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Observations and other notes of interest from Tuesday night’s 116-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors:
– No sooner was Tyler Herro lost for the night in the second quarter with a left-eye contusion then the ongoing absence of Victor Oladipo became even more of an impediment.
– He was, after all, to be the balancing act on the second unit with Herro promoted to the first team.
– Instead, crickets when it comes to the knee issue that has Oladipo out since the preseason.
– The opposite knee that the surgical one that limited him in recent seasons.
– All with requisite “no new update” from coach Erik Spoelstra.
– Yes, the Heat survived.
– But it shows how fine the margin is at the moment.
– So Max Strus starts Tuesday’s second half in place of Herro.
– And the Heat basically were left with just Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson in reserve, with all due respect to Dru Smith.
– When you give a player two years at $18 million, one would hope for a better outlook on his health.
– And perhaps that happens soon enough, with this just the start of November.
– But no Oladipo already has led to several Heat issues.
– All the while, still waiting.
– And wondering.
– Dewayne Dedmon was back in the mix for the Heat after missing the previous two games due to illness and a foot issue.
– He entered as part of the Heat’s first substitution along with Strus.
– That’s after the Heat again opened with Bam Adebayo, Caleb Martin, Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and Herro.
– Vincent followed as the Heat’s third substitute.
– And then Robinson, who had only a cameo on Saturday in Sacramento.
– Dedmon’s first steal was the 250th of his career.
– Strus’ first 3-pointer was the 250th of his regular-season career.
– Lowry’s third 3-pointer moved him past Jason Kidd for 12th on the NBA all-time list.
– Herro’s fourth shot moved him past Michael Beasley for 20th on the Heat all-time list.
– Adebayo’s second steal was the 350th of his career.
– Spoelstra pregame downplayed a playoff-series feel with the teams having met just five days earlier.
– “Yeah, I would say it’s more regular-season approach,” he said. “I would say both teams, it’s a little bit more in the forefront of each others’ minds, of what to expect. Obviously, we’re coming off a couple of losses that we would like to get back into the swing of things. There’s not better opponent than going against the defending champs.”
– Tuesday marked the earliest the Heat completed a two-game season series against the Warriors. The previous earliest was Dec. 3.
– With a game Wednesday against the Kings, this marks the 34th time the Heat will have played home games on consecutive nights over the franchise’s 35 seasons. The Heat entered having swept 10 times, having been swept eight times and having split 15.
– The Heat entered having scored 100 or more in nine consecutive games against the Warriors, tying their longest such streak against Golden State.
– Warriors coach Steve Kerr spoke pregame of the Nets’ parting with coach Steve Nash.
– “He has all the qualities to be a brilliant coach,” Kerr said, “but . . . we are all at the whim of players, front offices, ownership. You really need a solid situation in which to thrive as a coach in this league.”
– Kerr added, “Erik’s got one. I’ve got one in Golden State. We’re really lucky. Throw either one of us in that situation, we wouldn’t have done any better than Steve. . . He could be great. Just needs a more stable environment.”
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