Southeast Notes: Heat, Alexander-Walker, Bridges, Magic

It was another ugly loss for the Heat on Sunday as their defense was shredded by the lottery-bound Pacers. Miami is 1-7 over the last eight games after giving up 135 points to Indiana.

“We’ve got to communicate more on the defensive end,” Bam Adebayo said, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. “A lot of the first half was us not communicating so they get open threes. Things like that, we’ve got to clean up.”

Coach Erik Spoelstra said the team is exasperated by its recent futility heading into its game against the Sixers.

“We’re disappointed, we’re upset, we’re angry,” Spoelstra said. “We need to use it as fuel and bring a great game [Monday].”

We have more from the Southeast Division:

• Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker is making a strong push for Most Improved Player. An offseason free agent acquisition, Alexander-Walker has averaged 20.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He averaged 9.4 points in a more limited role for Minnesota last season. “I always figured that the better player I would be, the better it would be for the team,” Alexander-Walker told Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Like, if you can be a better player, ultimately, it’s going to be better for the team. So, I always try to align things that were going to be hand in hand, you know what I mean? And I would never sacrifice one for the other, and in this league, you can’t really, because I feel like it’s a league that rewards winning.”
• The Hornets woke up on Monday morning in 10th place in the East, though teams five through 10 in the standings are tightly bunched. Charlotte has lost two straight with seven games remaining. “We don’t want to depend on teams,” forward Miles Bridges said to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “We want to create our own path to the playoffs. And in order to do that, we’ve got to start winning games again.”
• Another team trying to fight its way out of the play-in tournament, the Magic, were embarrassed by the Raptors on Sunday. Orlando lost 139-87. The 52-point loss was the biggest margin of defeat in franchise history. Orlando also gave up a 31-point run. “I’ve got to do a better job of preparing them for what they were going to see tonight,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel. “We talked a little bit about it, but probably not enough — I’ve got to have them prepared for the physicality of the game, prepared for how much they were going to grab, hold and get us off of our spots. That’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job there with this group to make sure they’re prepared in the right way, knowing exactly the sense of urgency that Toronto was going to play with … knowing the positioning that they were in for playoff positioning.”