Miami Heat looks past early woes (includes podcast)

The Miami Heat opened the season on Oct. 19, 2022, against Eastern Conference rivals, the Chicago Bulls. The team was expected to come out and blow the Bulls out the water, as it had played extremely well during the preseason. The Bulls were missing star shooting guard Zach LaVine to start their season.

However, that did not affect them whatsoever. Miami blew a 13-4 lead early in the first quarter, and that was the demise of the season opener. The Bulls took advantage and rallied back. Once halftime hit, the two East powerhouses were tied 59 apiece.

The second half started, and the Bulls threw haymaker after haymaker at the Heat. Once the Bulls gained that massive lead, they never relinquished it. The Bulls won the game 116-108. Bam Adebayo and Kyle Lowry were extremely disappointing in the opener.

The one shining light of this game was the performance of reigning sixth man of the year award winner Tyler Herro. In his first game as the official starting shooting guard for the Heat, Herro nailed 23 points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals. Even though the Heat lost that game, what Herro showcased was what everyone was expecting of him.

Next came the Boston Celtics, a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Finals. There was Plenty on the line for Miami while this was just another game for the Celtics. If you were expecting a different outcome for this game, then you were asking for too much.

The Heat lost 111-104 at home against the Celtics. A win was not to be as the team was losing throughout the game.

The first win of the season came on Saturday, Oct. 22 when the Heat played the feisty Toronto Raptors, and like always, struggled to get the win. They emerged victorious 112-109 after a Raptors comeback led by young guard Gary Trent Jr. The Heat played great until the fourth quarter, when it allowed a 5-0 run in the last 40 seconds to make the score 111-108. They were able to hold off the Raptors to win their first home game of the season. The heroes of this game were our leader, Jimmy Butler, and our sniper of the bench, Max Strus.

A mediocre 1-2 road trip followed with losses to the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings but a win against the Portland Trailblazers. The play continues tonight with a return match against the Warriors.

Sebastian Cuervo is a junior who was born in Miami. He is a brother of Beta Theta Pi. He aspires to be on television as a sports analyst in the future.

Pablo Hernandez was born in Cuba and raised in Miami, Florida. He has a huge love for sports and aspires to be a sports analyst on television in the future.