NBA PM: January Could Be Make or Break for HEAT

January Could Be Make or Break for HEAT

By Christmas Day, we usually get a good feel for how a team’s season will go. Players have had roughly two months since the start of the season to get their legs back and adjust to playing NBA basketball on a regular basis.

While that seems to be the case each season, it doesn’t seem to be the case this year for the Miami HEAT.

The HEAT have benefited thus far with a very team-friendly schedule. They have already played 29 games, with 19 of those coming at American Airlines Arena in Miami. They will play their league-leading 20th home game tonight against the Brooklyn Nets.

For the most part, the HEAT have taken care of business at home. They have posted a 13-6 record in Miami and have defeated some of the best teams in the league such as the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers (without LeBron James), Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors.

While the HEAT have played well at home, there are concerns given the team’s spotty play on the road thus far. They are 5-5 in a league-low 10 road games, and have played just two sets of back-to-back games. Given their uneven schedule, it seems as though we’ve yet to get a feel for how Miami’s season will turn out.

Out of their five road wins thus far, only two of them have come against teams with a winning record — the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 14 and the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Meanwhile, all five of their losses were to the hands of teams above .500 — Cleveland, Detroit, Charlotte and twice to Indiana.

“We’re trying to figure it out,” HEAT head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve had some disappointing moments on the road, but you have to go through it and the only way to get better at it is to face some adversity together and find your breakthrough.”

It’s safe to say the adversity Spoelstra is looking for will come soon enough. Once the calendar flips to January on Friday, the HEAT will be faced with playing 12 games on the road compared to just five at home.

The month will feature a stretch of six-straight away games and another stretch of five-straight on the road. At one point in the month, the team will play 11 out of 12 games away from Miami. After only playing in two sets of back-to-back games through the first two months of the season, the HEAT will have four such sets in January.

“It’s going to be a tough road trip for us,” center Hassan Whiteside said. “We got a lot of tough West coast teams in there and we’re going to see how good we can do. On the road, it’s only us. We’re not at home with our families. It’s just us on the road.”

It may seem like such a daunting upcoming schedule, but it can also be a positive experience playing on the road. Time away from home allows players to become even closer, which will help build team chemistry. Some of the most successful teams in the league have established chemistry over the years, with road trips contributing to that. The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs are two teams that are often brought up when discussing team chemistry.

“Yeah, that road trip is coming up closer,” forward Chris Bosh said. “We need to get more games over .500. [But], we just got to wait on it and when it comes — bring it. [We have to] enjoy it, man. That’s a part of being in the league, is that grind. If we come into it, if we’re happy about it and if we show some enthusiasm about going out there, good things will happen.”

This season, the HEAT have had to integrate a new group together on the court. The starting lineup of Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Bosh and Whiteside didn’t play a single regular season minute together prior to this season, so there has been a learning period for all players involved. They also added rookies Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, along with veterans Gerald Green and Amar’e Stoudemire.

The team has combined to be one of the best defensive units in the league. They are giving up just 98.4 points per 100 possessions, which ranks fourth in the NBA. The offense seems to be coming around as well, as they are 10th in offensive efficiency with 102.7 points per 100 possessions.

“We have the identity down,” Bosh said. “We know who we are. If we’re not being true to it, we’re probably not going to win the games.”

What’s making things tough for the HEAT this season is the improved Eastern Conference. Miami has posted a record of just 9-10 against teams within the conference. As of today, the top 11 teams in the conference are separated by just five games. All 11 of those teams have posted .500 records, while there are just seven teams in the Western Conference at .500 or better. A sudden cold streak, could prove to be detrimental in the playoff race.

We’ll really get a good feel for how Miami will end up this season after the month of January. By then, the questions on how they’ll fare on the road will be answered. The first year the “Big Three” played together, it wasn’t until December that the team finally began to figure out how to play with each other. This current HEAT squad is much different, but even the best teams need some time before things fall into place.

While the team knows what awaits them in 2016, they’re still focusing on the present. They still have six more games before that six-game road trip begins, with four of those in Miami. They would love to build some momentum heading into what could be a make-or-break month of basketball. So for the time being, they’re taking it one game at a time and are not getting too far ahead of themselves.

“[I’m] not thinking about it,” Wade said. “Not thinking about it. It’s too far away, man. You can’t think about it. We got [some] games coming up so we’ll get there when we get there.”

Barnes Hit with Two-Game Ban

Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes will be suspended for two games for his role in a physical altercation with New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher that took place in October, the NBA announced in a statement.

The altercation happened in Los Angeles at a party at the home of Barnes’ ex-wife, Gloria Govan. Barnes later said that he received a text message from his son saying that he was uncomfortable with Fisher being at the house, so Barnes drove to the house to check on the situation.

From there, the incident escalated, but neither Barnes nor Fisher have offered specifics on what happened.

The league said at the time that the incident would be investigated, with no timetable for when a possible punishment would be handed down. No charges were ever filed from the incident.

Barnes will serve his suspension beginning with Tuesday’s game versus Miami. He will also miss Saturday’s game against the Utah Jazz.