Of all the stupid, pointless, nonsensical NBA games, last night’s Wizards “win” over the Miami Heat may have been the most SoWizards — at least for this season.
Let’s back up. At dinner, I spent a few seconds explaining to my wife why it’s in the Wizards’ best interests to lose. The explanation didn’t take long — The team is eliminated from the playoffs, so winning doesn’t help them. More losses mean better chances in the NBA Draft Lottery. And remember that 7-4 French kid I showed you missing a three and then throwing down the putback dunk? He’s the top prize.
Nothing else necessary. Simple concepts. Easily understood by a reasonably smart person, even one who fundamentally cares nothing about the outcome.
Fast forward to the third quarter when Washington’s lead cracked 20, and I wandered in disgust into the room where she was watching something else.
Wife: Who’s winning.
Me: The Wizards.
(Video) How the Miami Heat went from the NBA Finals to Total DisasterWife: By how much?
Me: More than 20. In the third quarter.
See AlsoCosa rende nullo un contratto?Law Commission si consulta sulla legge che disciplina l'accordo di arbitratoDue console TV in legno. (danneggiato)Cuban: Mavs non è stato colpito a trattenere BrunsonWife (laughing): Of course. [turns back to her show] Because that’s SoWizards.
I have genuinely no idea what the Washington front office and coaching staff was thinking. They had forewarning the Heat were happy to punt the game to rest EVERY SINGLE PLAYER WHO MATTERS TO THEIR POSTSEASON SUCCESS. With full knowledge that a win could ONLY hurt them at this point, the Wizards went ahead and started Delon Wright, Corey Kispert and Daniel Gafford.
They for some reason gave Kispert 34 minutes of playing time. They gave two fully healthy players the night off — 37-year old Taj Gibson, and 21-year-old Isaiah Todd. Yes, in a game they should have been trying to lose, they gave an inexperienced, below average G Leaguer an ignominious DNP-CD.
No one in this game impressed, not even a little. Gafford posted good stats, but he’s a legit starter going against a decent G League lineup. He should have had good stats. Really? He shouldn’t have played. That should have been Jay Huff from start to finish.
Xavier Cooks wasn’t bad, though the play that stood out was when the ball came to him in the corner, he had a wide-open three, which he turned down to let someone else shoot. That open look from the corner is as fundamental to the modern NBA as free throws, and...it’s not in his bag.
Delon Wright was fine, but the backcourt should have been staffed with Jordan Goodwin, Johnny Davis and Quenton Jackson. I have no idea why they played Kendrick Nunn. He already has enough on video from this season to chase another job, and no one wants him back in Washington next season, including Nunn himself.
This isn’t a case of an outcome that didn’t matter. Winning put them behind the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic for sixth best lottery odds, eliminated them from any possibility of climbing to fifth, and creates risk they could fall as far as ninth.
It’s not a cataclysmic blunder like getting involved in a land war in Asia, or going against a Sicilian when death is on the line, but it’s indicative of this team’s inability to do the basics to position themselves for future success. It’s cost them a couple percentage points in the Draft Lottery, which isn’t major. But small things matter. If you’re participating in an event based on pure chance, you want more entries, not fewer.
Simple concepts. Easily understood by a reasonably smart person, even one who fundamentally cares nothing about the outcome.
Seriously, if the Wizards leadership trying to demonstrate lack of care or an epic capacity for ineptitude, would we be able to tell the difference?
Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).
Four Factors: Heat at Wizards
| FOUR FACTORS | HEAT | WIZARDS |
|---|---|---|
| FOUR FACTORS | HEAT | WIZARDS |
| EFG | 0.515 | 0.506 |
| OREB | 14 | 12 |
| TOV | 16 | 16 |
| FTM | 7 | 29 |
| PACE | 103 | |
| ORTG | 105 | 111 |
Below are a few performance metrics, including the Player Production Average (PPA) Game Score (very similar to the one I used to call Scoreboard Impact Rating). PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).
Game Score (GmSC) converts individual production into points on the scoreboard. The scale is the same as points and reflects each player’s total contributions for the game. The lowest possible GmSC is zero.
PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. Reminder: in PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.
POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.
ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average last season was 112.0. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.
USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%.
ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified slightly by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.
+PTS = “Plus Points,” this stat is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 114, the league — on average — would produced 22.8 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -2.8.
Stats & Metrics: Wizards
| WIZARDS | MIN | POSS | ORTG | USG | +PTS | PPA | GmSC | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WIZARDS | MIN | POSS | ORTG | USG | +PTS | PPA | GmSC | +/- |
| Daniel Gafford | 25 | 53 | 168 | 24.4% | 6.9 | 350 | 40.2 | 24 |
| Delon Wright | 21 | 44 | 153 | 16.9% | 2.8 | 273 | 26.1 | 18 |
| Xavier Cooks | 22 | 47 | 125 | 17.6% | 0.8 | 179 | 18.4 | -22 |
| Corey Kispert | 34 | 73 | 119 | 18.8% | 0.6 | 114 | 18.0 | 4 |
| Jay Huff | 23 | 50 | 133 | 19.8% | 1.8 | 89 | 9.7 | -18 |
| Jordan Goodwin | 20 | 42 | 89 | 21.6% | -2.4 | 91 | 8.4 | 7 |
| Kendrick Nunn | 16 | 35 | 95 | 26.1% | -1.8 | 8 | 0.6 | -9 |
| Anthony Gill | 19 | 41 | 81 | 12.5% | -1.8 | -3 | 0.0 | 25 |
| Johnny Davis | 38 | 81 | 73 | 21.0% | -7.0 | -38 | 0.0 | 12 |
| Quenton Jackson | 22 | 48 | 73 | 21.2% | -4.3 | -106 | 0.0 | -11 |
Stats & Metrics: Heat
| HEAT | MIN | POSS | ORTG | USG | +PTS | PPA | GmSC | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEAT | MIN | POSS | ORTG | USG | +PTS | PPA | GmSC | +/- |
| Jamal Cain | 31 | 66 | 151 | 12.5% | 3.0 | 169 | 24.1 | 18 |
| Victor Oladipo | 26 | 56 | 109 | 41.9% | -1.3 | 192 | 23.2 | 18 |
| Omer Yurtseven | 17 | 37 | 141 | 19.3% | 1.9 | 173 | 13.8 | 16 |
| Cody Zeller | 22 | 47 | 127 | 24.0% | 1.4 | 96 | 9.8 | -24 |
| Haywood Highsmith | 35 | 75 | 89 | 18.4% | -3.5 | 53 | 8.6 | -12 |
| Orlando Robinson | 16 | 35 | 116 | 12.5% | 0.1 | 99 | 7.5 | 14 |
| Max Strus | 26 | 56 | 112 | 16.4% | -0.2 | 58 | 7.0 | -24 |
| Gabe Vincent | 22 | 47 | 102 | 19.8% | -1.2 | 65 | 6.6 | -24 |
| Caleb Martin | 20 | 43 | 58 | 17.2% | -4.2 | -20 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Duncan Robinson | 28 | 59 | 48 | 15.4% | -6.1 | -119 | 0.0 | -12 |
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24570629/001_game_score_chart.png "When losing is what matters, Wizards get win against the Miami Heat (1)")
FAQs
What is the Miami Heat roster? ›
Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) / Twitter.
Why is Heat game delayed tonight? ›McMcMenamin's tweet said: "The Hawks-Heat tip-off has been delayed 30 minutes while State Farm Arena security investigates a suspicious package found outside the arena, a Hawks spokesperson told ESPN."
Who is the best player on the Heat? ›| Total Points | Dwyane Wade | 21556 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Assists | Dwyane Wade | 5310 |
| Total Rebounds | Udonis Haslem | 5791 |
| Total Blocks | Alonzo Mourning | 1625 |
| Total Steals | Dwyane Wade | 1492 |
Omer Yurtseven | Miami Heat | NBA.com.
Who is number 14 on Miami? ›Tyler Herro | Miami Heat | NBA.com.
How long is an NBA basketball game? ›Each quarter makes up a 12-minute session, meaning that in total a game of basketball will last for 48-minutes at NBA level. Some major European and international setups, though, will use a 10-minute quarter instead, making the whole match 40-minutes in length.
How long are the Heat games? ›Each basketball game regulated by the NBA is played in four quarters of 12 minutes each, for a total of 48 minutes.
Why Robinson is not playing for Heat tonight? ›Miami Heat forward Duncan Robinson has entered the NBA's health and safety protocols and will not play tonight against the Orlando Magic. VITALS: The Miami Heat and Magic meet for the third of four matchups this regular season.
Who is the number 1 rated NBA player? ›
LeBron James, Lakers
Since our last rankings were published, James has turned 38, become the NBA's all-time leading scorer, suffered — and come back from — a serious tendon injury in his right foot, and somehow is still at the top of his game.
There's Never Been a Better All-Around NBA Superstar Than LeBron James. More than any superstar we've ever seen, James has illustrated his greatness by shape-shifting the scope of not only his scoring, but his game as a whole.
Who is the black player on the Miami Heat? ›Edrice Femi "Bam" Adebayo (born July 18, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Who is the oldest Miami Heat player? ›NBA's oldest active player Udonis Haslem balls out with 24 POINTS in his final ever regular season game as Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic.
Who is the oldest NBA player? ›The National Basketball Association was founded on July 6, 1946. In the 76 years since over 4,500 NBA players have ever participated in a game. There has never been an older player than Nat Hickey, who still holds the record for oldest NBA player ever, set back in 1948. Hickey was 45 years and 363 days old.
Who is 2 on Miami Heat? ›| Name | POS | WT |
|---|---|---|
| G. Vincent #2 | PG | 200 lbs |
| H. Highsmith #24 | SF | 220 lbs |
| J. Cain #8 | SF | 191 lbs |
| J. Butler #22 | SF | 230 lbs |
That's the honor the organization bestowed Michael Jordan's No. 23 in 2003. And while his number is not officially retired, the Heat also hung Dan Marino's No. 13, even though the former Miami Dolphins quarterback never played in the NBA.
Who is #8 on the Heat? ›| FORWARD | POS | WT |
|---|---|---|
| Jamal Cain #8 | SF | 191 lbs |
| Udonis Haslem #40 | PF | 235 lbs |
| Haywood Highsmith #24 | SF | 220 lbs |
| Nikola Jovic #5 | PF | 205 lbs |
Yes, every player in the league has the No. 6 patch on their uniform to honor Russell, including every team having his number displayed above the NBA mid-court logo in a black-white-gold colorway.
Who are the best Miami Heat teams ever? ›- 2005-'06. 5 of 5. Final record: 52-30.
- 2010-'11. 4 of 5. Final record: 58-24. Postseason run: ...
- 1996-'97. 3 of 5. Final record: 61-21. Postseason run: ...
- 2004-'05. 2 of 5. Final record: 59-23. Postseason run: ...
- 2003-'04. 1 of 5. Final record: 42-40. Postseason run: ...
What was the Miami Heat biggest loss? ›
All Time Biggest Miami Heat Losses
Based on point differential, the largest loss in Miami Heat history is by 68 points, which occured in a 80-148 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec 17, 1991.
6 (Bill Russell), with Heat expected to retire it again (LeBron James) The Miami Heat are about to find themselves in the unique position of retiring No.
Who is 32 on Miami Hurricanes? ›| Rushing yards: | 12,246 |
|---|---|
| Yards per carry: | 4.0 |
| Rushing touchdowns: | 80 |
| Receptions: | 433 |
| Receiving yards: | 3,364 |
| NO | Player | POS |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | D. Avdija | SF |
| 3 | B. Beal Wizards' Bradley Beal: Season officially over Bradley Beal Wizards' Bradley Beal: Season officially over | SG |
| 12 | X. Cooks Wizards' Xavier Cooks: Double-double in finale Xavier Cooks Wizards' Xavier Cooks: Double-double in finale | PF |
| 1 | J. Davis | SG |
The longest game in NBA history was in 1951 when the Indianapolis Olympians played the Rochester Royals. The game lasted a record 78 minutes and a record six overtimes. During the six overtimes, there were only 18 points scored.
What does BBL mean in basketball? ›Share. The British Basketball League, often abbreviated to the BBL, is the highest level professional basketball league in Great Britain, made up of franchises in both England and Scotland.
How long is halftime in NBA? ›Fifteen minutes will be permitted between halves of all games. 2:30 will be permitted between the first and second periods, the third and fourth periods and before any overtime period during local games.
Do Miami Heat games sell out? ›While they do sell out playoff games and have ranked in the top three in attendance in each of the past three seasons (they were 15th in the league the season before LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined), nobody will call this group among the tops in NBA fanbases.
Is Heat a good game? ›In general, it's a pretty fun arcade racer. It's also not the most exciting or unique take on the genre either, but something you'll still likely have fun with if you're willing to give it a shot. There's not a lot new under the hood in Need for Speed Heat, but overall, it's a pretty enjoyable experience.
Why do Heat fans wear white? ›Well, their marketing campaign was based on "White hot". The Heat logo was white for this campaign and therefore the clothes were too.
Why Tyler Hero is not playing in Miami Heat? ›
Herro appeared to hurt the hand while diving for a loose ball. “He's not going to play the next game, and then we'll just figure it out,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Miami's 130-117 victory over the top-seeded Bucks.
Why did Robinson Bowl off spin? ›"He is currently being assessed by the England medical team." Although Root was able to return to the field after Robinson's first over of spin, he was visibly struggling and appeared in no condition to bowl. As a result, Robinson bowled a three over spell of off-spin and managed to find some turn with the pink ball.
Is Robinson hurt for the heat? ›Heat's Duncan Robinson to Undergo Surgery on Finger Injury; No Return Timeline. The Miami Heat announced Wednesday that forward Duncan Robinson will undergo surgery on his right second finger and miss the team's road game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The team will release a recovery timeline after the procedure.
Who is Miami Heat starting 5? ›| Starter | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|
| Max Strus | Duncan Robinson | Caleb Martin |
| Jimmy Butler | Caleb Martin | Duncan Robinson |
| Kevin Love | Caleb Martin | Haywood Highsmith |
| Bam Adebayo | Cody Zeller DD | Kevin Love |
In this story:
When the Miami Heat had LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, they were called the "Big Three." Now, they have the "Big Four." The foursome of Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry all had big games in the Heat's victory Friday against the Boston Celtics.
Heat guard Tyler Herro reportedly suffers a broken hand in the second quarter and will not return. MILWAUKEE (AP) — Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro says he will undergo surgery Friday for his broken right hand and likely won't return this postseason unless his team wins the Eastern Conference title.
Why is Miami Heat 23 retired? ›Chicago Bulls icon Michael Jordan didn't play a single second for the Miami Heat, but the franchise retired his No. 23 jersey in April of 2003 as a sign of respect to him and his achievements.
Which player has the most 3s in a game for the Miami Heat? ›| NAME | DATE | 3PA |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Shaw | 4/8/1993 | 15 |
| Tyler Herro | 12/14/2022 | 17 |
| Max Strus | 1/31/2022 | 17 |
| Duncan Robinson | 3/4/2020 | 12 |
Edrice Femi "Bam" Adebayo (born July 18, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Who wore number 6 for Miami Heat? ›The Miami Heat are expected to retire LeBron James' No. 6 jersey at the end of his career. John Paul Dauba and 29,139 others like this.
Is LeBron better than Michael Jordan? ›
LeBron James is the NBA's all-time scoring leader. Does that finally tip the balance to him from Michael Jordan as the sport's GOAT? With each passing game, LeBron James, the newly crowned all-time scoring champion, puts more distance between himself and all those enshrined in basketball's hall of fame.
Who started the Big 3 in NBA? ›Big3 (stylized BIG3) is a 3-on-3 basketball league founded by hip hop musician and actor Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz. The league consists of 12 teams whose rosters include both former NBA players and international players.
Who is number 14 on the Miami Heat? ›Tyler Herro | Miami Heat | NBA.com.
How long is Herro out for? ›How long will Tyler Herro be out? Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes reported the star guard will be out for "approximately 4-6 weeks" with a broken middle finger and ring finger on his shooting hand.
How many 3s has Tyler Herro made? ›Tyler Herro has buried 601 three-pointers in his career.