Heat Beat: Live and learn

Miami must quickly learn from last night's disappointing loss to the Pacers

MIAMI – I've seen bad games.   I've seen ugly games. 

And then I saw the Heat-Pacers game on Tuesday night. 

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Let's just say it set a new standard for awful.

It's just one of those nights you want to forget about, and it's probably best you do just that immediately after reading this.

But, for the Heat, it's a game they can't forget.  It's a game they must learn from. 

We can't only talk about Miami when they play well.  And with a 5-2 start, they had been doing just that. 

Erik Spoesltra understands what happened Tuesday night is the perfect example of a team just showing up "expecting" to win and not actually going out and competing for a win.

The Heat got outplayed, outhustled and pretty much every other adjective that describes a lack of effort. 

Coaches often talk about 50-50 balls being a key to many games.  That's a situation where, whether for a loose ball or rebound chance, each team has an opportunity to get the ball.  You always want to give maximum effort to win those chances, because those plays basically come down to effort.

Well, on Tuesday night it seemed that 50-50 balls were essentially 100-0 balls for Indiana.  They chased down what appeared to be every single chance at winning those chances.  Meanwhile, Miami players seemed to be stuck in mud.  I know the Pacers have some good size, including Roy Hibbert, but on this night, most of Indiana's roster was unrecognizable.

The rebound totals?  Not pretty.  Indiana had a 53-28 advantage.  That's almost unheard of in an NBA game.

It also didn't help that Miami was 8-18 from the free throw line.

Add it all up and you witnessed an 81-75 Heat loss that will go down as one of the uglier ones you'll see.

What must Miami take from this?  It's simple.  This team can't just show up to games expecting to waltz by an inferior opponent.  And make no mistake about it, the Pacers are just that.  That's no cheap shot.  It's reality.  Without Paul George and David West due to injuries, and with Lance Stephenson now in Charlotte, that team is a shell of it's former self.   But, give credit where credit is due.  They played hard on Tuesday.  They went out and earned that victory.

As for the Heat, Spoesltra clearly wasn't about to let this one slide. 

Miami would normally get a day off after a game with a road game coming up on Friday in Atlanta.  Instead, the coach decided to make his team practice Wednesday morning.  He wants them to look at that film and see that lack of effort and energy with their own eyes before boarding that plane. 

It will be painful.  It will be embarrassing.  But it will be something this team needs. 

It's a long season and the Heat will be just fine, but not before learning from a stinker like this.  Because you can't just learn from the good.  Sometimes it takes a game as bad as that to remind you what it takes to be good. 

I would expect a much better effort and game on Friday night against the Hawks.