Easy to say that Tuesday night's loss was the most upsetting loss of the season. Loss in Boston was practically designed to be a disaster. The Hornets loss wasn't that bad because it was a near comeback and because the Hornets have yet to lose. But losing to the Jazz in that fashion was fairly discouraging for this team.
That said, there are a lot of factors that set up for the ultimate recovery game Thursday.
First, the Celtics will be without significant size for the game, and we all know what quality size has done to the Heat so far this season. Jermaine O'Neal is definitely out, and Shaquille O'Neal is very likely out, Doc Rivers said this morning at the AAA.
Second, the Heat is playing the Celtics, which will be considered a "revenge game" and will feel just as satisfying even without the O'Neals because, well, the Big Four will certainly be on the floor.
And third, and this might be the biggest key of them all, you could tell from being at Heat practice Wednesday that this team, for obvious reasons, is taking this loss extremely seriously. The team took the first two losses pretty seriously also, but this is the only one of the three that didn't come with a game the very next night. That meant an extensive film session and time to stew. Couple that with the manner in which they lost, blowing a 22-point lead and giving up a putback to tie the game, and it means the Heat might be as prepared for this game as for any game this season. At least mentally prepared to want to recover.
There are the little signs that certain players will be prepared. Udonis went to Spoelstra's office for a discussion prior to practice. LeBron, after practice, was huddled in the corner of the practice court getting loads of advice from asst coach Bob McAdoo. Dwyane spent extra time with asst. coach David Fizdale working on his free throws and being very specific on his approach, footwork and weight balance at the line. Those are all just little things, but it's heartening to know these players, no matter how great, take losses to heart and want to avoid ever making those same mistakes again.
Speaking of mistakes, Udonis (left) strongly implied that Millsap flat shoved him out of bounds to get that last offensive rebound and putback to tie the game. "I didn't fall out of bounds by myself. My shoes weren't untied," he said.
Some would look at that play -- along with many other plays in the second half and overtime -- as examples of the Heat not being tough enough. It's hard to call a team with such good defensive statistics soft, so it's probably not toughness, per se, that's the issue. At least not Tuesday night. It was more of random lapses in focus. For example, yes, Udonis was pushed out of the way by Millsap. But Bosh, who was covering Kirilenko on the perimeter when the initial three-pointer was taken, kind of just floated back toward the paint with no real purpose as the shot was in the air. Had he gone to the boards "like a torpedo" the way Spoelstra described Millsap's effort, then Bosh would've either been able to fight for the rebound or at the very least disrupt the shot Millsap put up.
It's those little lapses that allowed the Jazz to come back, and it's that kind of thing Spoelstra means when he says the Heat can "learn" from that game. It's hard to imagine veterans shouldn't know that already, but sometimes they don't even know they're doing it until it affects them negatively. Tuesday offered the Heat that notice.
And finally, the Heat has now been the victim of flagrant fouls to LeBron against the Nets and James Jones against the Jazz. Asked if the Heat might need to answer back for the chippiness, LeBron said the following:
"We'll see how the game is being played. Maybe we need to do something."
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