Things for the Miami Heat to streamline after loss to Pistons

The Miami Heat were roundly beaten by the conference-leading Detroit Pistons on Saturday night. Here are some of the main reasons they got that outcome in a game that didn't feel very close much of the time despite the final score:

Matchup problems: The Heat gave up a 130.3 offensive rating to the Pistons in the first three quarters and a 95th percentile effective field goal percentage for the game. Cade Cunningham, (29 points, 13-of-20 on twos), was at the helm of those issues for the Heat.

There was a lot of mismatch hunting Tyler Herro on switches in this game, which caused the Heat's defense to scramble and make mistakes. Cunningham did a good job slicing through the Heat's defense in general, even when they tried to hedge rather than switch, which killed them towards the end of the game.

Heat legend Duncan Robinson and Tobias Harris often found themselves as the beneficiaries of Cade's effect on the Heat's defense, combining for 44 points on 17-of-27 shooting. Overall, Herro and the Heat will need to do a better job of protecting their shell on defense against tough mismatches.

The Heat's defense did a much better job in the fourth quarter, holding the Pistons to a subpar 111 offensive rating and seven turnovers, which powered a 157 offensive rating for the Heat and a wild comeback from down 22. Davion Mitchell did a fantastic job sticking to Cunningham and forcing him into three fourth quarter turnovers, (eight overall).

Bam Adebayo made it clear what the difference was for Heat in 4th quarter with how they defended Cade Cunningham actions pic.twitter.com/UnQqzRTN9H
— alex toledo (@tropicalblanket) November 30, 2025

Overall, the Pistons got to the rim at a 99th percentile in terms of their shot attempts and ended the game with a 77th percentile offensive rating.

The controllables: The Heat did a poor job converting on their easy basket opportunities in this one, converting just 55 percent of their attempts at the rim (12th percentile), despite getting there at a 96th percentile frequency.

Additionally, the Pistons kept the Heat from taking comfy shots in the short mid-range, and the Heat made just 37.5 percent of those, (29th percentile). Herro and Bam Adebayo struggled the most here, combining to shoot 20 percent on non-rim twos.

Although the Heat technically "won" the turnover battle by forcing the Pistons into 21 of them, many of the Heat's 17 turnovers were unforced or sloppily passed. Those "pick-sixes", as Erik Spoelstra described them were momentum-killers on multiple different occasions for the Heat.

Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Tyler Herro, Norman Powell and Andrew Wiggins were the biggest culprits in this one, combining for 15 turnovers to just seven assists. Mitchell continues to impress in this aspect, ending the game with 10 assists and no turnovers.

Credit goes to the Pistons' relentless, top-seven defense for containing both components of the Heat's drive-and-kick game.

Life-savers weren't enough: Wiggins and Powell did a whole lot to keep the Heat's offense afloat in this one as scorers, combining for 59 points on 19-of-31 shooting and 17 free throw attempts.

Speaking of, the free throw battle was another saving grace for them, finishing with 39 attempts, 16 more than the Pistons, who have the third-highest free throw rate in the league. To be fair, this is part of the Pistons' plan as their physical defensive principles have them fouling at the highest rate in the league.

The last one was the Heat's longer-distance jump-shooting, sinking 48 percent of their threes and hitting two of the three long mid-range shots they attempted. However, the Heat didn't take many of either, (11th frequency of threes and 18th percentile frequency of long twos.

For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket

Things for the Miami Heat to streamline after loss to Pistons

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For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket