Norman Powell pinpoints lineup adjustments and Tyler Herro's return as key factors hindering seamless Miami Heat synergy.
As the Miami Heat desperately seek to bounce back after suffering a horrendous loss against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night, Jan. 10th, with a final score of 123-99. They made four shots from behind the arc out of 30 attempts, 13.3 percent, the worst performance of the season. Norman Powell has been a massive spark offensively, but had nothing going for him, finishing the matchup with six points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal, making only two field goals out of 12 attempts, 16.7 percent.
The veteran guard alluded to the lack of chemistry within the starting lineup and the amount of adjustment needed with All-Star Tyler Herro returning from injury for the second time this season.
"You've got to think about it," Powell said. "We've played a certain way for a while. We had Pelle [Larsson] in the starting lineup, then went two big lineup. We're playing games and playing off one another, then another comes back, Tyler, who's a scorer and can really boost your offense. Now everybody has to adjust and figure it out. It's not going to be that as soon as everybody's healthy, we're going to be playing and clicking on all cylinders. You have to readjust and figure it out. Rotations are different, usage is different, it's all about having some time under the belt to build that cohesiveness."
Herro is easily the odd man out, given the number of games missed thus far this season. There's no denying his offensive capabilities, coming off his first All-Star appearance, but without establishing chemistry within an entirely new offense, it's not going to translate easily on the court.
"We just have to keep working at it," Herro said. "It's only our third or fourth game as a full unit. We all want to make it work, we just have to make it work."
The lineup of Davion Mitchell-Herro-Powell-Andrew Wiggins-Bam Adebayo has logged 84 minutes, generating an offensive rating of 117.7, a 109.3 defensive rating, and a 111.10 pace rate. It's a small sample; there's potential offensively, but games are won on the basketball court.
As the Heat prepare to face the Oklahoma City Thunder tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, who will be missing Isaiah Hartenstein due to a right soleus strain, chemistry needs to be built, but effort should never be questioned. The roster is younger compared to recent years, but essentially everyone is experienced enough to impact winning.
The competitiveness wasn't present against the Pacers; it must be there tonight against the reigning champions.
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