Observations from Sixers’ Blowout Loss to Heat

After falling short to the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday, the Sixers were back in action on Thursday. They would find themselves with another opportunity to clinch the number one seed, this time against the Miami Heat. 

This was not the case as the Heat were able to walk away with the victory. Miami busted out to a big lead early and never looked back. They eventually won by a final of 106-94, handing the Sixers their second straight loss. 

Here are some observations from the matchup. 

Three-point shooting 

Something that has always been up and down for the Sixers this season is three-point shooting. Along with going through cold spells, the number of attempts has been a cause for concern. 

Both were the case against the Heat on Tuesday. The Sixers shot 28.0% from deep, hitting just seven of their 25 attempts. They did not connect on their first three until late in the second quarter. 

On the other side, the Heat couldn't seem to miss. They collectively shot 37.1% from deep. Jimmy Butler is known for not being reliable from deep and managed to connect on all four of his three-point attempts. 

Tradings twos for threes is not part of the recipe for success. Miami managed to knock down six more threes than the Sixers. It is tough to be competitive in a game with that kind of disparity from deep. 

Quality of shots 

Part of the reason why the Sixers shot so poorly against the Heat was their quality of shots. Once again, the Sixers' offense sputtered against a zone defense. They found themselves constantly settling for tough contested jumpers. 

Tobias Harris led the Sixers in scoring with 21 points but had to earn every basket. The rest of the team struggled to get any sort of offensive rhythm. 

Shots not falling is one thing, but settling for bad shots is another. The Sixers struggled to get the consistent offensive looks they are accustomed to getting and paid the price for it. 

Effort

Effort is the biggest thing this game can be chalked up to. One team came out and played like they wanted this game, while the other showed close to no signs of life. 

Miami set the tone early of how hard they were going to play, and the Sixers did not match the intensity. This amplified intensity led to the Heat controlling the glass all game. 

The Sixers were out-rebounded in this matchup 38-49. On top of that, Miami came down with 15 offensive rebounds. 

It just not being your night is something you can live with, but there is no excuse for a team with this size to be outworked on the glass. Based on effort levels, it did not seem like the Sixers wanted this game nearly as bad as the Heat did.