a break

Another reason for The trip was frustrating as the heat dealt with a slew of injuriessuch as Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware and Davion Mitchell who missed key contests during that span. Now, Miami is in the middle of a two-day break before Wednesday’s game and there is no doubt that they could use it, even players who have been active in all games, e.g. Bam AdebayoNorman Powell and others, as Spoelstra mentioned.

“I’m sure anybody could use that,” Spoelstra said of the break. “But the guys who need it the most will be Norm, Bam (Adebayo) and (Andrew Wiggins). Jaime could probably use a little bit of extra time as well. We’ll try to make the most of it.”

If there’s anyone who’s emphasized his need for rest, it’s Powell, who played through lower back tightness during the trip.

“I definitely need the rest,” said Powell, who leads the team with an average of 23.1 points. “And I hope that with these two days I will be able to calm down and be ready for Orlando.”

The Heat are now 25-22, which puts them in eighth place in the East heading into Monday’s game against Orlando.