Uh-oh. Problems in Miami?! Dwyane Wade & Chris Bosh were benched in the the 4th quarter last night as the Heat fell to the Jazz 104-97. So why were they benched? Is there a feud between the players and coach Erik Spoelstra?!
Report after the jump…
According to Associated Press via Fox Sports:
The Miami Heat already were having a rough road trip. Now they may have a feud between their stars and their coach.
Dwyane Wade sat out the entire fourth quarter Monday and Chris Boshplayed just 40 seconds of it as the Heat stumbled to their third loss in four games, 104-97 to the Jazz.
Wade, who finished with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting, had no explanation for why he did not get off the bench in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James, who needed 50 points to become the youngest player to reach 20,000 for his career, scored 32, but the Jazz held on after nearly blowing a 21-point lead.
”We’re trying to learn how to push a lead from 20 to 30 and close teams out, but we haven’t been able to do that for whatever reason,” said Jazz guard Gordon Hayward, who finished with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. ”We need to be able to keep our foot on the gas and not be hesitant.”
(STORY CONTINUES….)
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Via ASN:
A downcast Wade was asked afterward whether he expected to re-enter the game.
“I don’t know,” Wade told reporters, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I just always stay ready. Coach (Erik Spoelstra) makes the calls. I’m just the player.”
Wade had 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
Bosh grabbed just one rebound in 27 minutes, though he did score 16 points.
“I was ready for it, but that call (to return) didn’t come,” Bosh said, per the Sun Sentinel.
Spoelstra said it was tough to break up the makeshift unit that was on the floor: LeBron James, Ray Allen, Joel Anthony, Mario Chalmers and Rashard Lewis.
“They turned that deficit around so quickly, that it was really an easy decision to keep them in there during the middle of the fourth quarter,” Spoelstra said, according to The Palm Beach Post. “Then you’ve got to make some tough decisions down the stretch.”
Spoelstra was upset with the team’s low energy level for most of the game.
“Everybody in our locker room, staff, players, everybody included has to give more and that’s the bottom line,” Spoelstra said, according to the Miami Herald. “We have to give more to get us over the hump and get a quality win.”
