The early lethargy, the late stumbles were fine when the competition was the Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs.
But the Miami Heat recognize what is to follow will require more.
“Our guys are competitors,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They want to see where we stack up.”
Such a moment is at hand. More to the point, such moments are at hand.
The Chicago Bulls arrive Monday night at FTX Arena having spent recent weeks exchanging the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference with the Heat.
On Wednesday night, it is a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that humbled the Heat in a 4-0 opening-round playoff sweep last season.
The following night, Kevin Durant is expected back in action when the Brooklyn Nets host the Heat.
And Saturday, it is the Joel Embiid-James Harden one-two punch of the new-look Philadelphia 76ers making the trip to South Florida.
“It’s not the end all, be all,” Spoelstra said of the upcoming schedule. “But you also don’t want to just brush it off and say it’s just another game. You know, that’s what makes this business and this profession great. It’s great competition.
“So we’re not playing all the games in one night. We just have to take one competition at a time, but gear up and get ready for a good one on Monday.”
Coming off Saturday night’s 116-110 home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Bulls arrive knowing their own statement needs to be made. The Bulls are 2-13 against teams standing at .600 or better, including 0-2 against the Heat, with two games remaining in the season series.
“We take it on as a challenge to play better against the better teams,” Chicago guard Coby White said after Saturday’s loss.
The Heat have done just that, at 8-5 against such .600-level competition.
“I’m excited,” guard Tyler Herro said of the upcoming schedule, as the Heat attempt to distance themselves from the pack atop the East. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us. We can try to gain some ground in the standings.”
As for the Bulls, there is respect for what has been accomplished, considering the ongoing injury absences of Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso, with DeMar DeRozan emerging as an MVP candidate.
“It’s going to be tough,” Heat forward Jimmy Butler said. “The Bulls have been playing great basketball. [DeRozan] is one of the best to do it. And everybody around the league has so much respect for him.
“But just the way that the team plays, they really like each other, and they got some really good ballplayers. So it’ll be a great matchup. But I think it’ll really test us to see what we’re made of.”
Sore subject
Spoelstra said among the reasons Butler was held out of Saturday’s fourth quarter was due to soreness.
Butler downplayed such concerns, saying he had confidence in teammates closing it out.
“He just came to me and was like, ‘You OK,’ " Butler said. “I was like, ‘um.’ He said, ‘I mean, they can do it and let’s find out.’ And I said, ‘I know that they can do it.’
“He has just as much faith in those guys as I do. Yeah, he wants me out there, as well. I’m pretty sure my squad does, too. But I know what they’re capable of. I do. I believe in ‘em.”
Butler’s 12 of 15 from the foul line in his 27-point performance Saturday marked the 13th time he has had double-digit free-throw attempts this season.
Herro’s hurry
In reaching 2,500 points in his 156 regular-season games, Herro on Saturday became third fastest to that total with the Heat, behind only the 125 games of Dwyane Wade and the 154 games of Sherman Douglas. ...
At 40-21, with victories in eight of their past nine, the Heat are 19 games above .500 for the first time since Feb. 4, 2020.
