Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Washington Wizards used a balanced attack and tons of jump shots to blow out the Miami Heat, 107-86, Monday at the Verizon Center.
Washington shot 10-of-19 from three-point range. The Heat were almost as cold as the Wizards were hot, going 2-of-22 from distance.
Miami also lost the rebound battle, 42-33, and the assist battle, 29-12.
| Dwyane Wade | B+ |
| Chris Bosh | B+ |
| Mario Chalmers | D+ |
| Luol Deng | D |
| Rest of Team | D |
| John Wall | A+ |
| Bradley Beal | D+ |
| Marcin Gortat | B+ |
| Paul Pierce | D+ |
| Rasual Butler | A+ |
| Rest of Team | B |
Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade: B+
At least as a scorer, Dwyane Wade looked like the late-20s version of himself for stretches. He showed off flawless footwork in the post and touch on his fadeaways out to 18 feet.
He wound up shooting 9-of-13 from the field for 20 points. He also grabbed three boards and did it all in just 28 minutes.
You never want to lose, but the way Wade looked has to be seen as a good sign. He has to maintain a level of health near this for the Heat to have a shot at a top-four seed in the playoffs.
Chris Bosh: B+
Chris Bosh was solid as well, scoring 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. As was the case for most of the last four-plus seasons, he did the majority of his damage from the mid-range.
On a couple of occasions, he took a defender off the dribble and hit a pull-up jumper like a shooting guard. Washington didn't have anyone who could really bother his shots.
On the other end, Bosh had a tough time with the physical game of Marcin Gortat, who typically took Bosh inside and made him move in pick-and-rolls. Bosh did come away with eight defensive rebounds but still didn't do much to slow Gortat.
Mario Chalmers: D+
Mario Chalmers was part of Miami's terrible struggles from three-point range, going 0-of-4 from downtown. The looks were open; he just couldn't connect.
When that's the case, you'd like to see Chalmers, a point guard, do a little more to create for others. He finished the game with just two assists, to go with two turnovers.
Defensively, Chalmers was often tasked with guarding John Wall. Obviously, that's a tough assignment, but he and Norris Cole really couldn't even slow Wall down. The Wizards star got anywhere he wanted on the floor throughout the game, breaking down the defense and finding shooters with ease.
Luol Deng: D
Luol Deng was almost nonexistent. Nine points is typically a quiet scoring line, but Deng's nine on 2-of-7 shooting was barely more than a whisper.
He was solid defensively, though, helping to hold Paul Pierce to four points on 1-of-4 shooting.
Going forward, Miami needs more from him offensively. There will be plenty more games like this when the Heat simply need one more guy to step up, and Deng was signed to do that.
Rest of Team: D
Miami's depth is a huge concern, and that was glaringly obvious Monday. After Wade and Bosh, there really wasn't any help. The only other player in double figures was Chalmers, and it took him 11 shots to get his 11 points.
On the bright side, Josh McRoberts had one of his stronger games with Miami. He scored eight points, dished out four assists and grabbed four boards. It didn't move the needle, but McRoberts' passing could eventually be a nice asset.
The other two point guards, Norris Cole and Shabazz Napier, combined to score 13 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
Washington Wizards
John Wall: A+
From the opening tip, John Wall was in complete control of this game. He scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting and handed out a game-high 13 assists.
He broke down anyone who tried to defend him with a good use of pace, timely dribble moves and, most importantly, great vision.
His effort carried over to the defensive end, too. In one sequence in the third quarter, he hit a three, blocked Chalmers on the other end, missed a heat check and then took a charge, all in about 30 seconds.
Bradley Beal: D+
Due to some foul trouble, Bradley Beal had a hard time finding great rhythm. He did shoot 2-of-3 from three-point range but finished with just eight points on 3-of-7 overall.
The biggest problem was having to defend Wade, who's become quite adept at drawing fouls even when there's no contact.
Marcin Gortat: B+
Bosh may have had his way outside when Miami had the ball, but Gortat forced him to defend inside on the other end. The Wizards' big man definitely won that battle inside.
He finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Paul Pierce: D-
Paul Pierce got off to a slow start, and when it became clear that Rasual Butler had it going, he was pretty much relegated to the bench.
He played just less than 20 minutes, took only four shots and made one on the way to his four points.
Rasual Butler: A+
Rasual Butler came into this game averaging 8.5 points. Last season, for the Indiana Pacers, he averaged just 2.7 points.
Monday, he exploded for 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting. And it wasn't just a three-point barrage from a guy who's spent a lot of his career as a specialist. He was 3-of-5 from downtown but showed some toughness inside the arc as well.
He was also a part of the strong defensive effort that held Deng to nine points.
Rest of Team: B
The contrast between these two benches was pretty stark. Even with Nene out, the Wizards were clearly the deeper team, getting contributions from all over the roster.
Otto Porter had seven points and five rebounds. Drew Gooden scored 10. Kevin Seraphin grabbed eight boards. And Andre Miller went 3-of-3 from the field, scored six points and dished out four assists.
Coming Up Next
Miami will return home Wednesday, where it will play the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Wizards will continue their homestand against the Lakers at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
