The Miami Heat authored the beginnings of a successful turnaround in Week 1 of the 2024 NBA regular season. Posting a 106-98 win over the Detroit Pistons on Monday night, a second consecutive victory, took the sting out of a tough start.
After all, the Heat last week opened with a flat home game against the Orlando Magic, a 116-97 victory for the road team that gave Miami plenty of mistakes to correct through the rest of the season.
Star point guard Tyler Herro shined in the last two games, posting 22 points against the Charlotte Hornets and 19 against the Pistons. Finding success early in the season, he reflected on their unfortunate start and how they turned it around quickly.
“Just continuing to build good habits, we want to keep starting the games on the defensive end, continuing to be disruptive, force turnovers,” Herro said after the 114-106 win in Charlotte. “The last two days, after Wednesday the home opener in Miami, we really watched film, we practiced and made sure that tonight wasn’t the same thing.”
After falling short with just three points against the Magic, small forward Jimmy Butler has also engineered a resurgence in the last two games. He seems back to his normal self, totaling 26 points against the Hornets and 23 against the Pistons. Butler seems to be back on his feet, and has quickly left the first loss behind him.

“Honestly, just doing all of that and it resulting in a win, that’s the reason why we all play the game, just happy to get one in the winning column,” Butler explained after the win over the Hornets. “I think I’ve got some work to do, back to the lab for me. We just have to clean up the defense rebound a little bit but all in all, it’s a win so we’ll take it.”
Center Bam Adebayo is coming around, as well. He shook off both the wear and tear from the Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal with Team USA in Paris, and the season-opening loss to Orlando, by producing his specialty of double-doubles. His statistics in Week 1 included an impressive 12 points and 11 rebounds against the Hornets, followed by 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Pistons, proving he just needed some time to get back to himself.
“It felt great to get a W in the win column,” Adebayo said Monday, after the win over the Pistons. “That’s what we’re looking to do, just keep tallying these wins.”
The Heat’s next matchup will be against the New York Knicks tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Kaseya Center, a tough test from a title-contending team that is much stronger than the Hornets and Pistons. The Knicks, at 1-2, are off to a slow start, but advanced to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season.