MIAMI — Jimmy Butler was relentless. Tyler Herro was aggressive. Max Strus added energy off the bench. And ... that’s where it basically ended Wednesday night for the Miami Heat in their 116-108 season-opening loss to the Chicago Bulls at FTX Arena.
With Bam Adebayo unable to make shots and Kyle Lowry uninvolved to the point of not taking them until the waning minutes, the Heat found a way to lose to a Bulls roster lacking sidelined Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball.
The move to a more offensive bent with the insertion of Herro into the starting five was supposed to take some of the pressure off the Heat defense. The reality is that there are limits to succeeding with limited deterrence.
So even with Butler pounding his way to a 24-point effort that included 14-of-16 foul shooting, and even with Herro scoring 23, the Heat came up short at the start of their season-opening four-game homestand.
Because if it wasn’t Adebayo shooting 5 of 15 on his foul-filled night, it was Lowry passive to the point of scoring just two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
The Heat also got 22 points from Strus.
The Bulls were led by the 37 points of ageless DeMar DeRozan and a 15-point, 17-rebound double-double from center Nikola Vucevic. Former Heat guard Goran Dragic added 12 points for Chicago.
Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game against the Bulls:
1. Closing time: From a 59-59 halftime tie, the Bulls pushed to a 15-point lead in the third quarter and went into the fourth up 96-86.
But as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra cycled back to his starters in the fourth, the Heat got within 102-98 on a Strus 3-pointer with 6:19 to play.
Later, though, a missed pair of Strus free throws was followed by a Vucevic 3-pointer that put Chicago up 107-98 with 4:57 to play.
2. Solid start: Getting the starting role he converted, Herro opened by draining a pair of 3-pointers and then worked out of a trap to convert a running floater, giving him eight of the Heat’s first 10 points. He then also made his third 3-point attempt, giving him 11 of the Heat’s first 16.
The other promoted starter was Caleb Martin, who filled the void created by P.J. Tucker’s move to the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. Martin exited his initial 9:22 stint with seven points and three assists, but largely was a non-factor thereafter.
The other three in the opening lineup were incumbent starters Butler, Adebayo and Lowry.
Yet for all of Herro’s scoring, the Heat were outscored by 16 through the first three quarters when Herro was on the floor.
3. Four play: For all of Butler’s consternation about being cast as a power forward, he wound up playing in that role after his first break, cast alongside center Dewayne Dedmon, along with Duncan Robinson, Strus and Gabe Vincent.
Butler, who played the final possession of the first quarter at center, was in attack mode from the outset, with six free throws in the opening period.
With Victor Oladipo sidelined, Butler was the first starter removed by Spoelstra, to be cycled back in to play with the second unit. Those are minutes Spoelstra likely would prefer to eventually save once (if?) Oladipo is available.
4. The Bam jam: For all the angst about Adebayo having to shoot more, he stood with two points on 1-of-10 shooting at halftime and then 3 of 13 with six points entering the fourth quarter.
Adebayo opened 0 for 6 from the field before a second-period transition dunk that was followed by his throwing his arms to the air with a finally-scored gesture.
As much as added Adebayo offense would help, with Herro in the starting lineup there is not as much need as with the team’s previous opening alignments.
5. Dragic returns: Having signed as a free agent with the Bulls in the offseason, Dragic returned by scoring 12 points in his first eight minutes off Chicago’s bench, opening 4 of 4 on 3-pointers.
It was Dragic’s third game against the Heat, and second visit to FTX Arena, since being dealt along with Precious Achiuwa to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 offseason.
Achiuwa will be at FTX Arena on Saturday and Monday nights, when the Raptors visit.
