Miami-Washington: Heat Look to Forget Suns Loss and Win Against Wizards

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There’s no doubt the fourth quarter of last night’s game was horrendous. The Phoenix Suns employed a zone defensive scheme that both surprised and stymied the Miami Heat and allowed the Suns to come back from 12 points down in the third quarter to overtake the Heat 104-96.

While the Heat held the explosive Suns to well below their NBA-best 117 points per game average, their lack of defensive intensity in the fourth quarter allowed Phoenix to shoot a blistering 50.6 percent from the floor for the game, including 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

That is a far cry from the stifling defense the Heat employed against their first three opponents in holding them to 38.6 percent from the field overall, and 21.6 percent from downtown. Prio to this game, Miami was holding opponents to an average of only 87.7 points per game.

Combine all that with the fact the Heat seemed to have trouble putting the ball in the basket in that fourth quarter themselves, missing 18 of their 23 shots, and it’s easy to understand the final result; a Miami loss. Simply put, the Heat went cold last night when it counted most.

Some of that can be attributed to the lineup changes Heat Coach Eric Spoelstra made in the fourth, but I’m not going to second-guess “Spo” this early in the season. He’s trying his best to find the right mix, and so far the results have been pretty impressive, even if the Heat did lose a game last night.

It’s important to remember, though, that while it’s a tough loss to swallow, there are numerous games ahead, including the one tonight against the Washington Wizards.

In that matchup, the Heat look to return to their winning ways against a team ripe to be beaten. Washington (2-2) is coming off its worst offensive output of the year.

Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wizards collapse in the second half was even more pronounced than the Heat’s last night. Leading by four points at the half, Washington was only able to muster up 36 second-half points in a 102-90 loss to Cleveland.

Unlike the Heat, who have been pretty consistent in their play, up until last night’s fourth-quarter debacle, the Wizards have been the epitome of inconsistency. In their two wins, they’ve averaged 112.5 points on 53.7 percent shooting, while in their two losses they’ve averaged 89.5 points on 41.9 percent shooting.

One thing that might explain the Wizards discombobulation is the fact they’re without two-time All-Star forward Antawn Jamison. Jamsion is out for 3-to-5 weeks with a right shoulder injury. The lack of his veteran presence in the lineup has forced Washington to put more of the load on fifth-year forward Andray Blatche.

While Blatche is doing well, averaging 17.5 PPG and 6.8 RPG, and was a huge catalyst in their two wins, scoring 20 and 30 points in both of those victories, his play is as inconsistent as the Wizards themselves. He averaged just 10 points in the two Washington losses (13 and 7).

Blatche also isn’t even starting, but is coming off the bench for the Wizards, as the starting power forward spot is taken up by journeyman forward Fabricio Oberto. Frankly, this is a head-scratcher for me. Oberto has a career average of 3.6 PPG and 3.9 RPG, but that’s for the Wizards’ coaches to deal with.

Washington’s starting lineup is rounded out by center Brendan Haywood, small forward Caron Butler, shooting guard Mike Miller, and point guard Gilbert Arenas. The bench contains significant reserves in point guard Randy Foye and shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson.

Even though Miami had some problems containing Steve Nash last night in the fourth quarter, as he poured in 25 of his game-high 30 points to go along with eight assists, I have the feeling Arenas is going to find the Heat’s defense clamping down a bit more tonight.

Arenas averaged 26.5 PPG through the Wizards’ first four games, but I don’t expect he’ll find it as easy to reach that mark against the Heat’s stifling defense. The Heat will want to send a strong message when they visit Washington tonight. That the game against the Suns, and that final quarter specifically, was just an anomaly; an insignificant blip.

I believe coach Spo will have Miami ready to take on the Wizards, and will make any and all necessary adjustments to get a victory tonight. Look for Arenas, who has missed eight of the last nine games in the series with Miami because of injuries, to struggle against Wade, Chalmers, and Arroyo.

One area of concern could be a former member of the Miami Heat, Caron Butler. While Butler is currently averaging well below his usual output, at only 14.3 PPG, the explosive small forward could easily light up the Heat for some significant points.

Hopefully the Heat’s newly-acquired small forward, Quentin Richardson can employ his lighter and quicker body to defend Butler and keep him from going buck wild.

Another hope is that “Q-Rich” can give Miami the same production we saw last night, as he scored 18 points and grabbed 10 boards. If he can come through like that again tonight, it should offset whatever Butler does and assure a Miami win.

One thing Blatche and the Wizards will have to contend with is finding a way to stop Udonis Haslem, who seems to be making a habit of getting double-doubles. Haslem notched his third consecutive double-double coming off the bench with 10 points and 13 rebounds in Miami’s loss last night.

Washignton will also have to deal with a rejuvenated Jermaine O’Neal and second-year forward Michael Beasley, who are both, despite last night’s loss, seeming like they could make the All-Star team this year.

I know it’s early to make such statements, but their play is definitely at that level so far this season. Whether they continue it will be for us to see.

My biggest worry is whether the Heat get some serious play from Mario Chalmers. I believe he’s a real key in this upcoming matchup. If he can help contain Arenas and do what he does best, provide stifling defense, while also contributing on the opposite end of the court to some degree, Miami should have an easy time with the short-handed Wizards.

Miami swept the series last year, winning all four games against Washington. With Jamison missing, I think the Wizards are going to be hard-pressed to stop Miami's offense. Look for O’Neal and “Beas” to both have huge games tonight. If Wade can put up his usual 30 points, I see the Heat winning in a rout on the road.

I know this sounds a bit like a broken record saying the Heat are going to blow out their competition, and I was wrong on the score last night (ironically I was nearly correct in my prediction of the score, but simply had the wrong teams scoring the points), but I think Miami trounces the inconsistent Washington squad tonight.

My prediction: Miami 115 Washington 90

Game Note: I’m hoping Miami can also see more from Dorell Wright and James Jones. Both need to be integrated into the offensive schemes to a greater degree if the Heat are going to have a chance against the elite teams in the Eastern Conference in the future. Dwyane Wade has carried this team on his back, but he needs some help. Those two are key to not just winning games, but having a shot at possibly going all the way this year.

Heat Note: The Heat will be short-handed themselves to some degree, as shooting guard Daequan Cook is out indefinitely due to a shoulder injury of his own.

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